WEEK 1 WEEK 2 WEEK 3 WEEK 4 WEEK 5 WEEK 6 WEEK 7 WEEK 8 WEEK 9 WEEK 10 WEEK 11 WEEK 12 WEEK 13 WEEK 14 WEEK 15
Welcome to the fifteenth ‘Follow Us’ update of 2021, a space where we talk about how we’re growing in our own Ergrownomics raised planters this year, and walk you through how you can achieve the same results at home, yourself...Feel free to follow along, and be sure to follow us on Instagram & Facebook to never miss an update! As usual, key is at the bottom, so scroll down now!
The weather has deteriorated through this week from sunshine, to mixed showers, to persistent rainfall by the end! Daytime temperatures and night-time temperatures have similarly slid from above average at 210C and 140C to below average at 190C and 120C.
‘Misticanza di Lattughe’ in Planter 1 is continuing to grow reasonably well but with an increasing predominance of those varieties with a more spreading habit, which are mostly green leaved. The quality of leaf remains good but these are becoming ever more bitter and not altogether pleasant, even with copious amounts of dressing (ones based on honey, lemon and mustard are the best at masking the flavour). The ‘Misticanza di Lattughe’ will be removed this week and replaced with sorrels. We intend to sow ‘Red-veined’ in one half of the planter and ‘French’ in the other. Sorrels are not widely available in the UK but are easy to grow. They have a really high nutritional value with a fantastic ‘zingy’ lemony taste (a bit like a sherbet lemon).
Carrot ‘Imperator mix’ in Planter 2 have continued to grow well with the plants in excellent condition, and the training system has worked well in preventing the foliage from becoming flattened in the course of the (close to apocalyptic) showers we’ve experienced! These have left our herbaceous beds looking very sorry for themselves…!
An assortment of basils have been sown in Planter 3 to find out what (if any) role our cloche might have in providing favourable conditions for growing herbs during the summer months. We’ve gone for four varieties which are ‘Mrs Burns’, ‘Siam Queen’ ‘Bush’ and ‘Greek’. We haven’t planted Sweet ‘Genovese’ basil as its liable to suffer leaf spot due to the high humidity that the cloches promote. ‘Siam Queen’, which is an improved Thai basil, should (on paper, at least) be the most successful of the four - as it has a slightly thicker, waxier leaf. The basils have been sown in a 5mm screened peat-free mix of multi-purpose and ericaceous compost, which we’ve found to promote reasonable germination, although is still some way off that which can be achieved with peat.
Dwarf French bean ‘Speedy’ in Planter 4 is still growing reasonably well but the planter lacks uniformity as the plants at each end are different ages, and the younger ones still show no signs of catching up. However, this may pay dividends in extending the harvesting period. The older plants are not yet showing signs of flowering. ‘Purple Teepee’ dwarf French beans in an adjacent planter are taller than the ‘Speedy’ in Planter 4, the foliage is a darker green and - to add insult to injury -these are now flowering (they have wonderful magenta colour).
Our star of the show this week is ‘Sweet Genovese’ and ‘Red Shiraz’ basil which have been grown in our polytunnel. These have been harvested almost on a daily basis over the last 6 weeks and remain in great condition.