New plantings for winter

As you've probably noticed most of the plants (tomatoes, chillies, courgettes, squash etc) have been dug up and consigned to the composter. All that remains are the purple podded beans (the success of the year) and some nasturtiums.
The present mild spell has created a window for planting new crops to occupy the beds for the winter season. A visit to Terwins Seeds on Bury St Edmunds market provided some very handy plug plants: cabbage, broad beans, pea shoots and lettuce, all of which were a decent size, which should see them thriving before the temperature drops. The idea of planting now is that the plants should establish themselves and grow very slowly over the winter, giving them a head start when spring arrives in March. It should also mean that the broad bean growing tips avoid the curse of greenfly, as they are small and at their most vulnerable before the greefly season.
Still to be planted are the onions and the pea shoots.

I was helped yesterday by Simon from The London Cycle Workshop and his friend Sue. To tell the truth, I sort of messed about while they did most of the work - I could get used to this supervising lark! Sue planted an entire bed of (Solent Wight) garlic while Simon planted broad beans and lettuce. We are hoping to hold a cycle workshop where Belleville pupils can bring their bikes to school one Sunday and learn about bike safety and how to clean and look after their bikes. Could this be the birth of the Belleville Bicycle Club?

We were watched by the new addition to the Belleville Veg Garden, the beady eyed Alberto. His job is to scare off the foxes (ha!) and to keep a look out for strawberry thieves.

This fleece is there mainly to keep the foxes off the beds. They like to dig for worms and slugs which apparently make up a major part of their diet.

New fence

We have a new fence at the Belleville veg garden. We´ve given it a couple of coats of rustic looking wood preserver and a good sandpapering. There´s now a bit more room inside the fence so that larger groups of children can visit the garden more easily, as we hope to integrate with the school carriculum more fully this year.



[Left] A highly trained craftsman gives the fence a coat of ´Eco Preserver´

[Above] Skills like these don´t come cheap you know!

While we were on our hols in France the garden had a real growth spurt! The beans in particular had done really well. They are the ´purple podded´ variety chosen because they show up so well and are therefore easy to pick. They also seem not to have attracted a single greenfly/blackfly which is a huge advantage. Although purple when picked they go green when boiled, something that goes down well with the children.
The courgettes also went crazy and some turned into marrows. The tomatoes and sweetcorn are now ripening and the squash are growing rapidly. The tomatoes are delicious and, as happened a couple of years ago, the Radiator Charlie´s Mortgage Lifters are set to be enormous (and delicious!).
Next year we really need to make sure produce gets picked in August so we´ll be looking for volunteers! Pick your own localorganic veg. Can´t be bad.
I´m hoping to have some produce for sale in the upper playground at pick up next week, either Monday or Tuesday.

[Above] The finished fence looking quite sturdy

Two major new additions to the garden!

Very excited to report that on a visit to the Hampton Court Flower Show I bought a tumbling composter and an automated irrigation system for the vegetable garden.

At last we have a composter for Belleville School so our green credentials have been significantly boosted! The advantages of this style of composter are that it produces compost much more quickly than the Dalek style bin as the air gets in as it tumbles, and that it´s cleaner being off the ground. Feel free to add your vegetable and fruit peelings. It helps if you add some pieces of brown cardboard as well. Please stop adding stuff if the sign on the handle says 'full'.
For full details on what to compost see the section at the end of this post.

IRRIGATION SYSTEM
Over the last couple of days I've installed (with help from Nick Ward) a timer controlled irrigation system which should really make life easier. Of course it rained most of the day I was installing the main pipes but that was to be expected.
Being built on top of tarmac when the raised beds dry out the soil is unable to suck up moisture from the ground as happens in normal flower beds. The problem with watering with a hose is that only the top inch or so of soil gets wet and this can confuse the roots which start growing upwards instead of downwards. But the main problem is that plants like courgettes, squash, beans and strawberries will not produce crops if they think there isn't enough water to do so. Baby courgettes shrivel up when they're a couple of inches long. The new dripper system will ensure that the beds get a thorough soaking and will help produce better crops and keep everything ticking over, even when we are on holiday.

The beans are doing well. I´ve just wind proofed the supports as we´re experiencing blustery weather. The beans will be purple but turn green when cooked. I´m hoping this will make them easier to harvest as they should stand out against the green leaves.

[Right] Expect lots of tomatoes this summer. Christina of Lola Rojo will probably be harvesting during the summer holidays but I hope to make some available on ´gardening Sundays´.

Sweetcorn. These are struggling, not sure why. Perhaps they haven´t had enough water.
The Courgettes [below] are just getting started and are enjoying a bit of rain after the dry spell. (They're now enjoying the drip feeder!)


We only have a couple of chilli plants [below] as I sold so many at the Northcote Road Carnival and the Summer Fair. They´re looking good though and have just flowered













WHAT TO COMPOST
A mixture of 'green' and 'brown' matter:

'Greens' or nitrogen rich ingredients
* Nettles
* Grass cuttings
* Raw vegetable peelings from your kitchen
* Tea bags (paper not plastic) and leaves, coffee grounds
* Young green weed growth * avoid weeds with seeds *
* Soft green prunings

'Browns' or carbon rich ingredients - slow to rot
* Cardboard eg. cereal packets and egg boxes, but brown coardboard is best
* Waste paper and junk mail, including shredded confidential waste
* Cardboard tubes
* Newspaper * although it is better for the environment to send your newspapers for recycling
* Bedding from vegetarian pets eg rabbits, guinea pigs - hay, straw, shredded paper, wood shavings
* Tough hedge clippings
* Woody prunings chopped into small pieces
* Old bedding plants
* Bracken
* Sawdust
* Wood shavings
* Fallen leaves can be composted but the best use of them is to make leafmould

Other compostable items
* Wood ash, in moderation
* Egg shells (crushed)

Do NOT compost
* Meat
* Fish
* Cooked food
* Coal & coke ash
* Cat litter
* Dog faeces

Mutant tomato plant shock and Carnival

The Northcote Road Carnival was a great success. The police estimate that nearly 10,000 people turned up to enjoy the music, floats, stalls and funfair rides. The Belleville plant and PTA stall had a very busy and raised over £400.00 for the school. Thanks are due to all the helpers who turned up on the day and made it more like a party than a chore.



Ready for buiness!

We mainly sold veg plants but also some plants that you can't eat.

Spotted this tomato, the first of the year.

[Below] This is the first Minibel that I've sold. It's a miniature very compact plant, ideal for growing in pots or baskets. They're fairly rare but I hope to grow a lot more next year.

MUTANT TOMATO SHOCK!

Amongst the tomatoes grown at Belleville this year one stands out from all the others. Tomato plants are fairly straggly, higgledy piggledy sort of things and they certainly aren't perky and symmetrical like this 'mutant' Super Marmande that appeared amongst this year's crop. The branches seem firmer than normal and they grow from the main stem in clusters [left] rather than the normal one at a time. I've planted one in bed six (the second from the left as you look at the garden from the playground) and it'll be interesting to see how it develops. I've also planted a Radiator Charlie's Mortgage Lifter in the middle of the same bed. The 'mutant' is nearest the fence).

THE JOY OF FOX

I mentioned the fox traps at Honeywell. Perhaps we could do with one at Belleville during the holidays. Apparently captured foxes are re-located to the countryside. For a nice holiday.

21st May - Tomatoes Planting out plan

29th June Update:
Dug up the broad beans in bed 2 and planted:
1 Cherry? Sungold?
2 Dominato
3 Super Marmande
4 Radiator Charlie
5 Radiator Charlie
6 Cherokee Purple
7 Super Marmande
In Bed 3 planted:
2 Radiator Charlies at fence end of bed

3rd June Update:
Dominato F1 planted in bed three (Greenhouse end is bed one)
Red Cherry planted in bed five
Super Marmande planted in bed six, furthest from playground
Sungold F1 planted in bed seven
Can't remember what is planted in the smallest raised bed. Only time.....will tell.
More to come when space become available
Would all footballs/basketballs please avoid these plants. Thanks!
UPDATE: Will all foxes please find somewhere else to dig.
3rd June Update:
Two Dominato F1s planted in Honeywell Nursery veg garden
Saw fox trapped in cage. Photo to follow!
13rd June Update:
Radiator Charlie's Mortgage Lifter Bed six, middle of the bed.
'Mutant' Super Marmande: Bed six, nearest playground

THIS YEAR´S TOMATO VARIETIES

We´ve selected a wide range of tomatoes to grow at Belleville School this year. Seedlings are already six inches tall and will be ready for planting out in a week or two. We´ll be selling a range in the playground soon so whether you´re after a small cherry tomato plant to grow in a pot on your patio, or you´d like to try your hand at growing a monster variety like Radiator Charlie´s Mortgage Lifter, I think we have the plants for you!

SUNGOLD F1
Cordon (Indeterminate). An excellent new tomato for greenhouse or outdoors to provide lots of deliciously different fruit for salads etc. Sungold has an exceptional and very high sugar content (it definitely rivals 'Gardeners Delight') and these attractive golden orange, approx. 13 gram, fruit are irresistible with a sweet flavour all their own -almost a dessert fruit! Sungold crops well and has resistance to Tobacco Mosaic Virus and Fusarium to ensure healthy plants.

SUPER MARMANDE
Semi-Bush (Semi-Determinate). The favourite large-fruited tomato of Provence. Tomato Super Marmande is distinguished by its irregular cushion shape and touch of pink on the shoulders. Super Marmande is large, juicy, well flavoured fruit and a great improvement over an already excellent variety.

DOMINATO F1
Czech variety. Round red fruit weighing between 140 and 160 gram. Distinctive scalloping on the upper side. Tolerates cooler temperatures. Very good resistance to disease. A good basic tomato with excellent flavour. A favourite of our nanny´s granny!

RADIATOR CHARLIE´S MORTGAGE LIFTER
Sometime during the early 1940's, a Mr Marshall Cletis Byles of Logan, West Virginia, otherwise known as Radiator Charlie (a radiator repair man by trade, unsurprisingly) decided that he wanted to develop a very large tomato, so he set about trying to locate the largest tomatoes that he could find. He soon located four varieties of very large tomatoes: German Johnson Pink, Red Beefsteak, an unknown Italian variety and an unknown English variety. From these, he grew ten plants which he cultivated in a very unorthodox, unique fashion. He planted nine of the plants in a circle and then planted a German Johnson Pink in the centre of the circle. Byles then cross pollinated the German Johnson's flowers with pollen from each of the nine plants in the circle and saved seed from the resulting tomatoes. The next year, he planted the seeds and selected the best seedlings. The very best of these again went to the centre of a circle, while the remaining were planted in a circle around them. Again, the plants in the middle were hand pollinated with pollen from those in the circle. Byles repeated this process for the next six years until he had created a stable variety that met his needs. After that, he never had another type of tomato on his place. The resulting variety became known as the Radiator Charlie's Tomato and soon established themselves as being very desirable. Every spring, gardeners from as far away as 200 miles came to buy their tomato seedlings from Radiator Charlie, which he sold for one dollar each, which was a substantial amount of money for a tomato plant back then. Mr. Byles sold so many tomato plants of his new variety over the next five or six years that the profits of his tomato enterprise paid off the $6000 mortgage on his home! After that, the tomato variety became forever known as Radiator Charlie's Mortgage Lifter Tomato! In 1985, Mr. Byles shared some of his seed with the Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, who formerly introduced it to the general public. Ever since then, it has been a very desireable tomato variety.

RED CHERRY (Cordon)
This is a standard large Red Cherry Tomato that produces small round, red and sweet tomatoes. Great for salads or using in stir-fry and other cooking. A great and prolific producer. Red Cherry was originally introduced way back in the 1880's and has been growing strong ever since. Just like the ones your grandmother used to raise! A popular, disease resistant variety that will produce a high yield. A compact habit means it is ideal for those with small gardens and for planting in pots.

MINIBEL

This is an ideal variety for people with a small garden, patio or balcony, preferably south facing as tomatoes like plenty of warmth. In a sunny spot it will reward you by producing tasty tomatoes that are ideal for salads, roasting or nibbling straight from the bush. Also suitable for a pot as it is low-growing (45-90 cm).

You can grow the TORNADO F1 variety without pruning and it will produce an abundance of normal sized round tasty tomatoes. Great if you have a sunny area of your garden or patio that you can set aside for tomato production!

CHEROKEE PURPLE
One of the few tomatoes to have its own dedicated website (http://www.cherokeepurple.com/) this is apparently an amazingly delicious beefsteak style tomato, great for slicing and serving in salads, rather than cooking. If you love tomatoes sliced with a little olive oil and black pepper, this could be the one for you!

After last year´s disaster when a young Dutton removed all the plant labels, the seedlings are in pots marked with dots or initials designating the variety:

Minibel - One dot
Dominato F1 - Two dots
Super Marmande - Three dots
Sungold F1 - Four dots
Red Cherry - Five dots
Radiator Charlie - RC
F1 Tornado - F1T
Cherokee Purple - CP

TOMATO PLANT CARE

Pruning Cordon (indeterminate) varieties : As soon as the flower trusses start to form the plant will begin to produce shoots in the joints between the stem and the leaf. By nature the tomato is a bushy plant, but allowing these shoots to grow will result in a mass of bushy foliage and small fruits. Remove sideshoots by "pinching out" using your thumb and forefinger. Repeat this every two days towards the end of the season. When the plant is bearing six or seven trusses of fruit break off the growing tip cleanly just above the second leaf above the top truss. The plant can then concentrate all of its resources into growing fruit.

De-leafing: Removing the lower leaves of the plant will encourage it to channel its resources into fruit production and improve ventilation close to the soil.
Feeding and Watering: Tomatoes need plenty of moisture but not a saturated soil. Twice daily watering is a must in hot weather. Greenhouse grown crops will benefit from a good misting by spraying the whole greenhouse including floor, staging etc.

Harvesting: The bottom trusses ripen first and you can if you like pick the tomatoes before they are quite ripe. Sever the stalk at the "knuckle" just above the calyx. They can complete their ripening on a windowsill within a few days. Removing the crop before it's ripe helps the plant to concentrate on the next lot of fruit.

Post (extended) Easter break roundup

CLICK ON PIX TO MAGNIFY
April is one of the busiest times in the garden (especially the veg garden) and it´s also the time that Duttons go away every year. This year the ash cloud turned our two weeks into three. Just before we left for the airport on the 3rd April I seeded a few rows of salads assuming that there might be a bit of rain in early April (which you´d expect right?). Well, as you know there wasn´t, so they didn´t germinate. Apart from that though, everything did pretty well considering the lack of water. The garlic (which don´t like much water) have thrived, although some look like they´ve been chewed by a giant garlic chewing thing. The elephant garlic is already much beefier looking than its ordinary cousins.

The broad beans have done extremely well. I planted them in Oct/Nov with a view to getting an early spring crop. They´re in flower now so we should see the beginnings of beans in a couple of weeks. The spinach and swiss chard are going great guns. Netting them has kept the pigeons off effectively.



The onions are doing quite well in an Alistair Darling sort of a way.



[below]Swiss chard always adds a splash of colour!




My ongoing failure to grow fennel properly may have ended, as these plants look great. Maybe the secret is not to water for three weeks when you´d think it would need it most.



At home I have a lot of tomato seedlings (and quite a few more trays have been looked after by some very kind volunteers). They were watered by our builders and are looking very healthy. They´ll be available in the playground shortly, so don´t buy any weedy things from B&Q and the like!
Hopefully see you in the playground soon for a produce sale, or maybe at one of the gardening Sundays that I´ve been threatening to hold for some time!

The Beginning

For the benefit of new parents who weren't here before the veg garden was built, here are a few photos of the day the soil arrived and a team of volunteers transferred it to the raised beds. The whole operation only took an hour and a half which just goes to show that many hands make light work.

Parents take on the ice - and win!

Brilliant effort by the parents and children who braved the elements to clear the playground of ice and snow. Hopefully there'll be enough salt left on the surface to keep the ice away?







Fiona Gammie clears up after a marathon session. She's an inspiration!