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Welcome back to our weekly follow us; this is an extra special one for us, as it marks a full half-year since we began documenting what we were growing in our own Four Planter model – we hope you’ve found it useful so far! If you missed the last twenty-five weeks, the links to them are above - and as usual - the key is at the bottom: scroll down now!
Given it’s the months end, a brief review of September’s weather is called for. In terms of daytime temperature, the month can be neatly divided into three; the beginning and end of the month were below the seasonal average of 210C, and the middle part of the month above it. Nigh-time temperatures, which have a seasonal average of 12oC, followed the same pattern. The maximum temperature recorded during the month was 300C (14th September) and the minimum temperature was 10C (28th September). Rainfall, or the thereof, was the key feature of the weather with the total of 36mm representing just 38% of the seasonal average (98 mm). Another feature of note was the magnitude of daily variation in temperature, which often increased and decreased by 6oC - and on one occasion – so much as 100c! Herefordshire seemed to spend much of the month as the battleground between warm and cold fronts!
That being said, the weather during the last week has been relatively settled, albeit with daytime temperatures at the beginning and end of the week falling to 130C (some 70C below the seasonal average of 200C). The difference in night-time temperature proved even greater, falling to 10C on the 28th September (the first frost in typical year would be expected at Spring Cottage in the second week of October) and was generally below 60C (substantially below the seasonal average of 120C). Rainfall occurred overnight on Thursday, bringing 3mm and bringing the total for the week to 4mm. Winds were moderate to fresh.
Lamb’s lettuce and Land Cress in Planter 1 have been slow to germinate, but the first few seedlings did emerge today (2nd October 2020), 10 days after being sown. Having grown neither crop before we are uncertain as to whether the delay is normal or a reflection of the cold overnight temperatures experienced of late.
Spring Onion ‘White Lisbon Winter Hardy’ is yet to germinate in Planter 2, however, this is not unexpected as 10 days and up to 14 days is, based on past experience, typical.
Mustard ‘Red Frills’ / Mustard ‘Golden Streaks’, Mustard ‘Red Giant’, Mustard ‘Mizuna’ in Planter 3 have undergone a second thinning, but the gaps created are barely noticeable because of the speed with which the remaining plants have infilled these. Growth of the Mustard ‘Red Frills’ / Mustard ‘Golden Streaks’ has been especially strong and more than equal to Mizuna which is the benchmark for line lettuces. The plants remain free of flea beetle damage which, if it were present, would be most prevalent on Red Giant (usually the most susceptible). The combination of these line lettuces is extremely attractive because of the mix of colours and leaf shapes and is definitely enhanced by mixing Mustard ‘Red ‘Frills’ and Mustard ‘Golden Streaks’. Harvesting has commenced with the outer leaves being carefully picked. The technique used to do this is important as it does govern the length of time over which the plants can be picked, which at this time of year with no prospect of a follow-on crop until the Spring, is especially important! The stems of individual leaves (definitely not a handful) should be snapped at the base (as close to the soil surface as possible) and drawn up through the training system with care taken to avoid these becoming snagged on the cord lines; these can be opened slightly to assist passage. The biggest leaves, which will be those that overhang the training lines, should be picked along the entire length of each row (do not pick regimentally from one end of a row to another!). A final point of note is the colour and condition of the Mustard ‘Red Giant’ leaves. These are mottled dark red and green with a glossy appearance that are relatively thick after 6 weeks. The appearance of the leaves changes as the plants go through several picking cycles although the change is usually abrupt rather than gradual. This is marked by a fading of red colour, the leaves taking on a far duller matt lustre and also becoming thinner. While these changes are easy to detect, if they are missed the increased heat of the leaves will confirm the plant is beyond its best.
Finally, the harvesting of Kale ‘Emerald Ice’, Kale ‘Nero di Toscana’ (Cavolo Nero) and also now Kale ‘Midnight Sun’ in Planter 4 has continued with the selective removal of mid-sized leaves. The plants have deteriorated slightly over the course of the week due to a number of factors. The first, which is most marked in Kale ‘Emerald Ice’ and Kale ‘Midnight Sun’, is the tendency of the colour contrast between the stems and leave midriffs and leaves themselves to diminish as the leaves mature. The second is the tendency of older leaves of Kale ‘Emerald Ice’ and Kale ‘Nero di Toscana’ to attract mildew and to die and yellow rapidly, although this can be avoided by regular picking from the base of stems, something which has been neglected with this crop. The third and final factor is pathogen damage due to a combined onslaught of slugs and caterpillars. Both can be easily managed (if identified early) as has been the case here. Interestingly most caterpillars were present on the Kale ‘Emerald Ice’ with few on the Kale ‘Nero di Toscana’ and none on the Kale ‘Midnight Sun’, the older leaves of which are red.
We hope you’ve enjoyed the last half year of Follow Us as much as we’ve enjoyed documenting it for you. Remember, if you have any questions, please feel free to email us!
First signs of germination.
Awaiting germination.
Awaiting germination.
Awaiting germination.
Awaiting germination.