Planning For The Season Ahead
With the arrival of a new year Dirty Nails gets busy planning his planting schedule for the coming season. He already has most of the seeds in hand, having placed an order with a reputable and reliable company over the phone a few weeks ago. Anything overlooked then can be easily mailed to him with a call.
Dirty Nails is a meticulous note-taker, and at times like this his scribblings are invaluable for plotting out what to plant and when. Writing down a planting plan, month-by-month for the whole year, keeps tasks in proportion and under control. He is clearly able to see how his veg garden will develop. As each month rolls along, he sorts out the seeds that he will be handling for those four-odd weeks. This careful attention to detail gets him in the mood for what lies ahead, and ensures that when the really manic seed-sowing months of March, April and May arrive, he is not overwhelmed by jobs to do. Weather conditions will affect planting times. Wet or cold spells can force the postponement of sowing certain crops, especially those sown outside, direct into the soil. Flexibility is needed and an instinctive ability to seize the right moment for the right job.
Dirty Nails never grows the same crop on the same patch of ground twice in a row, and aims at ideally keeping a three-year gap. By rotating crops in this way, soil dwelling pests that take a particular fancy to any one type of veg are prevented from becoming established by moving their chosen food source elsewhere. Also, different veggies extract different nutrients and goodness from the earth. By continually changing the positions of his crops, Dirty Nails prevents the soil from becoming unbalanced or nutritionally
depleted. As a rule, well manured ground that grows brassicas this year will be good for roots (including potatoes) next, followed by peas, beans, onions, salads or fruiting veg the year after that. Once again, pen and paper are extremely helpful as Dirty Nails literally maps out his crop plan.
Natural History In The Garden: Robins
One of the most common birds to be heard in this part of winter is the red-breasted cock robin. He likes to sit high up in the branches of a tree and mark his territory with a song that is a thin, watery, sad, but sweet warble.
Vegetable Snippetssoil Hand Texture Test
Most UK soils are what is known as mineral soils. They are formed by the gradual breaking down (erosion) of the underlying rocks (parent material) over geological time, which is measured over millions of years. Soil textures are known as sandy, silty or clayey, depending on the dominant particle size from which it comprises (in descending order, sand is the largest, then silt, then clay).
These classifications have important repercussions in the veg patch in terms of moisture and nutrient holding abilities. For example, a light, sandy soil is free-draining, whereas heavy clays are not. A lighter soil is liable to become impoverished more quickly than a heavy medium which can retain much of the essential goodness for longer. Those with a silty disposition are prone to erosion, especially when wet and on a slope.
Chalky soils occur over large areas of the UK. These tend to be thin and alkaline, demanding the addition of copious amounts of bulky farmyard manure and composts. Adequately tended, the pH balance is restored to more favourable conditions for a wider range of crops, and decent harvests of fruit, brassicas and legumes in particular are to be had. Loamy soils, where there is a more balanced mix of different sized particles, are considered to be ideal for veg cultivation. They warm up quickly in the spring, are comfortable to work, and retain both water and nutrients well without becoming saturated. Many crops prefer certain types of ground, and these factors all need to be considered when deciding what to plant and where.
Texture is easy to determine on the plot. A golf-ball sized ball of soil is gathered up and kneaded in the hands. Water can be added if needs be, so that it is uniformly moist, but not wet. When the ball has been massaged to an even consistency, it is ready to tell its tale.
By moulding it into balls, sausages and rings, the main texture groups can be determined as follows:
no ball = sand crumbly ball = loamy sand firm ball = sandy loam crumbly sausage = silt loam firm sausage = medium loam forms a ring = clay loam shiny ring = clay shiny gritty ring = sandy clay.