I planted all our garlic and shallots in December and they're doing well. Today I've moved a rhubarb crown into a small, dedicated raised bed next to the water butts in the potager and given the bed 50 litres of horse poo - all helped by the chooks so now covered with a cold frame and cardboard round the edges to keep them off while it settles.
During the recent fruit days I finished transplanting red and black currants into a new fruit bed and today I've laid a seep hose all round that and covered it all up with chipped bark to keep chooks and sun off the hose and help retain moisture round the roots. Loads of "help" with that too.
Planning to sow spring onions in a window box tomorrow and then, if the promised downpour comes tomorrow morning while I have meetings online, I'll be able to go and weed and mulch a flower bed that's already feeling dry. Humph.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
Hi Everyone and welcome SporophyteBoy great to have your input. Obelixx you must be exhausted!! I agree GWRS too cold to sow seeds even if Lunar Calender keeps pressing me to sow Aubergines/Peppers/Chilies and Tomatoes!!! No way at the moment. When I have taken the plunge dutifully in the past these early sowings have normally perished. Also with gales forecast this week, knowing me all seed trays and polytunnel will be blown away as per last year!!! I do have a huge shopping list though including this wretched wheelbarrow that I really MUST buy as the old one has now given up the ghost. A phone call from our Gardening Club promising delivery of my new seeds/potting and seed compost later this week means I really must get cracking.
Here is the Lunar Calender 9-18th March with Biodynamic tips.
9/10th March - Moon ascending in front of Capricorn so Root Days. Sow Carrots mixed with Radishes in a sheltered Nursery Bed for first harvest. Sow Celeriac in seedtrays under cover. In greenhouse sow Parsnips and Turnips in pots. (Parsnips do not like being transplanted so try sowing them in single modules if possible) Plant more Onion Sets and Garlic. (I shall pop in the sprouting Garlic left over from the String in the kitchen as they are now sprouting--OK I won't get big bulbs but I do like snipping the leaves for salads.)
11/12/13th March- Moon ascending in front of Aquarius so Flower Days. Sow Annuals where they are to flower and Sweet Peas in front of Trellis. BioD Calender says sow these under cover first in trays to guarantee better germination.. I would agree with this. Sow Sprouting Broccoli and Cauliflowers under cover. There is a New Moon on the 13th at 10.21am.
14/15/16th March - Moon ascending in front of Pisces so Leaf Days. Plant Rhubarb and sow Cabbages and Brussel Sprouts in a Nursery Bed and Lettuce under cover.
17th March - Moon ascending in front of Aries so Fruit and Seed Days. Under heat sow Melons. You can also sow Aubergines/Tomatoes/Peppers and Chilies. I note that this is when I popped the seeds in last year. But I am still reserving my judgement for perhaps a bit later if weather not consistently warm enough.
18th March -No gardening recommeneed before 10.10am as Moon apogee (at it's furthest point i the monthly cycle from the Earth)
Hello , thanks for update Weather is very up & down at moment Sunday , fabulous sunny warm day , Monday rained all day and a frost overnight , Tuesday overcast but dry , today showers with Gail force winds ?
Soil very cold , even under clouches , so still leaving sewing for a couple more weeks
Still finding lots of jobs out side particularly at allotment , pruned fig tree , bark chippings on paths , repaired fence post etc etc On a positive note , garlic 🧄 is coming up nicely and looks very healthy , got it from a specialist grower in Scotland No growth from Autumn sewed Broad Beans , not looking good , so have prepared another bed for them just in case
Could not agree more re weather and sowing. I have however sowed a tape of Carrots (as recommended by you GWRS-courtesy of Lidl!) Ground sodden again after overnight Storms. Sunny now so off to buy that wheelbarrow this afternoon at last!
Quite windy in my part of the Chilterns though not a what I'd call a gale - though extreme weather is a big talking point these days I seem to remember it being far worse many years ago - as a child I was always being woken by the March winds lifting of our metal dustbin lid and rolling around the yard and of course having an artic blast whistle through the bath overflow whenever I had me kit off! Partly my fault for not attending it before but the strong winds before Christmas took the netting off me cabbage cage - now part of it has unzipped so will need some sorting. Rain over the last days has been enough to preclude getting on the ground but it looks good - I dug most of my eight allotments early, in fact so early I've given a couple of areas another fork over, great for fluffying up the root zone. Everywhere had a lot of local council green waste compost last season so only the spuds will get the home produced heap this season.
Sorry about the big photo - can't seem to trim it. No long rooted veggie likes being transplanted or having it's tap root interfered with in any way whatsoever. If you just want a crop and don't mind a few forks or twisted roots fair enough but this is the ONLY way of getting superb show quality and it's still not guaranteed even with all this work.
40 gallon drums with top and bottoms cut out - I gave mine two coats of bitumen inside and green paint out - they are sat on sharp sand and filled with it too. I use a plug tool made from downpipe to make the holes - these are then carefully filled with very well sieved compost which I make myself after years of experiment - too rich and the roots will fork, not enough nutrients - they won't grow. Hand selected seed from an known exhibition variety - three of four to each position protected by plastic rings. Thinned to one at the third leaf stage - snipped off with scissors not pulled.
This is what I'm aiming for - I've been in the running but not quite that good - may be this year!!!
Just had this through from BioD Assoc. Thought it would be of interest:-
Look out for this on Youtube: Sean James Cameron ( TV
producer, filmmaker, gardener and founder of thehortchannel.tv ) chats
to our very own biodynamic garden expert Claire Hattersley and asks her
all about biodynamic gardening. Sean (also a member of the BDGC) will
release the video later this week. Head off to his YouTube Channel at www.youtube.com/user/thehortchanneltv - to find it plus a whole host of great gardening know-how videos. we are really looking forward to tuning in.
@biofreak , I’ve flagged that site to look at latter hope the carrot 🥕 works for you
@SporophyteBoy , best of luck with growing for championship , we enter the local village show , that as about as far as I go , to be honest o/h dose all the prep work
Spring is definitely coming , just having a cup of tea 🫖 in side conservatory , listening to the rain but the “buds “ are coming on the Hawthorn Hedge
Posts
I planted all our garlic and shallots in December and they're doing well. Today I've moved a rhubarb crown into a small, dedicated raised bed next to the water butts in the potager and given the bed 50 litres of horse poo - all helped by the chooks so now covered with a cold frame and cardboard round the edges to keep them off while it settles.
During the recent fruit days I finished transplanting red and black currants into a new fruit bed and today I've laid a seep hose all round that and covered it all up with chipped bark to keep chooks and sun off the hose and help retain moisture round the roots. Loads of "help" with that too.
Planning to sow spring onions in a window box tomorrow and then, if the promised downpour comes tomorrow morning while I have meetings online, I'll be able to go and weed and mulch a flower bed that's already feeling dry. Humph.
A few hours in garden tidying up each day and repaired gate post / wood store
Hoping to get to allotment this weekend
To cold for seed sewing in my opinion at moment
Had some clear skys so Full moons stood out
Weather is very up & down at moment
Sunday , fabulous sunny warm day , Monday rained all day and a frost overnight , Tuesday overcast but dry , today showers with Gail force winds ?
Still finding lots of jobs out side particularly at allotment , pruned fig tree , bark chippings on paths , repaired fence post etc etc
On a positive note , garlic 🧄 is coming up nicely and looks very healthy , got it from a specialist grower in Scotland
No growth from Autumn sewed Broad Beans , not looking good , so have prepared another bed for them just in case
Happy gardening now that spring is hear 🌸
Partly my fault for not attending it before but the strong winds before Christmas took the netting off me cabbage cage - now part of it has unzipped so will need some sorting.
Rain over the last days has been enough to preclude getting on the ground but it looks good - I dug most of my eight allotments early, in fact so early I've given a couple of areas another fork over, great for fluffying up the root zone. Everywhere had a lot of local council green waste compost last season so only the spuds will get the home produced heap this season.
Sorry about the big photo - can't seem to trim it. No long rooted veggie likes being transplanted or having it's tap root interfered with in any way whatsoever. If you just want a crop and don't mind a few forks or twisted roots fair enough but this is the ONLY way of getting superb show quality and it's still not guaranteed even with all this work.
40 gallon drums with top and bottoms cut out - I gave mine two coats of bitumen inside and green paint out - they are sat on sharp sand and filled with it too. I use a plug tool made from downpipe to make the holes - these are then carefully filled with very well sieved compost which I make myself after years of experiment - too rich and the roots will fork, not enough nutrients - they won't grow. Hand selected seed from an known exhibition variety - three of four to each position protected by plastic rings. Thinned to one at the third leaf stage - snipped off with scissors not pulled.
hope the carrot 🥕 works for you
@SporophyteBoy , best of luck with growing for championship , we enter the local village show , that as about as far as I go , to be honest o/h dose all the prep work
Spring is definitely coming , just having a cup of tea 🫖 in side conservatory , listening to the rain but the “buds “ are coming on the Hawthorn Hedge