There are lots of signs of life in the garden now. Buds are breaking on the jostaberry, redcurrants and raspberry and the wild garlic has been awake for a while now. The quince, one of the prettiest trees in the garden, has its leaves starting to emerge. The longer days are heating up the polytunnel and the contents are thriving. I've been replacing the two raised beds at the southern edge of the garden as the old ones had fallen apart. I salvaged the wild rocket plants that had overwintered in the beds when I noticed some had green shoots. I repotted them and put them in the polytunnel and they have responded well.
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It's pruning time in the garden now. I'm a little bit late this year and I'm getting a bit twitchy that with the mild weather the trees might start growing before I'm done. I managed to lose my folding pruning saw so finally took the plunge and bought a Silky Fox Gomtaro. It arrived yesterday so I set about pruning the apple trees and a few others. The saw is great; very quick to cut through branches and leaves a very clean cut. Would definitely recommend it. One dilemma was what to do with trees close to the polytunnel. The polytunnel wasn't in the original plan for the garden. It seemed like a good solution to replace the old shed and was much cheaper than a greenhouse, but it was always going to be a compromise in a small forest garden. It has been a real success but I'm not sure that I want to alter the final design too much. In particular there is a hazel tree and a mulberry tree to the south of the polytunnel. The hazel is unlikely to get much taller than about 2 m and only shades the tunnel when the sun is low. The mulberry though has the potential to get really large and shade the tunnel. However, it is late into leaf so it doesn't shade the tunnel all year long. So on the one hand the tunnel can provide lots of produce but needs more input and on the other the mulberry provides some tasty fruit late in the season and is very attractive and will be a real feature when larger. Well I couldn't quite decide and for this year I pruned just some of the lower branches very close to the polytunnel surface and raised the canopy a little. I was pleased with the result although the wounds weeped a whte milky sap. Hopefully the tree will be ok. It left a sticky mess on my new pruning saw too! I also pruned the apple trees in the garden. The standard apples are getting pretty big now and I only pruned them lightly. I cut back some of the lower branches of the Tydeman's Late Orange which tends to droop down quite low. I am hoping that it will encourage more vigour into the higher branches. One of my cats decided to help me out too. he weather has been shocking this week. Wet, wet, wet and now very windy. Inside the polytunnel things are calmer and warmer of course. One thing that has struck me this season is the difference that temperature makes to the rate of growth, comparing how things grow in the polytunnel and outdoors. Sunlight is obviously important, but plants grow so much more quickly when the temperature is higher. So far I've been considering the polytunnel as a place to grow annual crops to complement the mostly perennial produce from the forest garden and to extend the productive season. In that vein I've been following the progress of a fellow blogger's new polytunnel development with interest too. But I came across an interesting article about growing a forest garden under cover from David the Good. His video here has a really nice discussion about growing a coconut palm under cover. I had toyed with the idea of a polytunnel or greenhouse over a sunken space. The chalk geology here would make it feasible to excavate a space to give a much higher growing space. Not sure it's something I'm going to do anytime soon, but something to consider. Serendipitously, I saw that there is a new book out by Jerome Osentowski from the Central Rocky Mountain Permaculture Institute called The Forest Garden Greenhouse - How to Design and Manage an Indoor Permaculture Oasis by Chelsea Green. I think that is going to be on my Christmas present list.
When I replaced my falling down shed last autumn I decided I would make room for a polytunnel. My thinking was that it would complement the perennial planting in the rest of the garden and give me space to grow some annual vegetables. I spent a while researching and planning it out before settling on one from First Tunnels. I've been really happy with it and would recommend them. Because I finished construction in the early autumn I put in just a few plants that would get going before the winter. I used this book as a guide: How To Grow Food In Your Polytunnel. I grew some salad - lettuce, rocket and mizuna; onions and spring onions; cabbage, kohlrabi and peas. I also had some herbs that I brought in from the garden in containers - parsley, mint, chives and thyme. I also grew some coriander from seed. I also tried growing some potatoes in bags for harvest in December. The salads have been fantastic. Once established they provided plenty of leaves right through the coldest months. I draped fleece over them when there was frequent frost and that seemed to be enough protection to stop all but a few frost-burnt tips. The onions, cabbage and kohlrabi are growing nicely. The peas have done well, but I have tried growing them up string and think they would have done better up solid sticks. The potatoes weren't a success. I think I left them a bit late to put in and by the time I harvested them at Christmas there were hardly any tubers. On the whole I was very happy with the outcome. Now that the days are getting longer and temperatures rising I've been getting the tunnel ready for the spring and summer. I've been improving the soil in the rest of the tunnel that I haven't planted so far. I've been using compost from our local tip. It's only £1 for a 40 L tub if you fill it yourself and is very rich. I'm planning on growing tomatoes, chilli peppers, cucumbers and courgettes amongst other things so I've been adding compost to the thin chalky soil. Now that I've mixed it in and watered it I'm planning to leave it alone until the seedlings are ready to go in. The tomato and chilli seeds are planted out in modules now and the others will follow soon. I'm also sowing more salads to replace the overwintering ones. To make a little more use of the space I've put in a couple of lengths of square section guttering on the south side of the tunnel above the benches where I raise the seeds. I've filled them with soil and have put in some strawberry plants. The higher temperatures higher in the tunnel should bring them on more quickly. They will need care to make sure they don't dry out though. Up until now I've been keeping the doors shut for most of the day, but I am just starting to leave one open in the day time to increase the ventilation. Even during the winter the temperature can reach high 30's - low 40's (degrees C) during sunny spells. Once the other crops are in there I'm guessing I will have to leave the doors open every day. I've been measuring the temperature in the polytunnel and seeing how it compares to that outside. I had also read about how a water butt in the polytunnel can help moderate the temperature, especially overnight, so I put another temperature sensor in the water. The image below shows how the temperatures have changed over the last few months. Date is left to right and hour is top to bottom. The top plot shows that the outdoor temperature doesn't get much above about 12 deg C for most of the time. It is slightly warmer in the middle of the day, but it is about the same as a warm weather front coming through for a few days.
The air temperature in the polytunnel (the middle plot) is much warmer in the middle of the day when the sun is shining. The warmer hours clearly get longer over this period and the temperatures rise. However, for the rest of the day the temperatures are similar to the outdoor ones. Having said that, I think the plants benefit from being protected from the wind during those cold hours and the added benefit of fleece for some of them. The warmer temperatures in the middle of the day are definitely warm enough to allow plants to grow. The water butt temperature in the lower plot is interesting. It shows some of the variation in temperature that the outdoors sees but it is generally warmer. The temperature rises after midday and I believe this is due to the sun shining on the surface of the water butt. The temperature remains high through to the early morning. The water temperature seems to correlate with the high midday air temperatures in the polytunnel caused by the sun. I'm not sure how much the water butt helps the air temperatures in the polytunnel as whole. The air temperature sensor is on the other side of the tunnel about 1 m off the ground. However, I suspect is will help the plants close to it. Also, the paving path along the centre is also probably acting to absorb the heat and release it more slowly, helping out the plants close to the ground. At the moment I don't have a temperature sensor in the soil. I'm thinking it might be a good idea to help time planting things out. The cold has really taken hold this last week. Not quite a white Christmas, but definitely cold enough to kill off any tender plants. The temperature in the garden has dipped below freezing a few times this winter. During the last week though it has got down to less than -5 C. I've been measuring the temperature in the garden for a little while now (that's another story) and the graph below shows the values for the last month. I'm actually glad to see the temperature dropping, for a while at least. Last winter was very wet and mild and the apple harvest this year was very poor. I think they are related. I know that apples need a certain number chilling hours when the temperature is below 7 C, something like 1000 hours, depending on the variety according to Orange Pippin. I'm guessing that they didn't get enough hours of cold last year. Not everywhere in the garden is cold though. The poytunnel temperature is much higher in the day time, especially when the sun is shining, getting up to about 30 C on some days. Its definitely warm enough for the plants to grow, although the light is limiting. At night though the temperature drops back to the outside temperature. I've added in a water butt to help keep a little heat in, but I'm not sure that it is making too much difference. It's dropped below freezing inside the polytunnel a few times, cold enough to kill off the potatoes in bags. The lettuce, rocket, mizuna and herbs are doing ok though. I've got some fleece over the salad crops now to give them a better chance. It's really nice to have fresh salad at this time of year. I'm looking forward to planting crops in the new year in the polytunnel to complement the output from the forest garden. |
AboutA blog following the development of a small edible forest garden in Salisbury, Wiltshire, first planted in winter 2008.
AuthorA forest gardening enthusiast with an interest in growing food sustainably, locally and with minimal effort. More blogsAnni's Perennial Veggies
Bangor Forest Garden Project Forest Garden Plants Fruit Forum Graham Burnett Have Some Pi Help Save Bees Il Giardino Foresta Maddy Harland Moulsecoomb Forest Garden Mortal Tree Oak House Permaculture Project Of Plums And Pignuts Otter Farm PermaculturePower PermieHomestead Plants for a Future Plant Trees, It's Self Defence Really Useful Gardens SelfSufficientish Southwoods Forest Gardens Sustainable Forest Garden Farm Project The Cultural Wilderness The Field The Unconventional Gardener Transition Culture Two Go Forest Gardening Wiltshire Wildlife Trust Food Champions Ynysmon's Blog Other links
Check out the resources page for lots more forest gardening websites, books and videos.
Details of my young forest garden are here and photos here. Produce 20161 Jan - 31 Mar
0.640kg Babington leek 0.417kg Cabbage 0.742kg Celeriac 0.005kg Coriander 0.343kg Daikon 0.003kg Fennel 0.091kg Garlic shoots 0.005kg Goji berry leaves 0.259kg Lettuce 0.002kg Mint 0.020kg Pak choi 0.233kg Parsley 2.100kg Potatoes 0.041kg Radish 0.006kg Red veined sorrel 2.069kg Rosemary 0.888kg Ruby chard 0.002kg Thyme 0.065kg Winter purslane 1 Apr - 30 Jun 0.008kg Alpine strawberries 0.555kg Babington leeks 0.003kg Basil 0.989kg Beetroot 1.987kg Celeriac 0.019kg Chillis 0.076kg Chives 0.466kg Cleavers 0.227kg Coriander 0.075kg Courgettes 0.034kg Fennel 0.045kg Garlic shoots 0.004kg Gooseberries 0.048kg Holly leaves 0.006kg Lemon balm 0.541kg Lettuce 0.005kg Lime leaves 0.012kg Mint 0.108kg Nettles 0.440kg Oca 0.295kg Parsley 0.003kg Radish 0.241kg Raspberries 2.570kg Rhubarb 0.052kg Rocket 0.001kg Rosemary 2.338kg Ruby chard 0.022kg Sage 0.099kg Spring onions 0.464kg Strawberries 0.001kg Sweet violet 0.064kg Wild garlic 0.001kg Winter purslane 1 Jul - 30 Sep 0.030kg Alpine strawberries 22.360kg Apples 0.003kg Basil 0.317kg Blackberries 0.706kg Blackcurrants 0.595kg Blueberries 0.085kg Chillis 0.002kg Chives 8.255kg Courgettes 0.003kg Fennel 0.205kg Gooseberries 2.674kg Hazelnuts 0.429kg Japanese wineberries 2.404kg Jostaberries 0.209kg Loganberries 0.025kg Mint 0.167kg Mulberries 0.006kg Nasturtium 0.004kg Parsley 4.068kg Pears 4.097kg Rapsberries 3.988kg Redcurrants 0.016kg Rocket 0.522kg Rosemary 0.026kg Spring onions 0.837kg Sweet cherries 0.234kg Tayberries 2.142kg Tomatoes 1.229kg Whitecurrants 1 Oct - 31 Dec 2.263kg Apples 0.317kg Chillis 2.697kg Courgettes 0.060kg Mashua 0.030kg Mint 0.250kg Oca 0.080kg Parsley 0.581kg Pears 1.360kg Potatoes 0.011kg Rocket 0.056kg Rosemary 0.050kg Sage 0.651kg Tomatoes Produce 20151 Jan - 31 Mar
0.187kg Babington's leek 0.031kg garlic shoots 0.005kg mint 0.560kg salad 1 Apr - 30 Jun 0.021kg alpine strawberries 2.074kg Babington's leeks 0.017kg basil 0.975kg blackcurrants 0.434kg cabbage 0.016kg chives 0.095kg coriander 0.009kg dill 0.156kg garlic shoots 0.443kg gooseberries 1.801kg kohlrabi 0.297kg lettuce 0.015kg lime leaves 0.035kg mint 0.033kg mustard leaves 0.231kg nettles 0.089kg onion 0.470kg oregano 0.013kg pak choi 0.013kg parsley 0.626kg peas 0.107kg peppermint 0.871kg purple sprouting broccoli 4.219kg raspberries 1.406kg red onion 0.048kg red-veined sorrel 1.751kg rhubarb 1.618kg ruby chard 0.324kg spring onion 1.157kg strawberries 0.577kg sweet cherries 0.242kg tayberried 0.001kg thyme 0.160kg wild garlic 0004kg winter purslane 1 Jul - 30 Sep 0.003kg alpine strawberries 0.002kg apple mint 37.964kg apples 0.033kg basil 0.753kg blackberries 7.207kg blackcurrants 2.441kg blueberries 0.073kg cabbage 0.039kg celeriac 0.019kg coriander 6.329kg courgettes 15.960kg cucumber 0.012kg dill 0.466kg french beans 0.312kg garlic 1.447kg gooseberries 12.822kg hazelnuts 0.967kg Japanese wineberries 2.390kg jostaberries 0.205kg lettuce 0.001kg lime basil 0.848kg loganberries 0.018kg mint 0.203kg mulberries 0.005kg oregano 0.041kg pak choi 0.004kg parsley 2.010kg pears 0.006kg peppermint 8.529kg raspberries 6.138kg redcurrants 0.005kg rocambole 2.198kg ruby chard 0.024kg sage 1.605kg sour cherries 0.191kg strawberries 0.843kg strawberries 0.651kg tayberries 0.001kg thyme 15.138kg tomatoes 0.977kg whitecurrants 1 Oct - 31 Dec 0.117kg chilli peppers 0.018kg coriander 0.022kg courgettes 6.716kg cucumbers 0.008kg dill 0.223kg french beans 0.115kg hazelnuts 0.025kg lettuce 0.002kg mint 0.065kg parsley 0.524kg pears 1.412kg ruby chard 0.072kg spring onion 6.489kg tomatoes Produce 2014
1 Jan - 31 Mar
0.308kg Babington leeks 0.034kg garlic shoots 0.001kg parsley 0.004kg red veined sorrel 0.011kg rosemary 0.025kg sage 0.016kg thyme 1 Apr - 30 Jun 0.010kg alpine strawberries 1.350kg Babington leeks 0.104kg blackcurrants 0.012kg chives 0.210kg garlic shoots 0.092kg gooseberries 0.006kg lemon balm 0.529kg loganberries 0.015kg oregano 0.006kg parsley 0.035kg peppermint 5.655kg raspberries 0.177kg redcurrants 0.051kg red veined sorrel 7.180kg rhubarb 0.120kg salad 0.006kg salad burnet 0.896kg strawberries 0.509kg tayberries 0.084kg wild garlic 1 Jul - 30 Sep 5.121kg apples 0.008kg alpine strawberries 0.857kg blackberries 1.190kg blackcurrants 0.904kg blueberries 1.840kg garlic 6.102kg hazelnuts 0.467kg Japanese wineberries 0.716kg loganberries 0.313kg mulberries 3.742kg pears 2.752kg raspberries 2.349kg redcurrants 0.054kg rocambole 0.050kg sage 1.655kg sour cherries 0.021kg sweet cherries 0.298kg tayberries 0.242kg whitecurrants 0.078kg worcesterberries 1 Oct - 31 Dec 0.113kg salad 0.382kg oca 0.200kg potatoes Produce 2013
1 Jan - 31 Mar
0.024kg garlic shoots 1 Apr - 30 Jun 0.326kg Babbington leeks 0.222kg blackcurrants 0.363kg garlic shoots 0.147kg gooseberries 0.002kg lemon balm 0.121kg lettuce 0.004kg lime leaves 0.058kg mizuna 0.121kg oregano 0.010kg pea shoots 0.015kg peppermint 0.223kg raspberries 0.020kg red veined sorrel 3.900kg rhubarb 0.400kg salad 0.005kg salad burnet 0.008kg shitake mushrooms 0.076kg strawberries 0.013kg thyme 0.136kg wild garlic 1 Jul - 30 Sep 0.101kg alpine strawberries 13.653kg apples 0.276kg blackberries 2.816kg blackcurrants 1.380kg blueberries 0.159kg broad beans 0.965kg courgettes 1.340kg garlic 1.808kg hazelnuts 0.118kg Japanese wineberries 0.493kg loganberries 0.008kg mulberries 4.368kg pears 0.036kg peppermint 1.143kg potatoes 0.063kg quince 9.226kg raspberries 0.699kg redcurrants 0.223kg rocambole 0.150kg salad 1.448kg sour cherries 0.064kg spearmint 0.660kg spring onions 0.863kg strawberries 1.622kg sweet cherries 0.156kg tayberries 0.721kg whitecurrants 0.010kg worcesterberries 1 Oct - 31 Dec 0.938kg pears 0.095kg quince 0.091kg oca 0.242kg mashua Produce 2012
1 Jan - 31 Mar
0.050kg fennel 0.009kg garlic shoots 0.030kg goji berries 0.050kg rocket 1 Apr - 30 Jun 0.004kg alpine strawberries 0.480kg cabbage 0.323kg garlic shoots 0.050kg lemon balm 0.002kg loganberries 0.050kg mint 0.402kg mushrooms 0.360kg potatoes 0.730kg raspberries 0.030kg red veined sorrel 0.130kg redcurrants 4.000kg rhubarb 0.540kg rocket 0.020kg sorrel 0.134kg strawberries 0.007kg tayberries 01 Jul - 30 Sep 0.020kg alpine strawberries 0.180kg apples 0.552kg blackberries 0.178kg blackcurrants 0.711kg blueberries 1.020kg garlic 0.201kg gooseberries 0.263kg hazelnuts 0.051kg Japanese wineberries 0.028kg loganberries 3.354kg pears 1.610kg potatoes 0.910kg raspberries 0.353kg redcurrants 0.063kg sour cherries 0.049kg strawberries 0.014kg tayberries 0.192kg whitecurrants 1 Oct - 31 Dec 7.690kg Jerusalem artichokes 0.211kg oca 0.010kg peppermint 0.820kg potatoes 0.010kg thyme Produce 2011
1 Jan - 20 Mar
Firewood Rosemary Sage Chives Salad burnet 21 Mar - 31 May 0.035kg chives 0.070kg lemon balm 0.005kg nasturtium leaves 0.017kg raspberries 4.060kg rhubarb 0.060kg rocket 0.020kg rosemary 0.280kg sage 0.070kg salad burnet 0.050kg sorrel 0.065kg spearmint 0.429kg strawberries 0.012kg sweet fennel 0.003kg tayberries 0.010kg thyme 1 Jun - 31 Aug 35.2kg 29 different crops: 0.030kg alpine strawberries 8.884kg apples 0.492kg beetroot 0.258kg blackberries 0.377kg blackcurrants 0.337kg blueberries 0.010kg chives 7.095kg courgettes 0.001kg fennel 0.946kg garlic 1.481kg hazelnuts 0.001kg Japanese wineberry 0.007kg lemon balm 0.005kg mashua leaves 0.004kg nasturtiums 0.100kg pears 0.005kg peppermint 11.920kg potatoes 1.130kg raspberries 0.262kg redcurrants 0.005kg rocket 0.064kg salad burnet 0.460kg sour cherries 0.024kg spearmint 0.558kg strawberries 0.311kg sweet cherries 0.086kg tayberries 0.087kg whitecurrants 1 Sep - 31 Dec 11.633kg apples 0.040kg aronia berries 1.299kg beetroot 0.036kg blackberries 2.472kg courgettes 0.034kg hazelnuts 6.205kg Jerusalem artichokes 4.250kg mashua 1.801kg pears 37.135kg potatoes 0.371kg raspberries 0.024kg strawberries 0.044kg whitecurrants Produce 2010
A record of produce from the garden in 2010. I expect this list to get much longer in later years.
1 Jan - 20 Mar 2010: Firewood - kindling and small logs for wood burner Herbs - rosemary Vegetables - 5 leeks Greens - Handfull of sorrel, salad burnet and dandelions. 21 Mar - 4 Jun 2010 3.600kg rhubarb 0.250kg sorrel rosemary salad burnet mint chives rocket a few strawberries 5 Jun -> 1.120kg garlic 1.063kg raspberries 3.430kg rhubarb 0.165kg strawberries 0.104kg sweet cherries 0.065kg tayberries 0.130kg gooseberries 0.029kg alpine strawberries 0.100kg loganberries 1.710kg sour cherries 0.486kg blackberries 0.039kg blackcurrants 0.220kg blueberries 3.264kg courgettes 0.240kg lettuce 8.375kg pears 3.820kg potatoes 9.300kg apples 0.076kg hazelnuts See archives from October 2009 below for last year's produce. Archives
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