Witkiem broad bean planting October 2018

Sowing Witkiem broad beans in October 2018

My first ever autumn sowing of broad beans (traditionally I have always sowed broad beans in the Spring).

One row of Witkiem seeds laid out as follows.  Those planks I have recently been using to protect the soil from undue compacting as I walk up and down while digging, weeding, planting etc.



Sowing Witkiem broad beans


Watch this space...

Update 27 January 2019

 The Wikiems 3 months later:

Witkiem broad beans Jan 2019


Update 26 May 2019

 The Wikiems now that we are approaching summer:


The mice are still getting their share alas, but I have have managed to collect my first proper crop, which I will boil gently in salted water ready for a pasta dish I have in mind...




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Setting out a new asparagus plot in 2019

Image
Some photos of us setting out a raised bed area with the long term plan of getting asparagus from it.  And asparagus is very much a long term plan - as the Royal Horticultural Society advises on its excellent website , to not harvest within the first two years of harvesting.  This plot previously had some rather large rosemary bushes, curry plants and other herbs that were coming toward to the end of their natural lifespans, so these were dug up and burned, while the plot was thoroughly dug over (" double digging method ") with plenty of horse manure added, and left for several months. Digging the trench  We start by digging a trench (the date started was 1 March 2019) on the right side of the plot, and transport this soil elsewhere, some of which went into the wheelbarrow you see at the bottom right of the picture.  Into this trench we added more well-rotted horse manure, and worked this into the bottom of the trench.  At the far end of the plot there is a...
Read more

Harvesting Bramley cooking apples October 2019

Image
Some pictures and a video of me obtaining a some Bramley cooking apples using a special invention: a rusty blade attached to a fishing net attached to a plastic broom handle: Somewhat taller than me: In previous years I would harvest apples with the willing cooperation of my significantly lighter and more agile son, climbing into the upper reaches and tossing ripe specimens for me to catch. In his absence (preferring the company of video games these days, alas), I have given this contrivance a try.  It's actually very simple to use, and the apple normally falls in with one quick stab, though in this footage I am trying to hold the pole with one hand and film with the other, and so a couple of attempts were needed:
Read more

Broad beans 2022 onwards

Image
Some seeds set off from a packet I've had unopened for two years(pic from 4 March 2022) These were set off in the ground on 18 March 2022 as shown: And some seeds set off using seeds saved from 2021 (documented in this post .) Pic dated from 13 March 2022. And the same plants after hardening off outside for a week (taken 20 March 2022) Which were then added to the existing broad beans on the plot Update 2 May 2022 Update 19 June 2022 Update 23 June 2022.  Broad beans starting to thicken a little
Read more