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Welcome back to our weekly follow us! If you missed the last twenty-seven weeks, the links to them are above - and as usual - the key is at the bottom: scroll down now!
The weather this week has been decidedly autumnal - with sunny days, occasional cold north-winds and clear (but still not frosty) nights.
Conditions have been dry with rainfall barely registering 1mm. Daytime temperatures have ranged between 110C to 130C, only slightly below the seasonal average of 150C - but it has felt considerably colder as a result of fresh northerly winds. Night-time temperature have been around 40C with a minimum of 2.70C (well below the seasonal average of 110C!)
Lamb’s lettuce and Land Cress in Planter 1 have grown slowly, but a very light thinning of groups of seedlings indicated that the above ground growth is misleading (most seedlings remain at the two-leaf stage) with the root systems of plants developing quickly. Full thinning won’t be required for a couple of weeks. The colour and condition of plants remain good, but just how hardy these crops are will only become apparent once we have experienced a number of frosts!
Spring Onion ‘White Lisbon Winter Hardy’ is growing well, with the stems unfurling from their closed staple position and a leading shoot emerging, often topped by the seed husk. The seedlings have had a light thinning to remove the weaker seedlings from pairs, and those which are out of line, to achieve a stocking of 60 per row. The benefits of the training system on over-wintering spring onions is uncertain (results were mixed when it was trialled initially with dieback of some plants above the cord line) and this will only be used if the plants become overly top heavy, which is unlikely given that growth is likely to be slow from hereout.
Mustard ‘Red Frills’ / Mustard ‘Golden Streaks’, Mustard ‘Red Giant’, Mustard ‘Mizuna’ in Planter 3 continue to be harvested and the growth rate remains sufficient to allow 8-10 leaves to be removed each day (enough for a well filled round of sandwiches!) Regular picking, as mentioned before, is the key to maintaining extended production. The combination of colour, shape and patterning is extremely attractive and supports our long-held view that these lettuces are the best selection for late summer planting. The colour and condition of the leaves is excellent and harvesting leaves at mid-size is definitely beneficial to their flavour and texture. The stems of Mustard ‘Mizuna’ and Mustard ‘Red Giant’ both offer a satisfying crunch.
Finally, harvesting of Kale ‘Emerald Ice’, Kale ‘Nero di Toscana’ (Cavolo Nero) and Kale ‘Midnight Sun’ in Planter 4 has continued with twice weekly picking (approximately 4 x 100 g portions per week or therebouts). Regular picking is imperative as the colour change in older leaves, which signifies their deterioration, is rapid and abrupt. The majority of leaves damaged by flea beetle and caterpillars have now been picked and the condition of the crop has approved. There is little to choose between the three kales in terms of growth rate. The jury remains out on whether Kale ‘Emerald Ice’ and Kale ‘Midnight Sun’ offer anything really ‘new’ as the contrasting coloration (on which each is promoted) is only evident in young leaves and is lost on old growth. Nether appear to be a significant improvement on Kale ‘Russian’ and Kale ‘Redbor’ - at least as we head on into winter…