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What to do each week in the organic garden
The notes below are from the 2007 course. The 2008 new material is about wildlife gardening and can be found on the
Gardening for Wildlife page.
Wk 1 | Wk 2 | Wk 3 | Wk 4 | Wk 5 | Wk 6 | Wk 8 | Wk 9 | Wk 10 |
Back to: Lesson materials | intro page | Q&A
Week 1
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Dig over one quarter of your plot. Remove weed roots, making sure the roots of perennial weeds such as couch grass, stinging nettles, docks are kept separate.
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With a partner dig a trench in one quarter of the plot. Put a layer of horse manure in the trench. Plant early potatoes, about 30cm apart and 15 cm deep. Cover the potatoes with at least 3cm of soil and mark their location.
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Fill about 25 modules in a plastic tray with seed compost. Go outside and water the compost. Sow a couple of leek seeds in each module and cover with compost. Make a label, name and date your seeds
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Fill another tray with seed compost and water. Sow perpetual spinach, swiss chard and rainbow chard into this tray. You will only need one seed per module. Name and date your seeds
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It's a bit late to plant garlic (should be autumn or by feb) but we can try a few anyway. Roughly dig over area to remove weeds, add compost. Divide bulbs into cloves, plant about 10 cm apart, end up with tip about 2 cm below surface of soil.
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We need to start thinking about sorting out the compost area, making a new bay for perennial weeds and one for non-perennial. Start to clear out area and we can look for carpet/tarps/cardboard to line them.
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If still more time or you d like a sitting down job, fill a tray with compost and water, then sow a selection of flowers/herbs. Perhaps considering companion planning and how you would like to divide your plot up. Make sure they're labelled.
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If still more time we could start to clear out the tomatoes and beans from inside the polytunnel to make space for the seed trays. Collect the beans as you go.
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Week 2
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Dig a trench about 15cm deep across part of the legume area. Fill the bottom with lots of organic waste. Fill the trench with soil. Smooth over the area, then plant two rows of broad bean seeds 20 cm apart. Plant broad bean seeds 15 cm. apart in the rows. Protect your seeds against mice. Either cover the seeds with agricultural fleece or a network of prickly bramble sticks.
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Take samples of soil from different parts of your plot. Mix them together in a bucket. Get a soil sampling kit and test the pH of the soil. If the pH is less than 7 lime the legume and brassica area. Use 250 grams per square metre. (At home lime in the autumn on the legume bed only.)
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Sow tomato seeds into seed compost in a modular tray, they need a temp of 16C for germination.
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Sow Chilli seed into seed compost in a modular tray, they need a temp of 20C to germinate.
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Sow Beetroot seed into seed compost in a modular tray
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Sow cabbage seed into compost in a modular tray.
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Sow a selection of lettuces into a module tray.
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You're going to plant 25 set onions, in the 'others' part of your plot (with the garlic). You can either block plant them at a spacing of 10-15 cm or in rows 10cm x 30cm. If the soil was improved for a previous crop you do not need to add any compost otherwise add a low fertility soil improver, such as garden compost/leaf mould. Rake or fork the area to a fairly smooth tilth. Plant the onions root first by pressing gently into the tilth. To discourage birds from pulling up the onions, either lay prickly bramble twigs loosely on the surface, or, use sticks and string to make a lattice work over the onions.
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We are going to plant no-dig potatoes in one of the shared areas of uncultivated land. Mark out the area we are going to grow and cut down/ hoe off grass on the area if necessary. Water the ground if it is dry and spread manure to about 5mm depth. Plant potatoes by lying them on the manure at spacing of about 30cm with rows about 75cm apart. Cover with straw or hay, cover with fleece to protect from frost and stop straw blowing away.
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We need to clear out the toms and beans from the polytunnel to make room for the seed trays, collect the seeds as you go.
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In one couner of the poly we could dig a bed for brassica salads. The soil has been quite compacted so dig well and then apply manure or compost. Sow brassica salad in rows about 10 cm apart, seeds can be sprinkled in rows to form a thick sowing, salad can then be cut when young and allowed to regrow.
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Week 3
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Before we start, consider the space on your plot if you feel it is getting a bit confusing and full. Draw up your site, putting in veg already sown. Think about what else we will need space to sow and plant out and the position it will need to go into to fit your rotation.
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Check your plants/seeds to see if anything has been dug up and eaten by mice/birds/chickens. If necessary resow and improve barriors.
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Weed your plot/ water if anything is looking desparate.
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In the "other area" create a smooth seed tilth. Make two rows 20 cms apart, 1cm deep, with the edge of a rake. In each row sow parsnip seeds. Sow clusters of 3 or 4 parsnip seeds at 20 cm intervals. In the spaces in between the parsnips lightly sow radish seeds. You might want to protect against dust bathing birds.
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Repeat the same soil treatment for the carrots, sowing them in rows about 15cms apart. Eventually we will thin them to 7cm but germination is erratic so sow about one every cm at this stage.
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In the brassica section of your plot sow a couple of rows of brassica salad.
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Pot up the courgettes, tomatoes, flowers, lettaces.
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Sow: Peas, Cucumbers, Melons, Lettace, Chillies.
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Have a look at the No Dig potatoes and cover with the grass clippings.
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Think about the outside space and how we can use it, ideas already mentioned are a permanent flower bed and a raised bed. We can talk about this over lunch and come up with a plan.
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We can start to build, dig these if there is time.
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Week 4 - 20/4/07
Check over your plot for mice/bird damage and if necessary resow and rebuild barriers Sow: Sweetcorn, courgettes, Runner Beans, Squash, Lettuce, Sunflowers. We need to think out the indoor space, we will be growing tomatoes, chillies, cucumbers, and basil. Move most of the straw bales outside, and make a smaller sitting area. Lay out where the beds need to go and dig over this area. Water the soil then add well-rotted manure, and mulch with straw ready for the plants. We could also build a small pond in the polytunel using a washing up bowl/old polytunel plastic, decide where to place this and dig a hole. Once the bowl is in place fill with rain water and get some stones and some plants from the existing pond. The raised bed needs to be topped up, use a mix of soil, bagged compost compost and manure. We are going to do a Square foot garden in this area so make some kind of structure to mark out the square. The flower/wild food bed has now been dug, add well rotted manure to the surface, there is no need to dig it in. There are quite a few plants around Ynyslas that can be rescued before the land is rotavated, dig these up and plant in bed. Pot up lettuces, flowers, chillies. Help Lynne and Pete with preparing beds and weeding.
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Week 5 - 9/5/07
Check over your plot for any mice/bird damage. It has been very dry so there may be gaps in the carrot and parsnip germination, resow these where necessary. Resow or plant from the tray any gaps you have in the peas. The broad beans are starting to need some support, build them a frame out of string and canes. Plant out a few lettuces, beetroot, and chard in your plot. Sow a row of true spinach, baby leaf lettuce and/or another row of brassica salad. Water well. If you are running out of space have a look at the chart below to decide and think about leaving something out, we can also think about using the spare bed.
Potatoes Others:
Onion, Garlic, Leeks Parsnips, carrots Spinach, Chard Lettuce Courgette Brassica:
Cabbage Brassica Salad Legumes:
Broad Beans Peas
So we have a succession of lettuces we need to sow every couple of weeks, sow a selection into modules, label. Pot up the chillies. We need to think out the indoor space, we will be growing tomatoes, chillies, cucumbers, and basil. Move most of the straw bales outside, and make a smaller sitting area. Lay out where the beds need to go and dig over this area. Water the soil then add well-rotted manure. Make a selection of the strongest plants, plant these at a spacing of 45 cm. Tie them up by looping the string around the root ball as you plant. Plant a selection of cucumbers, again tying up by looping the string around the root ball, plant with the root ball slightly proud of the soil surface to avoid rotting. We could also build a small pond in the polytunel using a washing up bowl/old polytunel plastic, decide where to place this and dig a hole. Once the bowl is in place fill with rain water and get some stones and some plants from the existing pond. The flower/wild food bed has now been dug, add well rotted manure to the surface, there is no need to dig it in. There are quite a few plants around Ynyslas that can be rescued before the land is rotavated, dig these up and plant in bed. The raised bed needs to be topped up with soil, take this from the three sisters bed. We now need to plan the spaces, think about sowing carrots, parsnips, peas, brassica salad, baby leaf lettuce, spinach, coriander, planting out lettuces, chard, beetroot.
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Week 6 - 25/5/07
Check over plot for mice, bird, slug damage. Resow and plant where necessary. You may want to resow carrots and another line of brassica salad or baby leaf lettuce The broad beans are starting to need support, build the frame out of string and canes. If you have space, you could sow a few beetroot and spring onion direct. Space the beetroot 1cm deep and 5cm apart, sowing a couple of seeds at each station. Space the spring onion at about 1cm and just below the surface. To ensure a succession of lettuces we need to sow every couple of weeks, sow a selection into a tray, remember to label. We can also sow some kohl rabi, fennel into modules. Plant out the rest of the lettuces we have in pots into the spare bed. We could also direct sow some baby leaf or brassica salad. The square foot garden needs planting sowing, make a plan of what should go where. If it needs topping up with soil take this from the flowerbed, ensuring all weed roots are removed. Pot up the chillies Plant out the sweetcorn corn in the 3 sisters bed we want them spaced at about 45 cm x 60 cm. Next to each corn plant a bean, use the grown plants in pots first and direct sow if we do not have enough. Sow some extra runners into a tray incase of mouse or slug damage. We can undersow an area with a low growing green manure such as mustard, try this in half the bed so we can compare. 9. We need to plant out the remaining pumpkins, either in the black plastic area by the poly tunnel, or the flowerbed. 10. The flowerbed is ready to be planted, dig over again to remove any remaining weeds and muck with well-rotted horse manure. It needs some planning, we still have peas in the tray, we could think about growing these up a wigwam in the middle and planting the pumpkins and flowers around this. We will have to include paths/stepping stones. Plants are still waiting to be transplanted from around ynyslas, we could so a patch of phaiclia, particularly good for insects. 11. Check over no dig potatoes and pull out excess weed, earth up using straw. 12. In the polytunnel plant a few morning glory to grow up the supports, these will offer some shading later in the year. We can also plant out a few of the larger basil between the tomatoes. 13. We were talking about some longer term plans for the plot, incorporating permaculture and forest garden principles, write down some ideas/draw a plan so that we can present ideas to Lynne and Pete and think about cost.
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Week 8 (week 7 was a trip) - 22/6/07
We haven't been in the garden for a month so this week is going to be mainly weeding and organising.
Look over your plots
Weed Tie up peas Tie up broad beans Take out bolted radish/spinach/salad Resow radish/salads Earth up potatoes with straw or grass clippings Fill gaps in your peas and beans with beans in tray
The green house needs a serious weed. Side shoot and tie up tomatoes and cucumbers. Give them a good water. Pot up chillies, basil, sweet corn, pak choi, fennel. Weed 3 sisters bed, square foot, flower bed Plant and sow into the square foot bed: Tomato, radish, spinach. Plant out brassicas, we could put them in spaces where things have failed in the flowerbed. Plant out outside tomatoes, either we make space for them somewhere or we need to dig a new bed. Plant out remaining beans. Plant out some sunflowers. Sort out raspberries, weed and feed. We could think about building some frame work so next year they will be more organised. Clear the nettles and brambles from around the polytunel as they block out light will grow under the edges. If we have enough we could lay some black plastic. We could think about buildingsome small ponds around the beds to encourage wildlife and frogs to help with our slug problem. We've got lots of old polytunnel plastic we could use.
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Week 9 - 29/6/07
Look over your plots
- Weed - Tie up peas - Tie up broad beans - Take out bolted radish/spinach/salad - Resow radish/salads - Earth up potatoes with straw or grass clippings - Fill gaps in your peas and beans with beans in tray
Pot up chillies, basil, fennel. Weed 3 sisters bed, square foot, flower bed Plant and sow into the square foot bed: Tomato, radish, spinach. Plant out brassicas, we could put them in spaces where things have failed in the flowerbed. The green house needs a serious weed. Side shoot and tie up tomatoes and cucumbers. Give them a good water. Plant out outside tomatoes, either we make space for them somewhere or we need to dig a new bed. Sort out raspberries, weed and feed. We could think about building some framework so next year they will be more organised. Clear the nettles and brambles from around the polytunel as they block out light will grow under the edges. If we have enough we could lay some black plastic. We could think about building some small ponds around the beds to encourage wildlife and frogs to help with our slug problem. We've got lots of old polytunnel plastic we could use. Think about more permanent design for the site and perennial plants and trees that we may want to plant in autumn.
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Week 10 - 17.7.07
This is the last week until we meet on the 7th September. When we meet then we will harvest the brassicas, onions, garlic, squash.
Unfortunately the tomatoes will be ripening in august but hopefully you will have plenty at home, there will also be lots of cucumbers, which we've been harvesting for about 3 weeks now, again hopefully the ones you have at home are also doing well.
During august you can continue to sow salads, spring onions, herbs, radish.
The crops you want in over the winter should also be sown through august so that they are well established before the summer ends.
These are: leaf beets, spring cabbages, Chicory, winter lettuces, claytonia, corn salad, Endive, Garlic (late autumn), Kale, Oriental salads, onions (sept), Pak choi, Spinach, Turnip.
This week in the garden we will harvest everything we can: lettuces, salads, herbs, peas, beans, potatoes, onions, cucumbers, courgettes.
We then need to make sure everything is well weeded and tidied up so we can leave it for the 6 weeks till we meet again:
We need to have a look at what has worked and what hasn't and have a think about what we could have done better. Also whether you feel confident to plan your garden for next year.
If you would like, make a plan now, you could have a think over the next few weeks. We re meeting again on the 3rd August for a visit/evaluation session, so we could go through them then so that you're clear on everything.
A. Planning your growing area for next year's crops.
Draw a sketch plan of the vegetable growing area you maintain or would like to maintain. Mark on any semi-permanent features such as compost heaps, hedges, greenhouse or cold frame, paths etc. Show any features that are designed to encourage beneficial wildlife into the growing area. Mark on the plan any crops you plan to grow in the same place for several seasons. E.g. Rhubarb, strawberries, asparagus, comfrey, raspberries etc. Divide the remaining growing area into smaller spaces. List the crops you would like to grow in each of the spaces next year. Thinking about the rotation and companion planting. It can be really useful to draw up a time line of when you intend to sow your crops, this way you get it all clear and don't forget things Go through this process of dividing space and planning for both insode and outside areas.
B. Things to also think about when planning
How are you going to grow your plants in the healthiest way, Maintain and improve soil fertility, Keep weeding to the minimum, Avoid or control pests and diseases, Keep plants well supplied with moisture.
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