16 July 2009: An eye-catching haul of small but sweet Renova cylindrical beetroots. Much of the work at present entails cutting the grass, trimming edges and harvesting veg. These’ll go into the staff room for the taking.

16 July 2009: Remember those tiny lettuce seedlings of a few weeks ago? Well, here they are now. I’ve been thinning them out progressively and keeping them moist. I like to harvest by picking off the outside leaves, a few from each plant. That way they stay productive for a longer period than if you let them heart up more. Also, one can gather just enough for whatever is planned menu-wise in the kitchen and there is no glut. Some so-called ‘cut-and-come-again’ lettuces (like Salad Bowl) are perfectly suited to harvesting as such, but I find any lettuce will repond famously if given this treatment. 

16 July 2009: Just a small portion of the carrots and spring onions which yielded superbly in the raised beds. Certainly I’ve been impressed with the onions. These are amazingly succulent and I wish the photo could relay the aroma! Beautiful. I don’t cultivate carrots in open soil any more. At home the badgers have sussed them out. They go stir-crazy for a bit of sweet carrot root so to foil their habit of turfing out a row days before harvesting (most frustrating) I nurture all mine in pots and recycling bins. A raised bed, like the ones used (and sold) here, is just a big pot to be truthful. The home-producer can blend the compost so it’s a bit on the sandy side which they like and, if you water and thin and avoid the slugs, this is what might be in store. Good luck.

18 June 2009: Bed 4 looking pukka.

18 June 2009: Regular watering during the unusually dry weather of late produced this handsome beast of a White Dream radish. Thrilling, huh?!

18 June 2009: Mrs Nails was not best pleased when I announced that these Red Delicious Brussels sprouts, which I’d nurtured from seeds in the garden at home, were destined to finally rest in the demo garden at Orchard Park. She wanted them close to hand but I reckoned they’d enhance the beds here so I brought them on over and planted firmly. The collars should keep cabbage root flies at bay and we’ll see waht happens over the next few months…..

18 June 2009: Another close up of a Hispi F1 cabbage. No apologies for focussing on this veg again, but truth is I can’t remember growing better cabbages than this batch of tight-hearted beauties. They obviously like the heavy clay soil and t.l.c. I’ve been lavishing on them.

17 June 2009: Great care must be exercised when training runner beans. They do need some encouragement to climb in the early days. I tie soft string in a figure of eight as shown, but loosely so as not to damage the tender stem. All the internal gubbins of the bean travels up and down this important channel, much as blood flows around our bodies. If it gets injured in any way then that is not helpful. Runners will recover from accidental snapping by sending out another leader, but the delay in growth means crops come later.

17 June 2009: Look at this raised bed. Crops are doing well but you may notice that the spinach has started to bolt. That means simply that it has decided to flower. A green spike issues forth from the centre of the plant and reproduction will take place. Bolting is a common phenomenon and spinach is particularly prone. This fussy vegetable demands constant attention to watering and care in keeping soil rich and moist. Any shortfall in either department can cause it to bolt. Think of it as the spinach panicing and rushing to have babies before disaster strikes! if that sounds a bit over the top I’m sorry, but essentially this is what is going on. The leaves don’t taste as good at this point so I’d advise lifting the plants whole and slinging them on the compost heap. 

11 June 2009: A tray of mizuna, mustard, spinach and lettuce. Oh, and radishes. I was rather pleased when told that this last vegetable was surplus to reqirements becuase Mrs Nails and I are radish fiends. Needless to say, they were well used. We took some raw and pickled the rest with red onions and crispy Lobjoits Green Cos lettuce leaves.