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Welcome to our final follow us of 2020! If you missed the last twenty-nine weeks of this year, the links to them are above - and as usual - the key is at the bottom: scroll down now! We'll be checking in infrequently until March now, to let you know how we're getting on with what's already's growing, and we hope you all enjoy the chill winter lull!
The weather over the last week of October continues to be typically autumnal, with dry, sunny days, and temperatures below the seasonal average. That said, the weather during the first week proved far more variable. The change was marked by Storm Aidan which swept across the UK on the last day of October, bringing heavy rain and strong winds. Calmer and colder conditions returned later in the week with first frost of the year occurring on Wednesday 4th November, 2 weeks later than might be expected!
Temperatures during the last week of October fluctuated from 9-140C, slightly below the seasonal average of 130C. Night-time temperatures likewise showed a wide range from 6-130C, spanning the seasonal average of 100C. Winds were gentle with rainfall totalling less than 2 mm. Storm Aidan and the remnants of Hurricane Zeta (which followed) brought heavy rainfall in excess of 20mm and strong winds from the 31st October until the 2nd November - with daytime temperatures reaching 160C. Cooler conditions followed during the second half of the week, with daytime temperatures of 9-100C (well below the seasonal average of 120C). Finally, Night-time temperatures of 2--10C were likewise below the seasonal average of 70C. Winds were light during this period, and conditions dry.
This review of the weather during October 2020 goes some way to explaining why crops grew disappointedly slowly during the month. Night-time and daytime temperatures were typically 30C below the seasonal average, with daytime temperatures rarely reaching the 120C threshold required for meaningful growth of winter crops such as lettuce, kale and chard. Daytime temperatures were above the seasonal average on just 4 days of the month, with night-time temperatures fairing slightly better and exceeding the seasonal average on 8 days. The rainfall total of 24mm was just 25% of the average rainfall for October (95mm); only 6 rainy days, compared to the 16 that would be expected.
Lamb’s lettuce and Land Cress have continued to grow slowly in Planter 1 and are still yet to reach the 4-leaf stage, at which point they can be thinned. They remain too small and fiddly to thin without risking damage to plants. These plants would definitely have benefitted from a cloche (work on which continues)!
Spring Onion ‘White Lisbon Winter Hardy’ are in good condition, but plants have only reached 40mm and would have been expected to have reached 60mm by this point. The number of plants have been reduced to 25 per row to reduce the risks of downy mildew, which is more likely to develop when plants are near touching.
Mustard ‘Red Frills’ / Mustard ‘Golden Streaks’, Mustard ‘Red Giant’, Mustard ‘Mizuna’ in Planter 3 are in good condition and still continue to produce sufficient leaves for a round of sandwiches each day; that said, they do need a break from picking on weekends to maintain this output. The growth of these varieties of lettuces is markedly greater in a nearby polytunnel, but as we’ve remarked previously, the leaves themselves are considerably better outdoors as a result of their adaption to the cooler conditions (being thicker and more lustrous).
Kale ‘Emerald Ice’, Kale ‘Nero di Toscana’ (Cavolo Nero) and Kale ‘Midnight Sun’ are in reasonable condition and continue to grow steadily with production sufficient to allow 10-12 leaves removed twice per week; it was three previously, so there has been some drop off! It is really important to pick the leaves from the base of the plants as these quickly deteriorate as new leaves form in the crown above. Leaves nearest the soil surface are most prone to downy mildew.
While the productivity of the planters has reduced as we’ve moved from early to late autumn (winter doesn’t officially start until 20th December!), they do continue to provide some produce and the seedlings provide an excuse for regular checking to see what (if any) progress they’ve made. Maintaining a crop cover over the autumn and winter period helps maintain soil quality and the stability of soil aggregates (the little clumps of soil which can otherwise be broken down by heavy rainfall), as well as preventing nutrients being leached (dissolved away).
If you’ve not managed to get a final crop away during October we won’t judge you if you outplant a mix of winter pansies. Don’t go for wallflowers, they’ll be reaching their best just as you want to start sowing in March next year!