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 WEEK 16
Welcome to the seventeenth ‘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 improved over the course of the week from sunshine and showers to uninterrupted sunshine, which is unusual for the first week of Wimbledon (much more often cursed with rain!) Daytime temperatures and night-time temperatures have been slightly above average at 220C and 140C.
‘Red-veined’ and ‘French’ (broad-leaved) sorrel have been sown in Planter 1. The list of trouble-free leaf crops for the middle of summer is somewhat limited, with spinach tending to bolt and brassicas prone to infestation by caterpillars. Chards are useful but we tend to reserve them for the winter months. Sorrels are underrated, as evidenced by the difficulty of obtaining ‘French’ sorrel seed. ‘Red sorrel’ is more in vogue as a result of its common appearance as a strikingly colourful garnish! Both are great in pasta dishes with all the cooking required provided by the residual heat after draining.
Carrot ‘Imperator mix’ in Planter 2 have continued to grow well with the plants in excellent condition. The fact that we are now raising the training system weekly testifies to the accelerating rate of growth. Carrots are a great example of a crop that grows exponentially which is why we have never understood why people harvest baby carrots!
The four basils in Planter 4 do not, as yet, show any signs of germination, but this is not surprising. We normally reckon on 10 days and don’t start worrying unduly until a fortnight has passed! The cloche certainly seems to maintaining high temperatures and humidity (it's misted up for most of the day), although the benefits appear to be lost overnight as the cloche is clear once again in the morning (when we sneak a peek to see what is going on inside).
Dwarf French bean ‘Speedy’ in Planter 4 is soldiering on, but the race with the Purple Teepee appears to be well and truly over given the latter is now flowering profusely and setting tiny beans. All that remains is for it to hand over its crown as the fastest growing dwarf ‘French’ bean. In the interests of balance, it did get off to a rocky start with several seedlings unceremoniously uprooted by a blackbird.
Our star of the show this week is Courgette ‘Midnight’ which we are growing in an outdoor planter. This is great, reliable and unflashy courgette that doesn’t need any tricks (globe-form, stripes or yellow colour) to justify growing it. Not only does it produce full-sized courgettes but it also produces huge flowers for stuffing. In addition, it has a more compact and upright habit than most courgettes, meaning it works well in a planter without much collateral damage to crops in those alongside.