After the introductory session and Lesson 1 on March 3, lessons will be weekly until the end of June.

Over the next few weeks and months we will be discussing plot renovation as most of you have your own plots.  The scale of renovation will depend on the sate of your plot. Read this article on PLOT RENOVATION first.

Radishes, spinach and potatoes

Broad beans

Sowing peas in a gutter.
Plant out radish modules if well rooted.  Cover with fleece.

Sowing lettuces and cabbages; planting out onion sets and seedlings if well rooted and the weather is ok

It is Easter Sunday so we may need to revise our plans

Inside: sow beetroot

Outside: plant potatoes, broad beans and pea gutter - all depending on the weather.

Inside:
Sow leeks in pot or next week
Prick out lettuce and cabbage seedlings into module trays.

2024 - very wet spring with slug damage

If sufficiently rooted, plant out beetroot, previously raised under cover, cover with fleece - left for a week
If sufficiently rooted, plant out lettuce previously raised under cover, cover with fleece - left for a week
'Pot on' three cabbages into 9cm pots.

Sow leeks if not done last week

Sow outdoor tomatoes

Inside
Sweetcorn - sow 8 modules - see article in crops.
Thin beetroot seedlings to no more than 4 or 5 per module.

Plant out beetroot seedlings if big enough - one row - see article in crops.  Maybe next week if still small.
Plant out other lettuce modules if big enough - problem of slugs if planted out too small.

Prick out outdoor tomatoes - next week?

Outside
Sow parsnips and carrots
Make brassica tunnel protection - water pipe hoops and rebar/canes

Build net tunnel for brassicas - see below - and support for broad beans if not done last week.

Plant early cabbage - three in a row
Prick out 12  outdoor tomatoes; more to do next week.
Sow inside in modules/trays: courgettes
Weed polytunnel edge border ready for planting next week.
Pick radishes before they go woody

See Week 9 - some jobs are for weeks 9 or 10 depending on the weather.

Sow runner beans and French beans in situ.

Sow runner beans and French beans in seed trays as spares

Pot up the courgettes that we sowed last week (or leave for another week or plant outside if well rooted?)

Sow squash

Plant out greenhouse crops in boder - a few examples of three tomatoes, melons and cucumber.

How are your sweetcorn? We may plant out or pot on.

Water your outside plants, particularly leafy vegetables and the rows of carrots and parsnips which will not germinate if the soil is too dry. 

Celeriac - modules may well be ready for us all to plant out or pot on.

Tomatoes - modules may well be ready for us all to plant out or pot on.

Plot and crop maintenance.

Plant out vegetables previously raised under cover - squash, courgettes - if ready.
Sweetcorn was planted last week

Sow Autumn brassicas - cabbages, calabrese and cauliflower

Sow turnips in row where radishes have been cropped.

Spray broad beans against blackfly

Remove side shoots of polytunnel tomatoes

Plot maintenance.

The forecast is for hot sunny weather so we aim to plant out what we can.

Plant out rest of cucurbits; they were potted on last week.

Plant outdoor tomatoes and stake firmly; tie to stake. Planted one with one to go next week - still need staking.

All crops have been sown apart from fennel which will be sown later.

We planted out some celeriac plugs and spare squash in the communal beds on Plot 251.

We pricked out some of the brassicas and letuce sown last week.  We have put them on the table outside the polytunnel.  More to do once they germinate.

Plot maintenance.

The direct sown runner beans are showing but we sowed some extras just in case.  The direct sown French beans are also showing; we have a tray in the polytunnel in case replacements are needed.

Check on blackfly and spray if necessary.

Catch up with any planting not yet completed - celeriac, cucurbits, leeks, parsnips.

Pot on spare cucurbits.

Prick out more brassicas if they have germinated.

Runner and French beans - add to your rows with spare seeds/seedlings if needed.

Plant second outdoor tomatoe and outdoor cucumber if ready.

Water plants where necesaary.

General plot maintenance

Check on weed growth on the plot we covered about eight weeks ago.

Open Day this week - a chance to show off to family, friends and other plot holders.

Check polytunnel crops and seedlings, including modules of brassicas and lettuces.
Deshoot tomato sideshoots

Watering is important in this heat wave.

Enjoy your lettuce.

Try lifting one of your potatoes - probably enough for a meal of salad potatoes although they will bulk up over the next few weeks.

Spray blackfly on broad beans.

Updated - 10/6/2023 ...

Complete any planting not done last week such as spare runner beans, French beans, squash, courgettes, outdoor toms and outdoor cucumbers.  Most are growing well, it might just be the odd person that needs to do this.

Keep on top of weeds and pests. Weeds on Plot 251 are growing well in places, particularly near the grass paths.  Hoe it all and, if time, fork out perennials.  If you have time to fork out oxalis please do NOT compost.  Better to hoe oxalis than do nothing. There is a blue container by my compost heap where I dump stuff such as oxalis to take to the tip.  Blackfly are spreading so we need a blitz!

Two of the brassicas are more than large enough to plant out - red cabbage and calabrese.  We'll plant the caulis next week.  The net tunnel has room for 4 rows with 2 or 3 plants per row; we already have cabbages forming one row.  They need the net protection from white butterfly catapillers as well as pigeons.

When you lift your first potatoes aim to create an open 1.2m wide row. We might sow carrots and beetroot here but not until next week.

When the spinach has finished, hoe and firm ready for more sowing/planting - probably lettuce modules next week and fennel after the solstice.  Try to leave the soil/roots in situ, even on the surface, rather than adding soil to the compost heap.  Allotment sites are notorious for having soil borne diseases, such as  club root on brassicas and white rot on onions so we try to avoid spreading such diseases via the heap.

We need to find a 30cm row to plant our leeks; some did this in the space created by lifting a couple of potato plants and others by using a spare 30cm space.

The polytunnel plants need attention, particularly removing the sideshoots which are threatening to take over!  Those in attendance can do this and I'll ask Jess to do a couple of before and after photos.

Harvest your lettuce regularly. Beetroot thinings can be harvested. There are herbs at the back of the plot which can be added to the salad bowl.

We planted some spare outdoor cucumbers and celeriac in the communal area of Plot 251.  Please water these new planting if you are up during the week.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RoqR6VyiJo 
Charles has a watering video from July last year.  He explains the principles behind his watering regime. In early June we still have a large store of water under the surface soil but the principles apply.  Concentrate on recent plantings and crops that are bulking up soon - broad beans, peas, beetroot, potatoes. 

Plant cauliflowers raised in modules and any other brassicas not planted last week.

Clear spinach to create space for new plantings.

Plant lettuce modules in any spare space.

Sow a row or two of carrots and a row of beetoots.

Sow a row of fennel next week; you will need a 30cm wide row.

Lettuce will soon go to seed so keep cropping. Feed your inner rabbit.

Harvesting and maintaining plots.
Catch up with jobs from previous weeks.

We plan to sow our Fennel seeds today, i.e. after the summer solstice - if sowing earlier the plants tend to 'bolt'. We will sow in a 30cm wide row.

All other plants should have been planted.

Monitor polytunnel tomatoes, melons and cucumbers.

We will visit Chris' plot, the original renovation plot, to move stones to the Wildlife plot.  We will try to visit other plots in this area.

Harvesting and maintaining plots.  Weeds tend to grow next to the plot edges and also on the paths bordering your beds so be particularly vigilant here.

Check on the cabbages that Alan has sown for us all.

Plot maintenance and lots to harvest.

Check polytunnel toms, etc

Field trip - visit other plots

Harvest harvest and weed. Peas and beans will soon lose their freshness, beetroot will go woody, etc. Once we get some warmer weather baby courgettes become marrows in a week.

We should have fennel and lettuce modules to plant this week, one row of each with six modules per row.  We might have enough for two rows.  Plant in any cleared ground but try to avoid planting close to path edges  - more slugs here.

Many crops have now finished so it is best to clear them to the compoat heap.
 
Encourage runner beans to climb the netting.
 
Squash - their stems can extend to many metres so try to keep them on your own plots, directing them to a cleared area if possible so the stems can root, rather than invading your neighbours'!

We have finished planting apart from an extra row of fennel and some green manure.

Squash - their stems can extend to many metres so try to keep them on your own plots, directing them to a cleared area if possible so the stems can root, rather than invading your neighbours'!

If you get blackfly on runner beans spray with soapy water as we did with broad beans.

French beans should be ready; pick them when they are young when they will also add a bit of crunch to salads.

Harvesting and plot maintenance will be the main jobs from now on. 

We hope to have some 'field trips' to other plots and extra lessons on preserving veg and cooking with celeriac.

Harvesting and plot maintenance will be the main jobs from now on.

We hope to have some 'field trips' to other plots and extra lessons on preserving veg and cooking with celeriac.

Early - mid August - pruning apples and dome soft fruit.

TBC - buildings a wormery

TBC - making compost from woodchips