Whilst lying in bed one morning last week something popped up! It suddenly struck me what the problem might be and it's the octopus above that gave me the answer. When I pulled it virtually the whole of the compost 'cone' in the borehole came up with it and it was absolutely dust dry despite all the rain we had recently had.
I'm now thinking the answer may be to water the mix slightly before filling the boreholes. I've always dribbled the mix into the bore holes dry and assumed that by watering the surface the whole bore hole mix would be wetted. If you've ever tried to water compost that has really dried out you will know how difficult it can be, and if you scratch down the top few centimetres you will very often see that it is still dry beneath. I think the compost in all my bore holes, for stumps and long carrots, were just too dry a few inches down despite my watering them during and after germination. I know a few growers will water their mix and add a dash of liquid nutrimate so I will do something like this next season....not too much that it is too wet as I want to be able to sprinkle it easily into the boreholes, but just enough that it won't dry out completely as it evidently did this season.
At Derby David Thornton's allotment buddy Charles Cooper actually beat him in the class for 3 long carrots (much to Dave's annoyance...it was very funny!) and Charles insisted I took his winning set of three and try to grow them on for my own seed. To do this you cut the top 4 inches or so off thus......
......and plant them in a large bucket of compost thus. With a little luck I shall be harvesting my own strain of champion seed next summer with a view to growing these on for show in Olympic year 2012. These are in my greenhouse and will be left to their own devices over winter.
This weekend I am really looking forward to driving up to Scotland for the annual seminar of the Scottish Branch of the National Vegetables Society where Sherie Plumb will be giving a talk on growing potatoes for show. Ian Simpson will be also lecturing on growing peas to show standard which is a good job as I have duly vowed that I will become National pea champion at Llangollen in 2011, thus ending a six thousand year reign by Scottish growers.
In the past I have always managed to grow excellent show standard peas.......in early July! Getting them to look good at the end of August in England is a whole different proposition so I need to learn quickly. God loves a trier!
Again, I would urge anyone remotely interested in growing for show to join the NVS as I will hopefully be getting furnished with a few seeds of championship winning strains of long beet and peas whilst I am at the seminar. I'm always gob-smacked at the generous nature of fellow growers who are often champions at National level and who fall over themselves to give you advice and goodies! Where else do you find that sort of thing in this day and age?
7 comments:
Make sure you pick up my order and if there are any goodies not on the list get me some ill pay you when i come for the other stuff
we could meet when you pick up your leeks in Dec you are welcome to stay if you need to
Soon as I saw your octopus pic I thought - soil's dried out at some point- cos it's happened to me. Wee factoid - 1" of water will penetrate 9" deep. Have fun in sunny Dundee but wrap up well.
simon it seems to me that water again seems to play a big part in anything you grow and i must admit that when i grow flower plants i used to have a lot of problems until i realised that all plants vary quite a lot as to the amount of water they need.(You will be aware of this your self)if this will help in any way i sugest you try as i have mentioned befor, and that is to use water gel,I do not intend to tell you how to do things or even question your knowledge but with a little bit of exsperience that i have i have found that using gel mixed with water that has not got chloride in it works wonders and you can be sure that your compost will always be on the damp side. i used this metthod in my green house on my onions and tomatoes. give it a try you never know untill you find out for your self.
"Whilst lying in bed one morning last week something popped up!"
Really?
Yes Richard. But Leesa told me to put it back into my pyjamas and to turn my balaclava round!
Paul.....no probs. I think there will be quite a few other things to purchase. Not sure when I'll be picking the leeks up but thanks for the offer.
Wiz.....the seminar is actually in Penicuik wherever that is!
Geoffo.....I wouldn't put the gel in my carrot mix. It's a fine line we walk with carrots as we only want sufficient moisture to entice the roots down but i'll certainly be trying the gel in my spud bags.
What about a strong, deep tray of shingle under the barrels. If the trays are carefully watered, I would suggest the roots would gallop towards them in pretty much a staight line, rather like a big pot saucer.
Not really a viable option.... Tray would have to huge to fit my barrels.
Get back to yer photografitiing!
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