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Post by Stuart@AmericaLane on Mar 24, 2016 14:59:58 GMT
Made the first direct sowing of beetroot on the plot today (25th March). 3 x 1 metre row each of Boltardy, Crosbys Egyptian, Cylindra.
Sown at into a thin layer of compost on top of the soil at roughly 2 cm spacing.
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Post by murrayc on Mar 24, 2016 15:13:56 GMT
I wasn't planning to sow mine until the ground is a little bit warmer. I like the look of your cylindra and will be interested to see what size they come to. Last year I sowed the strange seed I brought back from Madeira, which turned out to be a bizarre version of beetroot grown as cattle-feed, and each fruit weighed two or more kilos! I shall be sowing Bikores from Franchi's Seeds of Italy. They've always grown prolifically for me and are very sweet, not least the year when I left the seed packet in my gardening jacket which Pat then washed in the machine. Those ultra-clean seeds performed magnificently.
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Post by Stuart@AmericaLane on Mar 24, 2016 16:46:57 GMT
You are right it may be a bit cold still but I had an overwhelming urge to sow something as I have the day off work. The air temperature according to the car was 11c and the other day for the first time I could feel the warmth of the sun on the back of my neck for the first time. But now looking out the window it could be winter again. The cylindra are my favourite of the types of have tried so far. A really deep beetrooty flavour and the shape is easier to work with in the kitchen. Although the chioggia look nice I find them bland to eat. We will have to swap a few to try each others out for flavour.
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Post by Stuart@AmericaLane on Apr 11, 2016 17:34:52 GMT
The beetroot are showing 15 days after sowing.
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Post by murrayc on Apr 12, 2016 11:42:38 GMT
Good work Stuart, and some seriously tangled, knotty compost in your beds. It is warming up very quickly now and I shall get my beetroot seeds in this week. On Sunday I sowed lettuce, rocket and radishes, as well as transplanting a few spring onion and kohl rabi seedlings.
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Post by Stuart@AmericaLane on Apr 12, 2016 12:04:45 GMT
I mostly use the Vital Earth Multipurpose which is recycled green waste. Mainly because it is cheap (4 bags for £10) but also I don't want to use anything with peat in it. Really it is more a soil conditioner than a compost. If I am sowing seeds in pots I sieve it and add perlite. But on the beds I just top dress and let the worms do their thing. There are lots of twigs in it but I think the close up makes it look worse than it is. I've been pretty successful using a top layer of this to sow things like carrots and parsnips direct. One bag per sq.m is ample. However now my soil is improving in the raised beds with several years of compost and manure added it is becoming a lot more workable. This year I have sown the carrots direct into the tilled soil. The amount of compost I have been putting on the beds has been my biggest cost so want to reduce that. I can never make enough of my own but now the plot has mostly taken shape and I will have less infrastructure work to do I want to get a proper high quality compost system up and running. Something like Mick Poultney (youtube) although I doubt I will get close to his level, He is the compost king.
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Post by murrayc on Apr 12, 2016 13:27:31 GMT
I mostly use the Vital Earth Multipurpose which is recycled green waste. Mainly because it is cheap (4 bags for £10) but also I don't want to use anything with peat in it. Really it is more a soil conditioner than a compost. If I am sowing seeds in pots I sieve it and add perlite. But on the beds I just top dress and let the worms do their thing. There are lots of twigs in it but I think the close up makes it look worse than it is. I've been pretty successful using a top layer of this to sow things like carrots and parsnips direct. One bag per sq.m is ample. However now my soil is improving in the raised beds with several years of compost and manure added it is becoming a lot more workable. This year I have sown the carrots direct into the tilled soil. The amount of compost I have been putting on the beds has been my biggest cost so want to reduce that. I can never make enough of my own but now the plot has mostly taken shape and I will have less infrastructure work to do I want to get a proper high quality compost system up and running. Something like Mick Poultney (youtube) although I doubt I will get close to his level, He is the compost king. Sounds interesting Stuart. Do you have a local source for Vital Earth? I may try some for containers at home.
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Post by Stuart@AmericaLane on Apr 12, 2016 14:40:09 GMT
The pet and garden outlet on the bridge road trading estate. Although when I last went in they didn't have it in stock but were expecting it. They used to do it at Scaynes Hill nursery as well but they seem to have changed to bona ne mona which is still 4 for a tenner but has peat content.
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