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Growing Veg and Freecycle
On the local Freecycle, I saw a 'wanted' request for gardening books and advice. As it was a lady in Corfe Mullen, I dropped her an email and we met up today.
Very nice lady with two young children.
I advised her to use her front garden for veg as it gets a lot more sun than her back garden. The soil is pretty poor (the house is about a decade old, so lots of builder's rubble), but the position is good. I've told her how to find the local riding stable and she'll go and get lots of manure. She'll probably be digging out big stones and mortar for several years to come, but at least that gives her something to blame if things don't grow well. (I find a scapegoat is handy for one's morale).
My rule of thumb on stones is to remove anything that's big enough to get caught in the prongs of a hand fork. (and for a seed bed, remove smaller stuff than that)
Her kids really like veg. I took them down the allotment and let them nibble leaves of sorrel (lemon flavour) and wild garlic and chives. Gave her some wild garlic and chive plants. Not sure if they'll transplant well this time of year, but I've plenty of them so I can give her more another time if they don't survive. The wild garlic will probably grow under the trees in her back garden, which is a bonus. Wild garlic has leaves that you can use in salads (they go nicely in a cheese sandwich), has really pretty white flowers in spring, and grows well in shady corners. Win, win, win!
What is good to plant right now?
Radishes and rocket are dead easy for beginners.
Dig your soil well if it hasn't been dug before. (I believe all soil needs a really good dig when you begin gardening - look up double digging - you don't want to mix subsoil and topsoil) If it's had a good dig, and you haven't walked across it and compacted it, then you don't need an annual dig.
If your soil is in good nick, then just weed the top of it and break the surface down into a 'fine tilth'. This means that you try and get a surface with the texture of sand. (Don't worry if you can't - it's hard if the soil is lacking in organic matter as it may well be when you begin gardening) Just do the best you can. Give soil a good watering if it's dry. Sprinkle radish on surface (a square foot is a reasonable area). Don't bother with straight rows for radishes. They will emerge within two weeks and be ready to eat a few weeks later.
As soon as the radishes are recognisable as small radishes, start another patch off. As soon as the radishes are ready to eat, start eating them at whatever rate maximises your enjoyment of radishes.
Rocket - very like radishes. I usually sow rocket in a row as I find it harder to recognise the small leaves. (rows are very helpful for things that grow slower than weeds. Radishes and rocket are about the only plants that grow faster than weeks) It's easier to identify the 'plants' if they're all in a straight line. And you can hoe between the rows - becasue your rows will be far enough apart to allow you to hoe between them - allow for a bit of wonky hoeing when working this out...
When the rocket is 10 cm high, cut it down to 2 inches and eat the stuff you've cut. Repeat as the rocket regrows. At some point (maybe at monthly intervals), start a new row of rocket. It's a slightly bitter salad vegetable.
Very nice lady with two young children.
I advised her to use her front garden for veg as it gets a lot more sun than her back garden. The soil is pretty poor (the house is about a decade old, so lots of builder's rubble), but the position is good. I've told her how to find the local riding stable and she'll go and get lots of manure. She'll probably be digging out big stones and mortar for several years to come, but at least that gives her something to blame if things don't grow well. (I find a scapegoat is handy for one's morale).
My rule of thumb on stones is to remove anything that's big enough to get caught in the prongs of a hand fork. (and for a seed bed, remove smaller stuff than that)
Her kids really like veg. I took them down the allotment and let them nibble leaves of sorrel (lemon flavour) and wild garlic and chives. Gave her some wild garlic and chive plants. Not sure if they'll transplant well this time of year, but I've plenty of them so I can give her more another time if they don't survive. The wild garlic will probably grow under the trees in her back garden, which is a bonus. Wild garlic has leaves that you can use in salads (they go nicely in a cheese sandwich), has really pretty white flowers in spring, and grows well in shady corners. Win, win, win!
What is good to plant right now?
Radishes and rocket are dead easy for beginners.
Dig your soil well if it hasn't been dug before. (I believe all soil needs a really good dig when you begin gardening - look up double digging - you don't want to mix subsoil and topsoil) If it's had a good dig, and you haven't walked across it and compacted it, then you don't need an annual dig.
If your soil is in good nick, then just weed the top of it and break the surface down into a 'fine tilth'. This means that you try and get a surface with the texture of sand. (Don't worry if you can't - it's hard if the soil is lacking in organic matter as it may well be when you begin gardening) Just do the best you can. Give soil a good watering if it's dry. Sprinkle radish on surface (a square foot is a reasonable area). Don't bother with straight rows for radishes. They will emerge within two weeks and be ready to eat a few weeks later.
As soon as the radishes are recognisable as small radishes, start another patch off. As soon as the radishes are ready to eat, start eating them at whatever rate maximises your enjoyment of radishes.
Rocket - very like radishes. I usually sow rocket in a row as I find it harder to recognise the small leaves. (rows are very helpful for things that grow slower than weeds. Radishes and rocket are about the only plants that grow faster than weeks) It's easier to identify the 'plants' if they're all in a straight line. And you can hoe between the rows - becasue your rows will be far enough apart to allow you to hoe between them - allow for a bit of wonky hoeing when working this out...
When the rocket is 10 cm high, cut it down to 2 inches and eat the stuff you've cut. Repeat as the rocket regrows. At some point (maybe at monthly intervals), start a new row of rocket. It's a slightly bitter salad vegetable.
no subject
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I ask because I've just dug over a flower bed in our garden. It has been a shrub/flower bed for years but we had a low wall built around it earlier this year. I removed the old bushes and thought it would be a good idea to dig it over. I couldn't get the fork in, much less the spade and I was astonished to find all kinds of rubble - ten rubble sacks worth!
Our house is 100 years old and that bed must have been like it for at least the last 40 years, perhaps much longer.
Anyway, I've double dug it (is that grammatical?) and in the process a little subsoil did get mixed in, hence my question.
no subject
A little subsoil will do no harm. If you get a lot in there, then the problem would be that too much of the good soil would be too deep down and thus effectively lost to you.
Keep adding compost and it will cancel out the effect of that bit of subsoil. Subsoil is almost totally lacking in organic matter.
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I think I know what to do with the mint - pick leaves off, yes? - but I'm unclear about the rosemary and chives. Should I cut the chives near the base? And how do I collect the rosemary? Is that picking leaves off, or should I cut the stems?
Sorry if these are really daft questions but I appear to have no sixth sense about gardening whatsoever, and even idiots' guides are quite idiotic enough for me!
no subject
Chives - I cut off leaves near the base. Leave the flower stems, because the flowers are pretty and well worth looking at.
I cut small stems off the rosemary. Think of it as pruning the bush as you go. Cut and use for cooking any small sprigs that aren't growing where you want them to grow.
Don't worry - none of us start with a sixth sense. It develops slowly over time.