Sunday, 15 March 2015

Accidental uglification of the garden

It turns out that horticultural fleece is not the most attractive addition to a garden. I am hoping that it will do what it says on the tin and keep the ground and the seeds in it warmer than they would be without it (much like adding an extra sheet or blanket to your bed, except the heat it keeps in doesn't come from a human  - or animal - body, I can only assume it helps the ground retain the heat of the sun).
The idea is that the extra warmth will let my seedlings germinate and grow faster and give them some protection against frosts, or at least the mild ones. As the fleece isn't pinned tight against the earth, the seedlings should be able to grow under it at least until they are a couple of inches in height.
The problem with the fleece as it stands at the moment is that the wind keeps blowing in under the edges, in the gaps between the rubble I've used to weight it down. I'm not so much worried that it's going to blow away, the chunks of rubble I've been collecting from my digging of the garden are heavy enough to allay my concerns. I'm more worried that letting cold air in every time the wind blows is going to decrease its effectiveness or possibly even render it useless. I'm contemplating using some of my bamboo sticks, themselves held down by the stones, to pin it down more effectively. On the other hand, I don't want my bamboo canes to rot. I'm going to need them for my garden plans. I have grand ideas of growing runner beans and peas, and I'm even expecting to need to stake the kale and the purple sprouting broccoli.

Tuesday, 10 March 2015

Cloche experiment - initial findings

The cloches have worked - at least on my radishes. I now have radishes growing under cloche in a not very sunny part of the garden. The biggest one is under the glass cloche.
But the plastic cloches also contained radish seedlings.
Bare earth didn't have any though.
The carrots haven't put up seedlings yet either, I guess radishes are hardier, especially as I think I put the carrots somewhere that gets more sun.