Week 52+5 - Bed PC4

We finally cleared everything out of the bed, and very little of it was worth taking home. We have started to double dig this bed, removing quite a bit of rock, and will add a lot of fertility before planting anything else. We are able to work with this sandy soil almost any time of the year without worrying about ruining the structure, instead of having to wait until the soil dries up, as is the case with less free draining soil.

Week 52+5 - Bed PC3

The leeks did not grow much more over the depth of winter. The ones we harvested are reasonable diameter (given the late planting and transplanting) but they could have been transplanted deeper to get a longer blanched base - which is the part we want to eat.

Week 52+5 - Bed DD8

Some of the greens have suffered a bit through the cold weather we have had. We did not put up a polytunnel as we had planned, which would have really helped the lettuce in the foreground.

The mizuna is thriving and we have been harvesting continuously.

Several of the rocket plants are starting to bolt, something that normally happens in the summer, but is possibly due to the hard frosts, or simply because of the age of the plants - they generally only produce for a few months.

The Pak Choi is also bolting, probably due to the lack of protection.

The spinach is still producing leaves, but it looks a little ragged.

The chard plants are growing slowly.

Week 52+5 - Bed DD6

The plants in this bed have weathered the hard winter well.

No one has harvested any of the sprouts, and the oldest ones at the bottom of the plant have started to open up and are past their prime. The newer sprouts higher up the plant are ready to eat.

Once some of the older outer leaves were removed the Siwss Chard plants look well with the tender younger leaves providing welcome fresh greens in the late January diet.

Week 52+5 - Bed DD5

We have been harvesting quite a bit out of these beds over the past few weeks. The curly kale in the foreground continues to sprout masses of leaves. The Purple Sprouting Broccoli has produced a few central flower stalks - one of the best treats late winter! The Thousand Headed kale at the far end of the bed has produced an enormous amount of foliage. Although not as tender as some of the other types of kale, this variety produces numerous large shoots that can be harvested whole.

Week 52+5 - Bed DD4

Eight weeks after sowing, the broad beans are growing well. Several of the seeds have failed to germinate, or have been pulled up by birds, and will be resown once the soil warms up. Notice the soil compaction and capping due to the heavy rains, and the signs of pooling of water in the paths.

Some of the seedlings have started to develop their third pair of leaves.


We dug up one of the seedlings to have a look, and the root system is already well developed and reaches at least 15cm down into the soil. No nitrogen fixing nodules are visible yet.

Week 52+5 - Bed DD3

We have been harvesting leeks aver the past few weeks, especially from the north end of the bed (top of photo).

Week 52+5 - Bed DD2

12 weeks after planting, the garlic is up and growing well. The section at the south end of the bed has been damaged by something, either trampled by a dog or a bird pulled out the bulbs. This area can eb planted with something else later in the spring.

The third leaves are starting to show on some of the plants. Notice how the soil surface has been compacted by the heavy rains, producing a hard cap that has started to crack.

Week 52+5 - Bed EX6

The hardy brassicas have been unaffected by the winter frost, wind and rain, except for a few plants that are leaning a bit more.

The Thousand Headded Kale has produced a huge number of strong shoots that can be harvested and cooked whole (though they tend to be a bit tough)

This Purple Sprouting Broccoli plant had it's central flower bud harvested weeks ago and has now produced a great secondary crop of shoots.

The Gortahork Cabbage has grown very big and we harvested it today. The head was not as full and compacted on the inside as we had expected, but this might be common for this variety.

Some of the sprouts have been harvested but there are still more to eat.

Week 52+5 - Bed EX5

The cabbage in the foreground is finally starting to produce a head, though it will still take a while before it firms up. The Swiss Chard is has looking rough after the hard frosts, heavy rains and wind of the winter.

One of the small savoy cabbages has started to bolt. Although it will not produce a head of cabbage, the immature flower heads can be picked similar to sprouting broccoli.

Week 52+5 - Bed EX4

Twelve weeks after sowing, and a fair amount of hard rain and wind, the peas are growing under the protection of the fleece.

But the fleece seems to have caused damage to the young pea leaves, probably mostly due to abrasion caused by wind. A lot fair amount of moss has gown on the surface of the soil under the cover as well. It seems that the fleece may have caused more damage than good.

We dug up one of the pea plants to examine the progression. All of the plant below the first leaf was underground, stretching to a depth of 20 cm. But more importantly nodules have started to form on the roots! It seems we have succeeded in inoculating the soil with beneficial nitrogen fixing bacteria that is specific to peas and beans!

Week 52+5 - Bed EX3

All that remains of the parsnips is the dried stems of the leaves, and they could easily be forgotten about.

The leeks seem to have grown now that they are not overshadowed by the parsnip, and they are ready for harvesting.

A few of the tops of the parsnip are visible and the first new growth of leaves has started. The roots should be harvested and eaten soon before the leaves use up the store of energy and nutrients.

Week 52+5 - Bed EX2

The onions and garlic have grown slowly but steadily over the winter. Some of the bulbs have been pulled up, probably by birds, leaving gaps in the rows. Even if we had additional bulbs remaining it would be too late to plant these varieties.

The heavy rains over the winter damaged the texture of the soil, creating a hard crust which causes water to run off the bed instead of soaking in. The cracking of the crust can be seen in this (blurry) photo of the young onion plant.

The garlic plants are growing fairly well but are not as large as the onions.

Week 52+5 - Bed EX1

Much of the grass that was piled on this bed has taken root and is growing well. This makeshift cover crop and will be adding fertility to the bed when dug in later in the spring.