Plot 30

  Ordered from Simply Seed "Rhapsody Wight" This year, I have deliberately not dug over the soil, but instead raked it over leaving the bed quite solid, a tip I learned from an old hand that garlic actually prefers a firmer less spongy bed. Also taking some tips from Old Alabama Gardener on how to plant garlic .  He mixes in a little rabbit manure for each planting which I substitute with well-rotted horse manure. Here are few planted in a row ready to be covered over: And here is an update from 29 December 2021 showing the garlics poking through: Update 11 February 2022 1 April 2022 And here they are drying out:

2 May 2021 16 May 2021 22 June 2021 Plodding on nicely.  The result of keeping of top of the weeds plus occasional feeding with seaweed extract:

 A row of Boltardy sown earlier this year (I don't have the exact date to hand), this image dated 5 June 2021: 25 June 2021 30 June 2021 And some of the produce, picked ready for boiling and pickling...

16 May 2021 6 June 2021 Using a weeding tool to clear away a small layer of soil around the base of the onion to allow it to more easily swell in size: A more recent update from 1 July 2021

  As of 5 June 2021, 'Black Beauty' variety: 25 June 2021 Actually 4 courgette plants and 2 squash - they look very similar when still young plants.

2021 2 May  2021 One row of "Hurst Green Shaft" sown via randomly broadcasting them in the trench rather than straight rows: 9 May 2021 Another row...  A 6 inch trench hoed out, peas placed approximately using the 6 inch spacing roughly 2 inches apart: Followed by a dressing of bone meal: And then a further dressing of compost and Growmore fertiliser on top: And the gently raking a layer of soil on top: Update: 6 June 2021 Original peas sown now covered with protective netting While not a huge harvest this year, we've still managed to pick and shell sufficient quantities for storage in the chest freezer. 2022 This year I've sown one row of "Onward" on 8 April 2022:

Section of Witkiem broad beans sowed during 2021.   This larger than usual patch contains maybe one or two plants that managed to survive a harsh overwintering; otherwise all others you see were planted in the Spring of 2021.   24 April 2021. 8 May 2021 Newest plantings starting to poke through as seen to the left of the photograph: 6 June 2021 Blackfly! Spent quite a bit of time physically removing these blighters using keen observation and thumbnail. Otherwise they are doing fine: 25 June 2021 Some fine crops appearing, in spite of the blackfly: 6 July 2021 Some beans, harvested from their thick, leathery skins and washed ready for freezing and/or eating.  As seen from earlier photos, there are loads more to come.

Coming straight after the two rows of "Exhibition" parsnip described in an earlier posting, here are two rows of "Brora" parsnip, planted 18 April 2021: Followed by two more rows of the "Helenor" variety, planted 24 April 2021:   Update 5 June 2021: Showing the two rows of 'Brora' followed by the two rows of 'Exhibition': 25 June 2021 Now covered in mesh to ward off bird attacks.  Pretty sure it was birds in that too many of the plants were getting stripped right back to the skeleton - not sure insects alone could have done this.  The swede rows appear to be making a comeback, though now in need of thinning and some transplanting: Has undergone some ruthless thinning-out processes today (9 July 2021) will post updates as and when. Hopefully a better outcome than 2020, whereby most of swedes succumbed to some kind of club root.

Two rows of "Exhibition" parsnip purchased from Dobies, planted 19 April 2021, planted straight after the rows of potatoes:

 24 April 2021 Some Borlotti Bean seeds saved form last year which I've set off in a seed tray with a heating pad underneath.  Regrettably I do not remember the make of seed that was saved. 15 seeds sowed in total of which at least over half are looking promising. 1 May 2021 4 strong plants then transplanted to the greenhouse 9 May 2021 Here are the bean seedlings planted outside a week or so later, occupying the 4 bamboo canes shown.  Some spare lemonade cut-offs used to protect the smaller seedlings from any icy blasts that may occur, which did happen this time last year between 12-14 May 2020 , where the night-time temperatures got down to between 2 to 4 degrees Celsius, which when combined with a consistent breeze served to zap a number of plants.  Thankfully the short-term weather outlook for this time this year promises to be somewhat milder. (Note the transplanted Musselburgh leek to the right, which I have retained this year for the purpose of obtaining another set of seeds

Here is the large clump of elephant garlic saved over from last year (photo taken 17 October 2020) that was left in the ground and later pulled up and separated ready for planting on Halloween (31 October 2020): Here they are, all six, at the bottom of the plot, photo taken 24 April 2021: 5 June 2021 Some rows containing the ordinary garlic and elephant garlic: 25 June 2021 Garlic (the smaller version, the not the elephant variety) ready to be harvested and drying out in the greenhouse 23 July 2021 And one of the final products, braided and ready for storage in the garage: 29 December 2021 Here is the one remaining elephant garlic that was left in the ground that is now starting to sprout again: A total of four bulbs plus one corm which have been split up and transplanted again, giving potentially five new plants: