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

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post inspired by VegGrowerPodcast