A quick month-by-month summary of 2019….
January
- planted more garlic, possibly a bit late as quite a lot didn’t split into cloves, although I notice also quite a lot I failed to dig up and so it’s growing strong now (if in the wrong place!)
- mulched loads of beds with free manure, it wasn’t fully rotted and contained quite a bit of wood chip which was annoying throughout the year
February
- it was windy…
- I mulched gooseberries, including a layer of cardboard which helped through the year keeping weeds off
March
- started recording harvests each week, just out of interest
- sowed seeds undercover: chilies, lettuce, turnip (always get bed harvest of spring sown turnips, so won’t do that again)
April
- planted out broad beans, radish, lettuce under fleece
- storm Hannah, no damage
- pulled the last lot of leeks from the previous year
May
- a mix of sun and hailstones
- netted fruit for the first time, I won the battle against the birds
- harvesting beans, radish, rhubarb
- planted out parsnips, my first attempt at growing, having started them undercover
- first time of the year I needed to water
- first lot of strawberries which just kept on coming all through the summer
June
- so many strawberries!
- planting out most of seedlings that had been sown and growing undercover at home
- nearly lost carrots and parsnips due to what might have been flea beetle. Sprayed everything and covered with netting, thought that would be the end of carrots and parsnips. A sad day.
- lots of rain
- harvested garlic, a number of bulbs had not split, possibly due to mild weather. Decided to plant early next time.
- a lot of soft fruit picking, the first time from the plot, netting had made this possible
July
- pea harvest, need to plant a lot more next time
- really good potato harvest
- onion harvest
- super hot, temperature not falling below 20c even at night
- harvest of beetroot, beans etc..
August
- wind and rain, runner beans blown over
- created new woodchip entrance to plot
- finally some tomatoes, first time growing on the plot, they ended up doing better than the ones at home
- cucumbers, soon there would be cucumbers everywhere
- swede and turnips planted, expecting better harvest than the spring planted ones
September
- constant harvest of everything until later in the month when temperature fell and everything slowed down
- free soil off of freecycle, used to fill a new bed created where there was once a fence
- happy that cucumbers had finally stopped
October
- first lot of mulching with mushroom compost
- planted onion sets for over wintering, first time
- planted garlic, a lot earlier than last time
- planted out over winter broad beans
- very cold
November
- broad beans showing
- cabbages
- fresh manure, piled and covered, to be stored for a year
- harvest sprouts
December
- moved some of the paths along the side, moved chairs nearer to the apple tree
- first lot of parsnips pulled, thankful after a shaky start
- harvest leeks
- chopping overhanging tree branches
- planted some of last year’s garlic which had sprouted at home
post inspired by VegGrowerPodcast