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 WEEK 17
Welcome to the eighteenth ‘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 continued to be dry and sunny this week, with daytime temperatures rising from 220C to 250C, the latter being just above the seasonal average. Night-time temperatures have stayed around 150C.
‘Red-veined’ and ‘French’ (broad-leaved) sorrel in Planter 1 are refusing to germinate even with the aid of a cloche, but 14 days is not that unusual so it’s too early to start fretting!
Carrot ‘Imperator mix’ in Planter 2 have continued to grow well, with the plants remaining in excellent condition. With few clues as to what is happening below the soil surface, there is little more that can be added right now!
The four basils in Planter 3 all germinated within 1-2 days of each other this week. The germination of Basil ‘Mrs Burns’ and ‘Siam Queen’ is slightly better than Basil ‘Bush’ and ‘Greek’, but in all cases is far higher than required and they’ll need to be thinned next week to reduce the number of seedlings back to a maximum of 30. The germination is as good as any we’ve ever seen, so clearly a seed compost with very finely screened & slightly acid compost (peat-free) provides a more than acceptable alternative to peat! The chemistry is clearly right, but it also promotes very even wetting of the surface as evidenced by the fact that there is no clustering of seedling around the drippers.
Dwarf French bean ‘Speedy’ in Planter 4 has continued to grow well with the colour improving and the density of foliage increasing. One or two of the older plants have finally started to flower. These are yellow and white and look quite impressive against the dark green foliage. With a wealth of pollinators in the vicinity, including masonry bees and more hover flies than we’ve seen before, there should be no problem in pods setting.
Our star of the show this week is a poppy we managed to avoid in the course of weeding, more by accident than by design. The photo shows no less than 4 cluster flies circling the numerous pollen laden stamens.