About two dozen seeds were started off in damp jiffy pellets, and made quite rapid progress. In my experience, they do grow very quickly, and you do end up potting them up quite rapidly.
The seedling babies were growing quite quickly on the window sill, so did need to be potted up. Otherwise they get leggy, bend, and keel over. Cue emergency pot up. As you can see above, they have placed into small pots and are on their first baby leaves with the true leaves just about to sprout. These are greedy, sun loving creatures. So they do need warmth, light, and for now, water. The compost is full of nutrients for the next six weeks. By which time, it will be necessary to harden them off, having possible put them into bigger pots. They will need to be protected if there is a sharp drop in temperature and a frost.
I have sown two varieties here. These are sunburst, which get to about five tall, and giant sunflowers, which are something even taller and with multiple flowers.
Hopefully these will all continue to thrive and survive. Will hopefully sow a few more and encourage more pollinators on the plot.
If you have sown some sunflowers, then please let me know. Would be lovely to see what is happening ^_^
And we are off. Today I have sown sunflowers to kick off the Psychology Sunflower challenge 2015. I have sown two varieties, sunburst and Giant Sunflowers.
You can see the previous post here where I put it all into context.
The top two rows of the tray above are sunflowers seeds. The other three rows contain assorted flowers that will sunk along side. All of which, will contribute to entertaining bumble bees and help pollinate crops.
The key for this challenge is Sunflowers.
I am challenging my fellow teachers and school support staff, regardless of subject area and age range, to grow sunflowers. Something of a natural experiment, if you like. The details above, are taken from the latest article of The ATP Magazine. Later this year, I am hoping to carry out a workshop at The ATP conference that looks at gardening and well being.
These do tend to grow quickly, and get big quickly at that. So these will need to be potted up as and when. They will also need to be hardened off and exposed to the elements before being placed into their final positions.
So here we have it, the Psychology Sunflower challenge. As the winter starts to ebb away,the days get longer, the sunshine starts to appear. We step out of the dreariness of the dark, dank, winter moths and say hello to brightness.
I am challenging my fellow teachers, regardless of subject area, to grow sunflowers. Something of a natural experiment, if you like. The details above, are taken from the latest article of The ATP Magazine. Later this year, I am hoping to carry out a workshop at The ATP conference that looks at gardening and well being.
The instructions for the challenge are are simple. Place a sunflower seed into a pot of moist compost. You can even make your own paper pots if you wish! rather informative video here of how you can make those. Keep them moist and warm, but not damp enough to rot away. These should germinate quite quickly, and get quite tall. Once the threat of frost in your area has passed, you can transplant them outside.
Once outside, provided that they are well feed-they do get hungry-your sunflower will do it’s best to reach for the sky. You might even want to give it a name, and see just how tall it will grow. They are happy in both pots and in the open ground.
Here’s hoping that lots of folks get involved, and it would be lovely to see how the sunflowers are going.
Aubergine, sunfloo’ers and pickles this week, what could possibly go wrong?
I watch with cynicism and trepidation this week, as there are aubergines involved. In the grow challenge, that was the subject. Only two pairs actually grew from seed, something that I found disappointing. The others used grafted plants
And a chilli plant in quarantine, I’m mean really?
Tickling with ear buds as explained by the bearded blokes was good. Nice to see that happen.
But my one point is. To get the perfect aubergine fruit; you have to actually have to get the thing to germinate, root, flourish, flower and then fruit. I have a personal empathic view here; I have yet to get any fruits at all.
Misshapen veg?!
Oh dear juniper.
Show that mutated aubergine! I really don’t get this pursuit for perfection. Your tummy doesn’t yell a Len goodman-esque ‘seven’ when it is being eaten.
It was nice to see the contestants actually speaking to each other. This is what happens on allotments.
People talk.
You know, I don’t think I have ever been so cheesed off by aubergine shenanigans such as this. In awe, of a grown Aub. But sheen level takes the biscuit. The fact that some of the aubs were less than perfect was the actual highlight. Perfect specimen, bah humbug.
We like sunflowers. They are rather cool, little drops of sunshine. But the whole topiary tree turned me off completely. All very couture and fashion faffage here. Plus I don’t believe in cosseting my floo’ers.
The use of the phrase ‘free from blemishes’ irks me a great deal. Detracts from the fact that GYO and allotmenteering is not always going to be perfect. The pursuit for such is misleading and foolhardy. And such a desire to win. That doesn’t sit well with me either.
Then came the piccalilli and pickles. I’ve never understood why anyone would want to eat piccalilli. But this was a good opportunity to use a variety of allotment produce. Of course, being a Bollywood that always resonates. And apparently women don’t like piccalilli. Erm, eh?
Another lovely day, so off to the plot I went. Managed to do a bit of newspapering and black plastic-ing, before the newspaper ran out. Dandelion leaves were also chopped down. I realise that it is better to dig them out, or attack with weedkiller. This may well happen, in the not so distant future. Further to the previous crop, in the efforts to tidy up; a few more bulbs of garlic were forked out.
There was also some trussing up of tomatoes to be done:
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Who would have thought, that after the tomato tantrums of earlier this year; they would actually take off. The one variety that I am aware of is Ukrainian Purple that was kindly given to me. There are quite a few flowers forming, indicating that some form of crop will occur. I can confess that I haven’t taken off any side shoots. Which is why, the raised beds resemble something of a jungle. There is a mixture, therefore, of bush and vine tomatoes. Nestled around the edges, are smaller let spread out varieties.
Something else that has somewhat taken flight, are the sunflowers.
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I must confess, that I couldn’t tell you whether they are little ones or big ones. Yet, these seem pretty huge to me! I had been expecting them to be about ankle height. These are now very hobbit sized, and at a various positions on the plot and enjoying the sunshine.
Jack be little is one of the many squashes dotted around. Below is a image of a flower thrown up by Jack. I will be keeping a close eye on the other squashes such as sweet dumpling, patty pan and yellow scallop. Whilst they have started to form huge great big habits, there are not many flowers of either female or male persuasion.
. Jack has sent out a singular vine, attached to which is one very small jack be little pumpkin. All very newly formed in the last few days. Jack’s colleague Hooligan, resides on the other side of the plot, and is very diminutive in comparison. Much smaller sprawl and much smaller leaves. A reflection perhaps of early child trauma as it did have to be moved when first planted out. The one squash that still resides in open ground is the cobnut, and this is only just starting to get bigger.
Ghost rider
These are very, very tiny, and were easily missed. Previously, we have seen up to five babies form. All bar one being taken off. It will be interesting to see how these develop over the coming months. The leaves are certainly getting bigger and the vine is starting to sprawl out over the side of the raised bed.
Purple Rainbow Chilli
A few of the berries are starting to expand. I’m not quite sure as to how big they actually get, or how potent they might be. In the wendy house, the chillies and bells continue to be fed and watered. It is sad that to say that some of them have been a bit scorched by the sun. The Purple Beauty in particular. However, there are a few walnut sized sweet peppers being formed, and a singular, solitary thin chilli that may well be a cayenne or a long thai.
That’s Peace and Happiness, before you have to go translate it…
From the back, looking to the front
That long grass is not mine
nigel, a sweet pepper, a purple rainbow chilli and lemondrop
frauzauber, early jalepeno
assorted chillies and bells on the floor of the wendy
In haste, florence fennel gathered for afternoon tea.
Bed nearest to you, has three squashes, carrots and lettuces
those are maris pipers on the left. With leeks in the second half of the bed
Kestrel potatoes, second first early. Sauteed with some fennel for afternoon dinner
Potatos, pascali and the squashes with sweetcorm
To the untrained eye, this looks a mess. However, if you were to ask me nicely; I could tell you what most things are and where. The gallery above, is a walking tour if you like of the half plot. I will try and get some specific bed pictures up. I appreciate that it looks like a great big green mess in the gallery. Today is the first day of the Summer holidays for me, so an opportunity to see what I need to do. It goes without saying, that weeds are a problem. This time last year, we had a deluge; and the weeds were well up to ankle height. As well as that, I didn’t have so filled raised beds. They are there now, and they contain crops.
Two more raised beds have, thanks to Pops, been constructed. I had scavenged last week, bags of garden waste. Sat on the plot for best part of a week, these were emptied today in the beds. I know that these are upside down, before you point it out! The pots are on the spikes, so that hopefully no one gets hurt. It is safe to say, that having raised beds has been a boon. Whilst the clay is fabulous, full of nutrients; the position of the plot means that the whole thing gets flooded. This brings pools of water, slugs and other things that eat crops. With the battle against the weeds. The areas of open ground where there are no raised beds, have been choked by weeds. The plan is to now pull up the weeds, cover with newspaper, and perhaps even black plastic on top of that. I have been avoiding that, thinking that raised beds are enough. At least the black plastic can be planted through, the newspaper and pulled up weeds can help the clay composition.
This is going to be one of the big battles. To be clear of as many weeds as possible, and cover the ground. With the beautiful weather that we have had, the clay is like concrete. There is now way a magic fork or spade is going to slice through it. It is just as bad, when it is winter.
As I sit here, the weather lady has just delivered her forecast. For the moment at least, the nice weather will remain. A bit of harvesting was done to today. A small amount of Florence Fennel. A crop, that I had forgotten that I sown. So was very surprised to the see the dill hovering amongst the leaves of the Astia Courgette right next to it. The Florence Fennel was sautéed with the Kestrel potatoes. Lovely looking first second earlies, with pink smudges that look like little faces.
In the wendy house, you will see the vast array of chillies and bells. We have in there a huge number. We have just to name a few, Nigels outdoor chilli, lemon drop, frauzauber, spanish mammoth red, early jalapeño, purple beauty and long red marconi to name a few. Those are the ones that were at least labelled. I think a few of them, have thrown a bit of a tantrum in the wendy, having moved from the classroom. They were perhaps not used to the different temperatures. As mentioned previously, we are having nice weather. A few of the chillies, have been a little burned, and perhaps are sulking because of that too. They are watered and fed regularly. I am still not convinced of treating them in a mean fashion. The resplendent purple rainbow chillis remain in the kitchen at home. There were seven of these altogether, only one of these is in the wendy.
Triffids rise again, on the plot. Not only are there squashes, but also sweetcorn and sunflowers. I had though that the sunburst sunflowers, were relatively small. Yet these are nearly as big as me. No quite giant, but bigger than I had expected. Very leafy, and yet to form any flowers. I do believe that the squashes may take over the universe. I have long expected and anticipated the leaves getting as big as dinner plates. In my experience, that is a good thing. That is happening, yes. Now, we are on flower and fruit watch. Already, we have had a few striato di napoli and astia already, in addition to two beautiful tennis ball sized summer ball. I have never sown a yellow courgette, so this was a lovely crop. Mama H and I are still at odds over the bush baby marrow. Resting on a brick, it is as big as it should be. Mama H wants me to wait for various dishes to have been eated, before I harvest it. If it explodes, it’s not my fault, all right.
Tomorrow is another day, and for the moment; it is summer.
The last month or so, has meant that a suspension of major play. Whilst an eye has been kept on the plot, and things watered; there has no been the windows of opportunity to have some major undertakings. This week, however, was a turning point. With the weather here in Blighty becoming brighter and more summery; the plot has seen a bloom of bounty occurring. There are of course weeds, that is to be expected. In some places though, the weeds are as thick as they are high. So this will form the basis of the much of the work done over the summer. I would not want to be in the same position as I was this time last year when the whole plot was carpeted top to bottom with weeds.
What we have seen, is a bounty and a booming one. The warmth and the light as caused something of a surge.
Potatoes and Cauliflowers makes for Aloo gobi. The cauliflowers were from Aunty tish, white excel. I believe. To date, we have had two healthy shaped and sized specimens. Mother was excited enough harvest and text me a picture. I was at a concert at the time! That was the first. The second, was harvested for Aunty Indra. But it was not alone. No, it came with orla new potatos. We had already harvested a dozen or so, that Ma curried with some snowball turnips and ruby swedes. These were beautiful potatos, really very creamy and I found them to have a distinct salted flavour. As though they were ready salted crisps. There are kestral potatoes to take up, in the next stage of harvesting. All the potatoes in the raised beds are currently flowering. Well behind, are cara and sante potatoes. These are however, in open ground. Must harvest the third, and also have broccoli to come home too.
Been a busy day today, trying to get the various garlic and shallots up. Most of one bed has been cleared, but there is still a harvest remaining. There is quite a variance in the size of the different crops. The shallots are really quite small in their clumps, but a vast improvement on the crop from last year. Half a dozen clumps compared to three or for last year. The garlic, is the most interesting. Some of the beautiful pink bulbs are huge! Easily as big as my fist. There are also those that are tiny, no bigger than say a onion set. These are also the ones more difficult to dig out. I daresay, that this is weather variable, and a dependent on when they were sown. I have yet dig up any onions. A disappointment, as hundreds were sown. Garlic is now sat drying with the dry weather; the foliage will be chopped shortly.
Beans and peas are a sticky point. There are broadbeans, with their flowers following you around the plot as though they were eyes. But no beans and peas, in that there is one runner bean plant, and one pea. My fault, as I haven’t paid as close attention to them as I could have.
Courgettes and marrows are getting altogether exciting.
Really must get around to harvesting them. The foliage is ever expanding, with leaves now being as big as dinner plates. The summer squashes are certainly doing well, though the like so patty pan and yellow scallop are somewhat behind. Have yet to see any sweet dumpling, or cobnut and any of the pumpkins.
With Moolis and radishes, I have established, that I don’t like them. Dad likes radishes, so he had a few of those. The moolis, however, have been a challenger. And have bolted faster than a prized horse. Rather than chopping them down, have kept them for the seed pods. These can be curried or eaten as a snack.
Swedes and Turnips have been going well. Lots of foliage, and small half tennis ball sized fruits that Ma curried. Tasted quite nice these.
There are loads of weeds, and cabbages to be sunk at some point. I am rather sick of lobbing caterpillars too. One of the broccoli plants was completely obliterated by the little critters. I will be constructing further raised beds. The level of success, is in my mind, a product of raised beds. A good part of today was spent collecting bags of grass to fill them with.
Jack has sent out a singular vine, attached to which is one very small jack be little pumpkin. All very newly formed in the last few days. Jack’s colleague Hooligan, resides on the other side of the plot, and is very diminutive in comparison. Much smaller sprawl and much smaller leaves. A reflection perhaps of early child trauma as it did have to be moved when first planted out. The one squash that still resides in open ground is the cobnut, and this is only just starting to get bigger.
These are very, very tiny, and were easily missed. Previously, we have seen up to five babies form. All bar one being taken off. It will be interesting to see how these develop over the coming months. The leaves are certainly getting bigger and the vine is starting to sprawl out over the side of the raised bed.
horticultural 'obbit 