Sandgate Community Garden Team Diary Entry for 4th May: Pears, gooseberries, carrots, parsnips, calendular and borage.
The rain mentioned in the last newsletter seems to be in the dim and distant past. Since then the temperatures have soared so that it feels more like summer already rather than spring. Consequently it has meant extra watering and keeping a close eye on the smaller plants and pot plants. The rainfall for April was a sad 30.6 mm – the days of ‘April showers’ seem to have gone.
We had held off from sowing the carrots and parsnips directly into the ground because of the dry weather, however there comes a time when you need to take the plunge and get on with it or the window for sowing will be missed. It just means being mindful to water regularly or else the seeds may sprout then dry out and die. So we decided to go for it and the deed was done. We still have more carrots to sow in a raised bed, and it will be interesting to compare the two different sowing sites to see how they fare with carrot root fly. In theory the raised bed should do better, however time will tell.
As usual, watering took priority as a task and other jobs got pushed back. The weeds are making themselves known and of course will compete with the crops if we do not remove them, leaving little time to carry out the other jobs for the week.
On Saturday afternoon, after our gardening session we took ourselves off to Pent Farm for a picnic and a chance to see how things are growing there. We were joined by the farmer and his partner, which was very special, to be able to hear about the history of the farm and how the season is going. We are looking forward to seeing the cows out in the field next door very soon.
What’s next?
- Lettuce fleece needs removing
- Cut back the growth around the pond
- Finish sowing the carrots in the raised bed
- Take out the finished chard
This weeks update from the Sandgate Community Garden Diary.