My Tiny Plot

So I was sent this totally cool label maker back in October last year. As you know in Autumn there’s not really much sowing going on so I only managed to break it out of its box earlier this year. I did look at its crazy-looking interface and it did cross my mind that it might be a little complex for My Tiny Plot’s needs. But actually, as it turns out, I was wrong. If it’s growing then I’ve made a label for it.

I do love my wooden seed tags. And I do like to give my garden that ‘Victorian kitchen garden’ look. Call me old-fashioned but that’s the way we roll here. So I’ve found that I don’t use the printer to make labels for the main garden. But what I do use it for is to label all the seedlings in my coldframe, indoor sowings, and in the seed bed. And it’s brilliant!

It works like a typewriter, you type in the type of vegetable and then the variety. You can even opt to date stamp everything if you like. Then you choose a text size and hit the print key. The label comes out as a sticker and you can then add it to all kinds of different plant labels: the stick it in the soil type or even the wrap it around a branch type that you get on fruit trees.

And…I’m sorry to say that the poor old label maker has spent the whole Winter in my dark and damp potting shed but it still functions! I was actually in shock when I switched it on.

The printer itself is quite affordable (£24.95 ex VAT) but it looks like the plant labels are quite expensive (similar price!). You could cut up a milk bottle to make strips of plastic and stick the labels to that I suppose.

Anyway, in an effort to be transparent I will say that I’m not being paid to say this – although I think I should :) But the printer was sent to me for free. And hey, if you get something for free then you’re always a bit more inclined to like it aren’t you.

Anyway, I thought I’d let you see my new toy and ask you how you label up your seedlings?

My forced Rhubarb is ready – hooray! How do I know? Well as you can see the forcing has been a success and the forcing pot works a treat. Each of the crowns has sprouted and the leaves are nearly to the top of the forcing pot.

Percy Thrower says to remove the forcing pot now and harvest the Rhubarb because if I leave it on any longer I might exhaust the plant. I can’t force the plant again for two years as it needs time to recover so I’m hoping this harvest is worth it!

Here is my Masterplan for 2010. I didn’t do one in 2009 so I thought I’d better do one this year.

There are a few things to note. Firstly, my tiny plot is roughly 13.5 metres long by 8 metres wide. Just to give you an idea of scale. I don’t really do crop rotation in the ‘correct’ sense. I try to keep the Brassicas in the same group each year and I also try to put the Carrots, Parsnips, Onions and Shallots together. But other than that I can’t really ‘do’ rotation because not all of my four beds have the luxury of full sun.

If My Tiny Plot was in the openess of a lovely allotment then I probably could but we’re positively hemmed in here. I have an 8-foot wall on the left side and a hedge of a similar height on the other. All of this produces a predictably sunny side and a depressingly shaded area.

Of course I ‘could’ try to rotate everything but when the Tomatoes and Sweetcorn ended up on the shady side then we wouldn’t be eatin’ no Sweetcorn that year, if you catch my drift. So with the delicate sun lovers (Toms, Sweetcorn, Melon, Squash etc) I rotate them between the two beds on the left.

My south-facing wall on the left is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. It’s the only reason I’m able to grow Peaches and Grapes. My coldframe is a new addition this year (it was finished as the end of the season last year) so I’m really only getting to make full use of it now. I’ll be using it to bring up seedlings until my Melon plant gets too big and out grows everything else.

I absolutely love Lettuce and I always grow too much. I like to make huge salads full of great mixtures of interesting leaves and I also like to give it away to my friends. So the two measly patches of Lettuce that I’ve indicated on the plan are clearly a lie. What will actually happen is that I will grow more than that but I will shove it in wherever there is space. I’ll have Lettuce seedlings growing in the coldframe and when I harvest one from the main plot, or create space somewhere else I will plant a new Lettuce plant.

The other thing to point out is that all the flowers in the garden are for cutting. They don’t hang around very long and so I like to go for varieties that will self renew, like Cornflower and Calendula and Sweetpeas (they will be in with the Runner Beans). But I also have Tulips and Echinacea that will come up every year too.

As you’ll notice I’ve put far too much effort into what really only needs to be a scribbled plan. What can I say – I’m in love with my garden, and when you love someone…

Click here for a super-duper, okay slightly bigger, version.

I sowed some more Peas in lengths of guttering today – why? because the last two sowings didn’t even bother to appear! They just rotted, in situ. Humph! I’ve never really had this problem before. In 2008 I was transferring them into the ground by April 6th! And I can’t even look at the 2007 photo.

I’ve been doing my Peas in this way for nearly five years now and every time I’ve had no problem.

Yes, this Winter has been cold. And yes, the growing season has been set back about two or three weeks (I’d say). I only have to look at the tight buds on my Peach tree to see that we’re not at the same stage we were this time last year.

But Peas? They’re normally such stalwarts. Anyway, I’ve switched seed just incase it’s a bad batch and I’m crossing my fingers for this sowing. I can’t be missing out on my Minted Peas, it’s just not an option.

Is anyone else having problems with germination? Or is it just me…

I’ve been thinking about writing a book for a while. My problem was that I didn’t know what to write about. I felt like the world didn’t need another ‘what to plant when’ book. My shelves are already heaving under the strain of maybe 30 books that say the same thing, over again.

So I decided not to write a gardening book but to write and illustrate a children’s book about gardening – specifically vegetable gardening.

When my world was turned upside down in 2008 and I had Jackson, the focus of my life changed in a way I had not really expected. I now started to see everything with reference to Jackson and future generations. For instance, before Jackson was born I was just growing vegetables because it was my hobby and I liked to do it (nothing wrong in that). Now, I’m doing it so that he will be able to experience the taste of home grown vegetables and be able to recognise the difference between a Carrot and a Parsnip.

I started to wonder how I would help him learn about growing vegetables and decided that a story with himself as the lead character would do the trick. So I wrote Jackson’s Garden. In it he is the head gardener and is very good at sowing and growing and watering his seedlings. Occasionally, he will encounter creatures that inhabit his garden; snails, bees, butterflies, ladybirds and worms. He learns how these help or hinder him in his efforts to grow and in the process how to be kind to them – yes even the snails!

At first I thought I would only print one book for Jackson but then I realised that other people might find it useful too. So I decided to self-publish it (book publishers take too long and might not have taken it anyway). And I started to draw my own website (above). Now, Jackson’s Garden, book 1 is being printed as we speak (eek!). I haven’t seen the finished article yet and I’m very nervous about it. But when it arrives it will be available to buy via the Jackson’s Garden website. It won’t be expensive. I’m not doing it to become a publishing mogul, I’m just looking to cover costs and make enough to print book 2.

Each book will come in a cute little box, packed with straw and tied with garden twine, with either a free packet of seeds…

… or some cool stickers.

Please, let me know what you think. If you think it’s a good idea, whether kids will like it, ideas for stories or how you think I can get the word out about it. Any input is greatly appreciated. Anyway, I hope you like it and as Jackson would say, ‘Yey!’

I took delivery of my brand new Tayberry (a cross between a Raspberry and a Blackberry) from Victoriana Nursery yesterday. I’m super excited about growing my first Tayberry. I have literally run out of space for permanent plantings so I’m attempting to grow it in a pot.

Don’t worry it’s a big pot and it will sit right on my south-facing wall so I’ve no doubt that it will do well there.

Ever since I went to The Lost Gardens of Heligan a few years ago and saw this Tayberry I have wanted to grow one. I’m hoping that if I train it up a wall I will be able to make it look as beautiful as this one.

Tayberries, apparently, will tolerate shade and inferior soil but like most fruit they prefer rich soil and full sun. The only soil they may not tolerate is light chalky soil. They fruit on this year’s growth so pruning is pretty simple – once each cane has fruited, cut it out and more fruiting canes will grow next year.

Ideally, I would have planted it back in October so that it would settle in before the growing season but up to the end of March is okay too. The advice was to keep the crown of the roots level with the soil surface so that’s what I did. After planting cut back to one good bud about 30cm (12in) high. This was already done for me so I left it as it came.

Fingers crossed for some juicy, Raspberry-ish with a hint of Blackberry, fruit come Summer. Yey!

It’s time to dig out my heated propagator and start sowing some of the more delicate plants, like Tomatoes and Chilli Pepper in order to give them the best chance possible to get big and strong before I plant the out in early Summer. Tomatoes and Chillis in particular need the longest growing season I can possibly give them. So as soon as the light levels started to increase I decided to start sowing.

I find it quite useful to use a wooden stirring stick (donated by Starbucks) to cover my seeds with compost. They’re smaller than a dibber and are perfect for close work like sowing seeds.

Then I always make sure to water the seeds from below, rather than above so as not to dislodge the seeds.

I must admit I’m not a big fan of heated propagators. They do their job alright but they’re so ugly! I really don’t want something that ugly on my kitchen windowsill. Plus, no matter what I do, the condensation always leaks out. So the whole thing ends up sitting in a pool of water most of the time :(

Does anyone have a better looking one than the bog-standard black plastic tray with clear plastic lid?

Well, I don’t know about you but I’m raring to go with the sowing already! I’ve ordered my seeds, polished my dibber and I’ve even cleared up the leaves. It’s show time. We’re fast approaching the time of year that every vegetable gardener loves, Spring. The weather is sunnier, the garden is calling and it’s all down to you to get to the seeds sown so that you can reap the rewards later. I’m so excited I could pop!

This month’s photo mission is all about sowing. So get out there and take photos that say ‘it’s nearly Spring so get your booty out into the shed and sow my friend’.

Whether it’s a photo of you actually sowing seed,

preparing the pots,

or sorting your seed tags. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that your photo says ‘sow’.

Our prize this time comes from the super-cool, urban gardeners over at Seed Pantry. It’s a mega-stylish Window Salads seed kit worth £14.99 each, with eight packs of seed including: Rocket, Radishes, Chillies, Lettuce (Lolla Rossa & Salad Bowl), Basil, Parsley and Spring Onions.

As we can’t send seeds outside the EU winners from outside that area will receive this set of coir pots instead. Still very cool! And don’t forget to sign up to the Seed Pantry newsletter for great hints and tips on how to sow and grow. Again thanks to SP for their generosity and making our competition just a little bit (erm a lot…) more competitive :)

Send your entries to gill@carsonified.com by Friday 19th March. GOOD LUCK!

About three weeks ago I posted this photo of my coldframe brimming with over-Wintering Lettuce. Since then the Lettuce has continued to grow, albeit slowly. Today, I decided to thin out some of the Lettuce as they were getting a little crowded. So I took out about half the original number. This sadly means I only have four or five of each variety (Winter Gem & Winter Density) but they’ll be bigger and healthier heads now.

The plants that were left I firmed in a little and gave them a little water. They should be all set now for their forthcoming growth spurt. I’m already looking forward to my first Spring salad. I even sowed some Radish alongside them which will hopefully be ready at the same time. Ahhh! It’s good to be back.

Goodbye Anna Maria. We’re travelling back to the UK today after a wonderful family holiday. It’s been one of the most amazing holidays I’ve been on. Idyllic location, fun times with family and totally relaxing. This is our pet Heron. He comes every day to fish off the deck here. This morning he was up super early to say goodbye to us. We’ll miss you buddy! See you next year :)

I’m sure the weather will be very different at home but I’m excited to get going with the new growing season. After seeing all the beautiful gardens here I’m raring to get back and start some sowing! And I’m eager to see how my coldframe seedlings are doing and whether my Peach frame is still standing :) I guess I’ll find out soon!