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Plough
Field Allotments at Amerton
Gardening
Tips
By Mrs FM
Hartley.
Unusual
& Old
Fashioned Fruit
Trees.
Unusual
Vegetables,
Herbs & Other
Edible Plants.
Environmental
Issues And Going Green.
Vines
And Other Climbing Plants.
Fish
Ponds
Books
By
Alan J Hartley
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Starting
Year 11.
For some weeks now I have been
working, on and off, towards the Plant Fundraiser Sales Day that is
tentatively planned for our 10 year celebration in May. With this in
mind I have been gradually gathering together suitable plants and
potting them up. Last Spring, when I was growing a lot of Plants to be
donated to the charity where I was working at the time, I started to run
short of Plant Pots of all sizes but especially small ones and I had to
make an appeal, by Email, to plot-holders, for any old pots they could
donate. Many were keen to dispose of Pots as they are difficult to
re-cycle because they can’t go in with the normal Wheelie Bin Recycling.
This time I made a point of collecting as many small ones as I could, in
plenty of time, from various people and then thought I might run out of
larger pots to put all of the Rhubarb and small fruit bushes in. A lady
plot holder then came to my rescue when she had a clear out of her shed
and brought me bag after bag of pots of all sizes.
Thinking I would have
enough I didn’t worry too much after that until another friend told me
his Brother and Sister-In-Law were downsizing from their house to a
bungalow and were clearing out their sheds and Green House. Now, I am
reluctant to admit it, but think that I have far more pots than I will
need for the spring! Not only do I have more than enough Pots, but they
also gave me dozens of 6 and 10 packs as well that will come in very
handy for things like Cabbages, Chard and Beetroot. As a result of their
clear out, I also obtained a few more Tools, a Paraffin Green House
Heater and a small pair of folding metal steps, as well as a few metal
sweet and biscuit tins that are ideal for plot holders to store their
seeds in. These are being added to the assortment of tools that I have
already collected to go on the Tool Rummage Stall that has been proposed
at the Fundraiser.
It is not my thing, although I do a bit of Cooking, but I am hoping
somebody is going to provide some Jars of Homemade Jams and Chutneys
from last Seasons Harvests, that can also have a little stall. I am
keeping my fingers crossed that we can put together a little stall of
second hand Gardening Books as well and all things being equal we may
even be able to have a Barbeque. At the moment it is our intention to
open up the day to the general villagers to show off the allotments a
bit in the hopes that we can inspire a few more to become Plot Holders
and join our ranks, or at least, go on the waiting list.
Back to my Allotment now - I don’t actually harvest my Liquorice plant
every year and didn’t this, but instead let its root system build up
ready to get a good crop of roots (If that is the right way to put it!)
for next year. However, while doing a bit of weeding and tidying up
around the main plant, I decided to dig out 2 large, offsets from it. In
doing this, a decent length of fairly thick root came out as well, so I
divided it up into half a dozen short lengths of root that I made into
“Root Cuttings.” I have taken cuttings from the same plant before like
this. They do take a time to throw up shoots, but are usually quite
successful if they are placed flat in shallow compost in a seed tray and
not allowed to get too wet. Young Liquorice plants do need a bit of
protection in the Winter, so they went into my Greenhouse where the
warmth will encourage them to root. Liquorice plants aren’t the earliest
of plants to leaf up in the Spring either, so a bit of added warmth will
help to bring them into full growth a bit earlier in preparation for the
Fundraiser, in May, that they are intended for. I know we are only just
into Winter, but it won’t last long and it will soon be time for me to
sow a few other things in preparation for May. A number of Jerusalem
Artichokes have already been potted, although they could have been done
at
any time going into and throughout February, and I will soon dig up
and pot some Oca tubers. Like the Artichokes, they will stay in the
ground all Winter if needs be, before, either being harvested, or left
in the ground to grow on for a new crop in the new season. At the end of
January, or start of February, I will be sowing some Parsley seed as
they are slow to develop as are the Cape Gooseberries which, given the
chance, will grow into a normal sized fruit bush before the end of the
new Season. Also in February, I will be sowing some Parsnips, but these
will go straight into the ground and be just for myself as it is not
recommended to transplant them. Some of the hardier Brassicas can also
go in about then, but for the Fundraiser I will sow them much later, or
else they will get too big in the Trays. As we get much nearer to May I
will start sowing all sorts of other things in my Green House that don’t
need so long to grow as well such as; Beetroot, Turnips and Tomatoes and
even later on; Runner and French Beans, Courgettes, Cucumbers and Squash
that need it a lot warmer.
 
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