Project 63 - End Year Update

Perhaps it is fitting the last day of 2019 witnessed the last delivery of vegetables for the year to Sanctus, Chelmsford. Two large trays of parsnips, carrots, celeriac and butternut squash were gratefully received by the Charity which the Association continues to support.

To round off the year completely, the last experiment has now been harvested. The New Zealand Yam tubers were originally chitted over last winter, then planted late April / early May when the risk of frost at its lowest. 20 tubers were originally sewn, and from these original tubers we have harvested 6lb and 4 oz of yams.



The Yam itself is pretty versatile, and a quick search via your favourite on line engine will produce an array of recipes or methods of cooking. For anyone who is interested in trying these, or in fact growing next season, we will leave some tubers at the trading hut when it re opens on Saturday. Please enquire with Tony.



The biggest disappointment this year was the fruit, especially raspberries. We inherited quite a number of summer and autumn canes, and last year we gave the stock one further year to see if they would produce following a couple of poor years fruiting. This year proved to be no different, and at the end of the fruiting season we took the radical decision to start again. Removing the entire existing stock, we have re planted ten new canes of Glenn Ample, and whilst this will require patience for a year, hope this will provide us a better return moving forward the following season.

At the same time we decided to experiment with a self fertile Issai, Kiwi Berry, and it will be interesting to see how this progresses over the course of the year.

This years experiment with Tromboncino proved to be a success, with quite significant sized fruit being tried by various plot holders, and also received well by Sanctus. We plan to continue with these as they produce in volume, the squashes last (we still have one which looks fresh as a daisy from August in the garage). Unfortunately the same cannot be said for the Melon's, two of which turned out not to be melon's at all! The elephant garlic produced 10 huge bulbs (from 12 planted) and we have used these to plant up further over winter this year along with traditional garlic. The Padron Peppers were once again successful, and fruited right through to the beginning of November in the poly tunnel.



Over the last couple of months the project 63 site and poly tunnel has been cleared and crucially all the green waste has been cut up finely for composting. The annual manure delivery has taken place, and as we are experimenting with the Charles Dowding no dig method, have spread a thick layer of manure on one side of the plot, - the plan is to grow root vegetables on the other side of the plot which was heavily manured last year, with the balance of crops on the no dig portion.



Seed orders for 2020 were placed a couple of months ago, and once again the plan is to experiment with a few different types of fruit and vegetables. Aside of the Kiwi Berry Watch this space for further updates and progress.

All that remains is to thank everyone who donated crops to the charity deliveries during the year, and wish everyone a happy, healthy and above all a productive allotment growing year, 2020.