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Hartley.
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The Sale & Planting Out.
As we have for several years now, we had our Annual Fundraiser Plant
Sale early on in May. The Season really starts in April for most people,
but a long time ago we said that as the Tender Plants don’t go out until
May and we could only get a pound or so for a Tray of Cabbages and the
like, we could easily get a Pound or even 2 for a good little Tomato
Plant, Courgette, Cucumber, etc. These would therefore be a lot more
financially efficient to grow and make better use of limited space in my
Greenhouse. I do also have the use of a small Plot on the Allotments
though where I can grow the Trees and Garden Plants which makes things a
lot easier for me. There is even a little space on the same Plot for me
to grow some Cut Flowers for my Neighbours and to give to the Village
Hall occasionally to help with their Fundraisers.
On the day of the Sale the weather started off a bit overcast and
threatening, but it was OK, when we actually got started. There was also
a short Road Closure which we felt reduced the Sales a bit from passing
trade. However, I did lots of Pre-sales to Plot Holders, their family
and Friends which gave the total for the event a boost. Indeed, the
total that I raised from this was more than ever before. I did feel that
on the day, we sold most of the Plants more cheaply than we have in the
past, but we had more to sell than ever before so it didn’t really
matter, and I have always said, “If people think they are getting a
bargain they will come back again another time even if they lose the odd
Plant.”
When we decided to clear up, we contacted another, small, local Charity
who were planning to have a fundraiser, in the next village, the next
week, to see if they wanted some of our Leftovers. Within minutes two
ladies came down and filled up their cars along with another Ex
Plot-holder with whom we had previously arranged for him to have some
plants. Between them, we were only left with half a Trailer and one
carload to go back to the site from the Village Hall.
It seems that the next week both groups did well with their sales as
well. We raised over £900 in total and one of the other groups raised
about £400 with a little help from us!
It is always a lot of hassle taking the Plants down to the Village Hall
and back again afterwards, but we have tried having the Sale on the
Allotments and didn’t get anywhere near the same attendance. However,
this time, I did say that bearing in mind the fantastic total of
Pre-sales, we could perhaps, do things a little differently in future.
Perhaps I could make a bit more of an effort on the Pre-sales and not
actually have a Sale at the Village Hall at all. I am not saying that we
would make it like a Garden Centre on the Site, but we might have a
regular time when People could go up to the site to buy Plants. It is
sort of what I did this time as I often arranged to meet people up there
at a set time to sell them things. We have talked in the past about the
possibility of having a Shop on the Site in the same way that one
Allotment site in a nearby town does and with that in mind we did erect
a large storage shed a couple of years ago. So, perhaps we will go a bit
more in that direction in the future.
After the Sale there was a lot of clearing up on my Allotment of the
poorer specimens that weren’t good enough to go to the sale. I decided
to throw out some of the Trees that were left, were Pot-Bound and
looking in a bad way, and replace them with younger Specimens that I had
growing on. The next job was weeding all the Beds where Plants had been
standing and some general tidying up. Next, I re-potted a lot of smaller
Shrubs and Trees into bigger Tubs to grow on ready for the Autumn Sale,
or even next Springs Sale. People don’t realise just how long some of
the Trees and Bushes need to grow, into anything suitable for sale, from
Seedlings and Cuttings. With that in mind I have also started potting on
lots of Seedlings of Herbaceous Perennials that I had germinated in my
Greenhouse earlier on in the Season. I had been holding them back a bit
until the Beans, Tomatoes, Courgettes, etc went to the Sale after which
I would have more space for them. Normally, each Spring, after the
Staging has been emptied, I would remove most of it and Pot up 4
Tomatoes into 12 inch Pots to grow on. However, this year I have decided
not to do Tomatoes like this in my Greenhouse. I feel that it takes too
much effort and cost, with too little reward. So, instead, I have
decided to put one on my Allotment. Occasionally, in the past I have
done this, but with the warmer Summers that we seem to be getting now,
it may do better. I do think that it is better to Plant Cherry Tomatoes
outside though, if they are of a suitable variety, as they ripen much
better than the larger fruited types. If you put in Plants that have
large Fruits, you usually end up with a lot of green fruit at the end of
the season that is only good for Chutney as hardly any will have ripened
before the weather changes. Freeing up my Greenhouse like this will also
enable me to grow lots of Perennial Seedlings for use in our future
sales. Indeed, according to a few of the Packets of Seeds, a lot of the
young Plants should mature in one Season. The rest will come good in the
second year, and as they grow on, they will go outside anyway thus
freeing up more space in my greenhouse - over winter especially.
Back on my Allotment, around the middle of May, I sowed my Runner Bean
Seeds directly into the ground. As of writing this there is not much
sign of them coming up so I am going to resow some seed in Trays in my
Greenhouse. They never seem to go right through the Season to the Autumn
and always finish cropping early, so starting late won’t really matter.
It can be a bit hit and miss sowing Beans directly into the ground
though, not only from a germination point of view, but also Mice love to
eat them! I did sow my Dwarf French Beans in a large Tray in my
Greenhouse, so those were transplanted out into a space that I had ready
for them next to my Bean Canes. This means that the Beans are all in one
Bed which will make it easier to keep track of things for “Crop
Rotation,” as the Seasons go round.
Eventually, I also planted out some other tender things like Mashua,
Yacon, Cape Gooseberries, Cucamelon and Gladiola. We did still get the
Odd cold night through to the middle of May which delayed a lot of
Planting until the end of May, the same as it did last year and
afterwards, this year, we had a Mini-Heatwave during which it wasn’t
advisable to Plant anyway! Indeed, the ground baked rock hard as we had
record Temperatures for May!
The few odd cold nights earlier on in May were not cold enough to take
the Potato Tops, but I have a Friend who always says that he leaves his
planting out until June! Everybody is always so keen to get planting as
each season starts, but there is no real hurry as our Autumns seem to be
starting later each year as well as our Springs starting earlier.
Indeed, even most of our Winters are mild enough now anyway that, with a
little care, you can leave many things like Dahlias outside all year
round. Perhaps planting deep, or a covering of something like Bark
Chippings, will get a lot of otherwise tender things through the colder
months for most people now.
My Squash, Courgettes, etc were intended to be planted onto my 2 Compost
Heaps, so, as we neared the end of May, I set to and tidied them up. One
was a traditional “English,” style, free standing Heap and the other was
an experimental Hügelkultur Bed. After I had finished “weeding,” both of
them, and also the surrounding bed, I planted them up. To do this I made
little planting holes which I filled with a large hand full of soil. A
good watering and the Plants were left to get on with it. I think I will
have to keep an eye on the Watering for them though, until they really
get going, and also the plan is to “Mulch,” round them with Grass
Cuttings. The Grass will help retain moisture, give them a bit more of a
feed and help to suppress weed growth, but it will be interesting to see
how the two beds do in comparison to each other.
Apart from potting up Herbaceous Perennials I have done some more Tree
Seedlings. The many Seedlings that I raised last year are making nice
little Trees now, a couple of feet high, or more, but I decided that
there were other varieties that might be beneficial to our cause. A
friend gave me some tiny Acer Seedlings that had grown naturally in her
Garden from Seeds that had dropped from her mature Tree. What they will
end up looking like I don’t know as Seedlings from cultivated specimens
like this often don’t come true to type and may well be completely
different from their Parents, because their Genetics aren’t usually
stable. I have also grown some Plums from “Stones,” and Dwarf Eucalyptus
from a bought packet of Seeds as well as some Horse Chestnuts that were
now big enough to pot on. On TV, a while ago, I saw one of the Gardening
Experts extolling the virtues of our wild Hawthorn Trees. He said that
they were a much under-rated Tree that deserved to be planted in a lot
more Gardens. He pointed out that they are a relatively small Tree
suited to smaller back Gardens whereas they are usually only planted as
part of a Hedge. In Spring they are covered in masses of very pretty,
white Blossom that is later followed by bright, red Berries. Being
Native Trees our Wildlife loves them whereas imported varieties of trees
often hold no interest for our Insects or Birds, although, there are a
few Hybridised varieties of Hawthorn available. One has a larger Berry
that is fit for Humans to eat and there is a very pretty, red flowered
type. 
Another TV Gardener pointed out that a “Pollarded,” Willow also looks
great grown as a specimen and constantly cutting it stops it from
getting too big as well as potentially providing you with lengths of
Willow to use in your Garden for Weaving. However, it is important to be
aware that although the top might be kept under control, the roots will
still run and may cause problems with nearby foundations. On the other
hand, with our changing climate, perhaps we should be getting away from
Native Species of Trees and Plants and instead start looking at Plants
that may be more suitable for our changing weather conditions.
 
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