WEEK 1 WEEK 2 WEEK 3 WEEK 4 WEEK 5 WEEK 6 WEEK 7
Welcome to the eighth ‘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 changed markedly this week, with temperatures dropping to below the seasonal average of 13-14oC, and heralding the return of yet more wet weather! Rainfall totals in the first week of May have already exceeded those for the whole of April, with extended periods of intense rainfall accompanied by strong winds. These were so strong as to rip new catkins off birch trees before the pollen had dispersed (a bit of a get-out-of-jail-free card for those of us allergic to birch pollen, but a shame nonetheless…) The change has also, by way of consolation, brought about an end to the long run of overnight frosts!
‘Misticanza di Lattughe’ in Planter 1 has been thinned this week in order to reduce the number of seedlings to 60, which we think is likely to be the maximum number for the area available (but we don’t honestly know as the varieties the mix contains are not actually revealed on the seed packet). This was done exclusively by removing clusters of seedlings rather than by respacing, although this would have been easy to do as the seedlings could be removed with a reasonable amount of soil attached (more, in fact, than those taken from rows). The thinning was skewed towards green varieties in order to produce a truer mix of the varieties and better representation of those which are red, mottled and yellow / green. The end result is very attractive, particularly because the planter has a sprinkling of petals from a ‘Kanzan’ cherry nearby.
Spring Onion ‘White Lisbon Winter Hardy’ in Planter 2 has continued to be harvested. The onions have a straight shank and don’t form bulbs. There doesn’t seem to be any suggestion that the onions are becoming any stronger in flavour thus far; they are arguably a bit too mild... Nonetheless we’re now converts to sowing Spring Onion ‘White Lisbon Winter Hardy’ in the autumn. Those in Waitrose are from Egypt, and we would guess that we’re still 4 weeks away from those grown in the UK becoming available (based on the size of the North Holland Blood Red spring onions we sowed in March).
Lettuce ‘Green Salad Bowl’ and ‘Red Salad Bowl’ in Planter 3 have perked up following last week’s thinning, and the seedlings of Lettuce ‘Oak Leaf Green’ used to fill gaps have all taken (the wet cooler weather will have contributed to this in no small part). The plants are still a bit small to fit the training system. We have to admit that our neat rows of line lettuce in planter 3 do look less impressive (slightly austere even) at this point than those of the lettuce mix in Planter 1.
Radish ‘Diana’, Radish ‘Hailstone’ and Radish ‘Scarlet Globe’ in Planter 4 have been harvested throughout the week providing a welcome addition when thinly sliced to sandwiches. The roots are excellent with clean skin and crunchy centres, although the Radish ‘Diana’ are, for some reason, mostly elongate rather than round…! All are very mild. The plants are exceptionally well rooted with tap roots 100mm long and occasionally reach 150mm. The combination of three contrasting colours across the rows works really well, however, the star of the show is the ‘Scarlet Globe’ as its red skin continues some way into the bulb (typically 4-5mm), creating an impressive red stripe. Radishes grown on Norfolk are available in Waitrose this week, although the roots are sealed and bagged rather than as bunched plants (so no green tops for pesto!).
The ‘Star of the show’ this week is French Sorrell which is not widely grown in the UK (for no good reason whatsoever as far as week can see!) Even Sarah Ravens’ attempt to promote it seem to have produced a rare failure, despite the health benefits it offers (it’s an excellent source of flavonoids and other antioxidants).
French Sorrel also has an amazing zingy lemon taste that “goes to your ears” when eaten raw (we’ve gone for a literal description here as we are at a loss of how else to describe it!) Its form is not dissimilar to spinach with similar sized leaves and stalks and it can be cooked in the same way, however, it releases a lot less moisture. Large leaves remain soft and tender, unlike those of Red-veined Sorrel which become tough and fibrous as they reach even moderate size. French Sorrel is much easier to grow than spinach and it doesn’t bolt. It germinates at low temperature so can be sown under-cover as early as the end of February, which allows it to be harvested from the beginning of May. There is no excuse not to sow French Sorrel if you do have a greenhouse while waiting for your tomatoes, chilli’s and cucumbers to be ready for outplanting. It is a great choice for filling the hunger gap of late spring / early summer. The following recent article provides a balanced review on the benefits of eating sorrel, which we hope you find helpful!