| The Vegetable Garden Page |
| What's Growing Now. New Potatoes 9 rows planted 13-4-01 Radishes - first crop tasted 1/6/01 Swiss Chard - Rainbow variety Broad beans 3 rows Kos Lettuce Peas - Suffering from bird attack Carrots Onions Shallots Courgettes Marrow Tomatoes Peppers |
| This page looks at some of the more productive aspects of the garden at Monson Road. The area between the older shed and the apple tree was cultivated by the previous owner for 40 years and will benefit from the addition of more organic material into the somewhat depleted soil. These shots were taken in the early morning of a bright April day. |
| And in the Herb garden Purple Basil Oregano Marjoram Corriander Rosemary Thyme Parsley Chives Mint |
| Go to Other Garden Page |
| First I removed the turves and dug the topsoil down to about 9" depth. This was put to one side to be used on top. Then a 6" deep layer of well rotted horse manure was added and the turves laid back upside down so that the grass and its roots rots into the soil. The underside of the turf was then broken up with a 3 pronged claw to break the soil into a more workable till. Any remaining topsoil was added to this and the whole lot raked level prior to sowing. The result being a slightly raised bed, with a well manured sub-layer. |
| I originally planned for up to 8 of these beds, and so far 6 have been dug. As the garden is on a gentle slope, and there were signs of the soil settling where previous beds had been placed, some fresh topsoil was imported from the front garden to help build up the level. The first beds were sized 6' x 9', but this was later changed to 4' x 10' because of the difficulty in leaning over a 6' bed to plant seeds in the centre. Pathways were created between the beds and at 2' wide this allows the lawnmower to be taken between the beds. A small piece of lawn 14' x 14' has been left to allow a new 10' x 8' greenhouse to be sited. |
| Here are the 9 rows of potatoes planted on Good Friday morning 13th April 2001. The potato beds were dug on a rather scruff patch of land just behind the greenhouse. Trenches were first dug to a depth of 9" and then a good layer of the well rotted compost made ofer the winter from household waste was put in the bottom of the trench. A couple of inches of soil was added and then the sprouting seed potatoes placed at 9" intervals. About 160 plants were sown, mostly Scottish early varieties. It is with great pleasure that I can report that just 8 weeks later on Friday 8th June, the first of the new potatoes were lifted. The largest were 6oz in weight and the one plant gave enough for 2 people. They were boiled gently for 20 minutes and served with mint from the herb garden and butter. |
