Yellow Alliums. June 2018

Transcription

1 June 2018 The Bridge Garden Newsletter No 13 Extremely Busy time in the garden... Monday June 4 th This really is the time of the year where as a grower it is full steam ahead all the threats of frost have passed and it is full steam ahead in the garden. Seed sowing is a major priority now the soil is warm and provided the ground is kept moist then seeds will germinate quickly. Certain crops that are quicker growing like salad crops need to be sown on a successional basis so that there is a continual supply of leaves, also with the hot temperatures, consistent watering is needed... The planting work that has been Spectacular Alliums... done as part of the entrance areas leading up to the school feature lots of grasses that are growing really well plus there are lots of alliums that are all out in flower... We have lots of alliums growing in The Bridge Garden indeed some of these alliums are spectacular... On the left you can see some miniature alliums that are a bright yellow colour, with the taller purple Alliums growing next to the smaller yellow flowering variety, we have a real contrast of colours... Yellow Alliums

2 More sensory garden planting done today... Monday June 4 th Today we have continued with the planting work in the sensory garden, we have added some lavender plants and a rosemary plant today, both of these plants have really strong aromas so they are a perfect complement to the sensory area... Supporting our school growing work

3 New poly tunnel addition... We have added to our collection of plants with the addition of a Venus Fly Trap plant which as its name implies this plant has an incredible mechanism to allow it to trap its prey. Being a carnivorous plant, Venus Fly Trap plants trap flies by a mechanism that when touched by a fly or another insect, this mechanism snaps shut trapping the prey the plant then digests the prey and then the leaf reopens ready to trap another victim. This mechanism can only be triggered three or four times after which the leaf will either die back or will just photosynthesise like a normal green plant. Venus Fly Trap plants need to be cared for carefully, never trigger the plant mechanism by putting your finger into the leaf, also the plants need to be watered with rain water tap water contains far too much chlorine which the plants will not tolerate. A most fascinating plant indeed the wonderful world of plants... Venus Fly Trap...

4 More herbs planted today... We have planted some fantastic herb plants today which will hopefully continue to grow and produce lots of leaves the two herbs concerned are Mint Moroccan and Lemon Verbena, the leaves of both of these herbs are great for infusing in hot water to make herbal teas again, added value crops from our garden area... Aside from being a really lush green looking plant, the leaves smell divine!!... Below you can see the Lemon Verbena plants that we have planted out today... On the left you can see the Mint Moroccan herb plants that have also been planted out today... These plants just like our Lemon Verbena plants make fantastic tasting herbal tea... Herbal Teas coming soon... Lemon Verbena.. Mint Moroccan...

5 Geraniums planted up in the old wheelbarrow... The geraniums that we have been growing on from very small plug plants have now been planted out in the old wheelbarrow these plants will hopefully give us some colour at the front of the garden following on from the spring flowering bulbs that provided so much colour during the spring...

6 Tomato plants are making lots of growth... Wednesday June 6 th Our tomato plants are enjoying the warmth and the added protection of the poly tunnel with the warm temperatures and plenty of water, the plants are making lots of strong green growth, these plants will be staked as they grow, once the plants start to produce some flowers, then we will need to start feeding the plants so that they can produce a crop of tomatoes for us to savour... All of the green growth below the first set of flowers have been removed today, simply because we want tomatoes to produce fruit not lots of leaf, so all of the side shoots have been removed so that all of the energy of the plants can go towards producing fruit... Above you can see our tomato plants that we have stripped the lower leaves and the side shoots off below the line of the first flowers - the first flowers that you can see on the left...

7 Giant Basil is looking great... Below you can see the pots of giant basil leaves that we have growing in the poly tunnel these plants are really producing some super looking lush green leaves which will make a great addition to a pesto sauce...

8 Cherries are ripening very quickly... With the fantastic sunshine that we are currently experiencing, the cherries are ripening very quickly, what we need to be very careful about are the birds that will be after this fruit as soon as it starts to turn red... On the left you can see one of our new bramley cooking apple trees these are first year trees so it is great to see that we will have a few cooking apples to enjoy in the autumn harvest time... Apple pie and ice cream... Bramley cooking apples...

9 Lots of different beans all growing... Thursday June 7 th We have lots of different varieties of beans all growing either outside on the allotment or inside the poly tunnel we have Hestia runner beans which is a dwarf variety that can be grown in pots, runner beans are growing out on the allotment and in the poly tunnel we have another variety of runner beans called yard long beans which are happier growing inside with added heat... Yard Long Beans... Hestia Dwarf Runner Beans... On the left you can see that our runner beans have germinated and they are starting their journey up the canes... Once the runner beans have made some growth they will then hopefully produce some flowers which will turn into beans... Runner Beans

10 Filing cabinet strawberries... Yes, you have read the heading correctly, strawberries growing in a filing cabinet, take a look at the fruit that is growing inside the old school filing cabinet... These strawberries look tasty!!... Strawberries Wildflowers look amazing... The wildflowers that were sown back in the autumn by The Bridge students are looking amazing in the garden they are providing a great source of food for the pollinators indeed there are lots of bees all over the flowers...

11 Lots more fruit growing on the allotment... In the garden area we have strawberry plants, apple trees, both cooking and eating apples, a pear tree, two plum trees, a cherry tree, gooseberry bushes and blackcurrant bushes. Our blackcurrant bushes are loaded with lots of fruit as you can see from the photograph below...

12 More herbs growing in the poly tunnel... We have lots of different herbs all growing out on the allotment either in the sensory garden plus the lemon verbena and mint Moroccan that are growing out on the allotment area. In the poly tunnel we have lots of basil growing, below you can see the red and green basil leaves that we have growing...

13 Pumpkin plants have been planted out... Friday June 8 th The Atlantic Giant pumpkin plants that we have sown from seed are now ready to be planted out in our specially prepared pumpkin patch this growing area has been prepared with plenty of well-rotted organic matter, growing conditions that pumpkins enjoy, coupled with plenty of water, hopefully we can produce some big pumpkins. We will have to keep a watch out for slugs...

14 Borage is nearly in flower... We have sown a few different areas of borage the first area that we sowed earlier this spring has now grown to the stage where it is almost ready to flower. Borage is a particular favourite of the bees plus it has many different culinary and medicinal properties. Indeed all of the plant apart from the roots are edible with the leaves having a very distinctive albeit furry texture, tasting very much like cucumber. Also, the star like flowers can also be eaten usually in salads or they can be used in cake decoration... Borage... Scientific name: Borago officinalis...

15 Lots more planting work is being done... Monday June 11 th Today we have experienced yet another very hot day after the early morning mist had cleared, the sun has shone the whole day giving us the perfect opportunity to get some more planting work done on the allotment. Following on after planting out our pumpkin plants, we have planted out courgettes and squash plants today... We have planted out two different varieties of courgettes a green bush variety and also a variety that produces fruit with a yellow skin. The squash plants are a variety called Turks Turban they really do produce some fantastic fruits that do resemble a turban with some really distinctive colourings...

16 More Herbs planted today... There is no doubt that herbs and sunshine go together indeed many herbs rely on sunshine with lots of herbs originating from the Mediterranean countries where the growing conditions are hot and dry. We have a really wide range of many different herbs some of these herbs have really strong aromatic leaves and they also have many culinary and medicinal properties... One such herb that is a real favourite with both students and staff alike is lemon verbena which smells very much like lemon sherbet... Lemon verbena makes fantastic herbal tea... Today we have planted up our herb ladder with thyme, rosemary, marjoram, oregano and pineapple sage absolutely amazing what plant breeders can do with all of these different plants and their different aromas...

17 Monday June 11 th Special visitor to sensory garden...

18 Sensory garden development continuing... The sensory garden development is continuing with lots more planting work taking place including some more aromatic herbs including some lavender plants. This garden has been set up for students and staff alike so that this area can be used as an area which can be used as a quiet area with a particular emphasis on the therapeutic nature of herbs and grasses. Indeed today [Monday June 11 th ], the garden received a special visitor Millie-Mae Hendrie, a Year 8 student who is registered blind visited the sensory garden and thoroughly enjoyed her visit... Watch out for some more developments to this sensory garden space... Wednesday June 13 th Banana plants are thriving in the poly tunnel... Inside the poly tunnel most plants thrive in this environment protection from the wind, hot temperatures particularly when the sun is shining plus lots of watering these are almost perfect growing conditions for our banana plants to grow. The temperature in the poly tunnel is not consistent enough for these plants to produce fruit but they provide some stunning leaves, indeed a banana plant will as a rule providing they are watered consistently produce one leaf a week, and the leaves they produce are spectacular as you will see from the photograph below...

19 Lots more fruit growing on the school allotment... We have lots of different fruits all growing on the school allotment including pears, apples, both eating and cooking apples, cherries, plums, blackcurrants, gooseberries and rhubarb plus in the poly tunnel we have a first year grape vine that will hopefully produce some fruit next year. Below you can see photographs of our plum tree and below one of our apple trees with branches laden with fruit.. Strawberries are looking good too

20 Lots more garden developments... Monday June 18 th Following a visit to a major gardening show last week-end provided me with a great opportunity to meet up with a couple of garden suppliers who I work with... This visit allowed me to stock up on some more herbs, both for the sensory garden plus to add to our stock of plants to make herbal teas... The sensory garden and the herb ladders that we have now have some new herbs, both familiar herbs but also some new varieties which you will see below... Society garlic... Vietnamese coriander... Herbs... Herb ladders all planted up Mushroom plant...

21 Another grass added to sensory garden... Our sensory garden is developing all the time not only with lots of aromatic herbs but also the recent additions of some ornamental grasses... The grasses that we have planted are all super plants for the touch element. On the left you can see a grass type plant called Restio Quadratus... This really is a very interesting plant in that the growing stems grow as a square stem which really is great to the touch as the plant grows bigger the stems become much bigger and have a real square feel to them... Restio Quadratus... Sarracenia plant added to our carnivorous collection... We have added another carnivorous plant to our collection with the addition of a Sarracenia plant or more commonly known as a Pitcher Plant. See below...

22 Lots more herbs growing on the allotment... We grow lots of herbs on the school allotment both for their aromatic properties and their culinary value this culinary value area will hopefully develop over the coming months. Herbs really are fascinating plants possessing many uses and properties which we will hopefully continue to reveal over time... Above you can see both bronze and green fennel seeds that have germinated on the school allotment the bronze plants you can just see in the top left hand corner of the photograph. Lots of herbs originate from the Mediterranean so dry soils and hot growing conditions that we are experiencing at the present do not present any problems for these plants... To think that tiny little seeds germinate and push their way through the soil to develop into strong plants is really a tremendous feat of nature... Fennel is a perennial herb that is part of the carrot family, it produces yellow flowers and feathery leaves. Also it has many culinary and medicinal properties.. Bronze and Green Fennel..

23 Weather conditions are proving challenging... Wednesday June 20 th The weather conditions that we have experienced for a good few weeks now are most certainly proving challenging as a rule seeds need water and warmth to germinate that is not a problem. The problem starts out on the allotment where we have lots of plants all growing including peas, salad crops, radishes, carrots, onions, shallots, runner beans, dwarf French beans, potatoes, spinach, rainbow chard, courgettes, pumpkins, squash and lots more, not least all of our herbs these are all strong healthy plants that are really in need of some rain, or indeed some consistent watering, this is proving difficult simply because our two large water butts are virtually empty!! Plus, the weather forecast for the next ten days is that the temperatures are only going to get warmer we are never satisfied are we, cast your mind back two months and we were experiencing cool un-seasonal temperatures and everything was late well, we are probably in the same position now in that everything is behind where it should be, but as we have stated before, plants will catch up, it will just mean that what we harvest will be late!! Borage is now starting to flower... The borage plants that we have grown on the entrance to the garden space are starting to flower the small blue star like flowers are a particular favourite of the bees plus they are edible too... Wildflowers... Stunning colours...

24 More growing area developments... In the new part of The Bridge Garden, lots of developments have taken place in a relatively short time indeed this new development started back in November so there are still areas that we want to develop, certainly as time has gone by, there are some of the growing spaces that we want to change and re-model to make better use of the space and to make some areas more accessible... As soon as crops are harvested, such as our Broad Bean crop, we are then going to change the set-up of this growing area, also we are creating some safer walkways around some of our growing areas... One such area is at the front entrance to the garden, in this area we have set up a stone pathway using re-claimed stones from when we have dug out our new growing areas this area has also been planted with some new lavender plants, lavender is not only a sun loving plant but is also a magnet for the bees which are so important for pollination. See below as this new area develops... Above you can see the new development around the growing areas at the front of the garden entrance a weed membrane has been laid to suppress any weeds, and then on top we have laid a pathway of re-claimed stones... Also, you can see the lavender plants that we have planted in the growing area...

25 Now we are officially into summer... Thursday June 21 st Now that we are officially into summer, the cold winter, indeed, the beast from the east seems a distant memory now we are hearing that next week we are going to experience some ridiculously hot temperatures, now from a gardening perspective this become a difficult time simply because watering becomes a serious issue plants that are rooted will generally survive because there root system will find water if it is there, the big problem arises if you have new plants or plants in pots, new plants need to establish there root systems whereas potted plants will dry up very quickly. So next week we are going to be busy watering!! Lots of herbs growing well... In the garden area we have lots of herbs all growing generally herbs like hot temperatures, indeed, many herbs originate from hot Mediterranean climates so they are perfectly suited to this kind of weather. Below you can see a container with double pot marigolds growing these plants and flowers have many culinary and medicinal properties the whole world of herbs is fascinating...

26 Welcome garden visitors... Another one of the herbs that we have growing in the garden is borage this is yet another plant that has many medicinal and culinary uses, but it is also proving a welcome landing place for ladybirds welcome in the garden at any time particularly in the summer months when they will feast on aphids and other unwanted bugs. Below you can see some ladybirds on our borage leaves... As best as we can, we are always trying to create a garden environment that is a haven for wildlife especially the pollinators that are so important. We DO NOT use any pesticides at all in our garden area, more importantly we are trying to create a balance in our garden where we let nature do the work for us too often man interferes with nature, let it be!!

27 Absolutely balmy temperatures... Monday June 25 th We are experiencing a seriously hot spell of weather, indeed it is now over three weeks since we have had any rainfall watering is proving an endless task just to keep some of our plants alive let alone trying to encourage them to grow and hopefully produce either fruit or leaf. This morning at 9.00am the poly tunnel temperature was at 90 degrees which come the afternoon had risen to over 100 degrees and then the outside thermometer read 85 degrees in a relatively shady spot in the garden. Very hot indeed with the promise of higher temperatures to come as the week goes along phew!! Lots of watering will be the order of the day, indeed the whole week and then the following week as well... Geraniums are enjoying the warm dry weather... The geraniums that are planted in the old wheelbarrow are really coming into their own as they enjoy the warm dry weather these plants are giving us lots of colour at the front entrance to the garden area... Colourful geraniums...

28 More extremely hot weather... Wednesday June 27 th Although the weather today started off just a little bit cooler, by mid- morning the sun had burst through to give us yet another blistering hot day. It certainly is proving a challenge keeping up with watering our water butts are drained virtually dry so we are having to rely on filling water containers and then shipping them down to the garden area. Not ideal, but needs must!!... Today we have harvested a huge box of broad beans. See below... Broad Beans harvested...

29 Seeds are germinating fast in this hot weather... Most seeds generally require warmth and water to germinate, there is most definitely plenty of warmth, provided we add the water, then we have the almost perfect seed germination conditions. Below you can see our mustard mizuna mix seeds that are growing quickly giving us some vibrant green salad leaves... Wildflower area looks stunning... Our wildflower area is certainly giving us a great splash of colour with lots of white, yellow and red... Plus, this area and this mix of flowers is a perfect haven for the pollinators who are visiting on a regular basis... It is fascinating to see all of the bees so active on all of these flowers...

30 Another super aromatic herb... We have lots of different aromatic herbs that are all growing in our sensory garden are many of these herbs have both medicinal and culinary uses, one such herb is our blackcurrant sage which has a very distinctive blackcurrant smell... The cerise flowers that this plant produces are very attractive to the bees... Succulents enjoying the hot dry weather... Succulent plants are plants that are native to African and desert like countries where they are able to stand dry arid conditions. Basically they have thick fleshy type leaves and root systems that store water meaning that they have adapted to survive in hot, dry growing conditions... On the left you can see the pot of succulents that we have growing outside in the garden area... So, with the current weather conditions, these plants are more than happy...