As we approach the end of January, our growing plans are starting to really take shape. In the photo, David is covering what is to become our courgette bed with weed matting. For the last couple of months we have been covering the whole area with spent bedding from the cows and goats. It has slowly been rotting down but in covering it with the matting we are now encouraging a bit of warmth which in turn should encourage the worms, bacteria and microbes to start breaking it all down even more! In March/April we will then make small incisions in the matting and plant directly into what by then should be nutrient rich compost. This bed will actually be home to courgettes and butternut squash and other veg yet to be decided but all of them will need to be 'unappealing' to the caterpillar of course. This is after all an outside patch. Elsewhere we have a smaller bed similarly full of ‘muck’ and covered with matting as our hopes are to develop an asparagus bed again (we had one in the polytunnel at Lamorna). The asparagus plants are due to arrive in March and then it is a patient wait as in year one, only one spear per plant should be harvested, in year two maybe three or four and only from year three onwards can as many as you want be cut.
Over in the potting area the onion sets have been planted in grow bags and we also have some coriander on the go in the greenhouse. The potatoes are chitting and the ‘hot bed’ is coming on nicely: we will probably use this for tomatoes, melons and aubergines. We are still working on ways to grow brassicas without pests and diseases taking the whole crop!
David has also planted or in some cases rescued from the garden, a variety of trees: oak, sweet chestnut and ash. We hope to use some of these for hedging or possibly even for a mini copse in one of the fields!!!
It would be great to think about growing a crop or two for the goats: kale or cabbages maybe. That 'might' be something we get going this year – or next!!!