Page 50 - ALG Issue 1 2019

East Midlands
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
The way I keep my soil damp enough all year round is to keep it covered with different materials. It starts in autumn as I clear old crops from the beds. If I think there might be some of the less persistent pests or diseases such as mildew or rust on the crop it is taken to a compost heap... if clean it is chopped where it grew; horse droppings, comfrey leaves, grass cuttings etc. might be added at this stage depending what crop is planned for next year. If the land is dry it is
left open to absorb the rain. When
it is damp enough it is covered with layers of cardboard (I get mine from an independent whole food store). This is held down with whatever is available: prunings – plastic milk bottles full of water are a handy size and weight, and adheres to the 'Reduce, reuse, recycle' mantra.
About the same time as I sow the seed that will provide plants for this plot, I will check the land for moisture content, adding organic chicken manure pellets or lime, or any nutrient I think the future plant will need, and cover with sheets of black plastic to warm it up. When I plant the seedlings, I simply roll up the plastic and cut through the cardboard to make a hole for the plant. As the cardboard decomposes under the plants, I add material from compost heaps if available and more cardboard, making sure the damp level is correct. The light colour of the cardboard reflects light back to the leaves increasing photosynthesis, so I get no weeds, prevent evaporation, and feed the worms.
If I’m clearing a crop earlier in the year, I would sow a green manure to cover
the ground over winter, and put the cardboard on a month before planting. Either way there is something green under the cardboard to encourage worms etc. If I want to sow seed direct, like carrots, I would remove all covering to a compost heap and cultivate a border spade’s width trench for each seed row, leaving the land between rows alone. As soon as the seedlings are big enough to keep above a mulch, I spread shredded paper along the rows. This provides the same benefits as cardboard.
For potatoes I’ve used the hilling down system. I prepare trenches and fill with leaves over winter, and cover
with black plastic one month before planting potatoes. I then roll up the plastic (moving it to the land planned
for sweetcorn that is planted later on), plant the potatoes in the trench full of last year’s leaves, and draw down the soil as the plants grow from the hills
that were created when the trench was dug. When the land is level, mulch with comfrey, grass cuttings, more leaves, or shredded paper. It is important not to
dig these mulch materials in; just let the worms do it. If it is still there when you are harvesting spuds just try to keep it on top, as most of it will have decomposed under the canopy of your crop. Using these methods, I got great crops even with the heatwave and did very little watering. The spuds and sweetcorn, brassicas and legumes got none at all after the usual hole-full at planting time. I recently learnt that when the temperature is above 25°C most plants accustomed to our climate stop growing, and water will keep them alive until the temperature drops when they will grow again.
My beds are accessed from permanent paths. The paths that are not on a slope are carpeted as this holds moisture that things like raspberries can access. (Cardboard can be composted under these carpets and raked onto beds too.) The sloping paths are woodchip. When this decomposes in the paths, it can be raked onto the beds and is easy to pull the odd weed from, or even to let wildflowers invade to add to the bees’ food supply and the general beauty.
As you keep adding layers, your beds keep getting higher and so warm up quicker and drain better, while holding enough moisture for most plants. Eventually you have to construct terracing to keep your wonderful soil off your paths. The wood pigeons love to pull flowers off stone fruit trees, but are really scared of CDs dangling around in the tree... looks a bit like Christmas.
I hope some of my methods will help readers to conserve the water in the soil and recycle lots more 'waste'. Always leave something for the bees. Calendula is still full of flower in mid- November in
Derby, as is Purple Malva.
Ann Jackman, East Midlands,
Secretary of Bramfield Ave Allotments
Mentor news
Early in the summer I was invited to Warsop by the secretary, Alan Crossan,
of Warsop Allotment Association to judge their best plot. The plots are judged
on different criteria such as varieties of vegetable, flowers and herbs, the overall upkeep of the plot, composting, and water conservation, which we can all admit has affected us on the allotments this summer.
It was an interesting couple of days meeting plotholders on the various sites, and the association managers. There are some exceptional plots tended by very experienced and dedicated gardeners. The winners will be announced at their AGM in January.
In October I had the pleasure of awarding Blidworth Oaks Primary School with the award for School Allotment of the Year 2018. I went along to the school awards assembly to present this, and it’s no surprise that the school has won; the hard work and commitment of the staff and children to achieve the best they can in everything they do was fantastic to see with all the awards that were given out. I was then shown around the allotment by the children, who were very enthusiastically telling me about what they have learnt, the produce they had grown, and talking about what they plan to spend the prize money on.
The Royal Oak Court Allotment Association in Edwinstowe organised a Scarecrow Festival for National Allotments Week, where local residents and businesses were invited to join in. Around 30 took part, and a scarecrow trail was created around the village for people to explore. There were some really imaginatively themed scarecrows and the prizes were given following the judging. The Association are planning to make this an annual event to celebrate National Allotments Week.
Adam Murphy, East Midlands Mentor
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