Author: Juliet Kemp

the garden project

Back Garden: annual veggie planting

Juliet Kemp

This year I am planning my annual veggies based on four criteria: ease of growing, how much better they taste home-grown than bought, whether we will actually eat them, and whether they’re expensive in the shops. Here’s how the analysis looks (green plus, orange maybe, red negative):

Veggie analysis

The ones with green stars to their left are the ones that make the cut: anything with one or more red minuses or no green pluses was out. After a little more debate I have ditched podded peas in favour of just growing mangetout (mostly eaten straight from the plant in the garden, mmm). Which gives me:

Vegetable Plant Harvest Bed
Potatoes Mid-March – May (earlies) 9-10 wks after planting (early June – August) South-west (once broad beans are up)
Chard Spring/self-sown Throughout year South/north-east perennial beds
Rocket Throughout year (not July) Throughout year Wherever there’s space
Misc lettuce Throughout year (not July) Throughout year North-west bed
Courgette Indoors mid-April, plant out mid-May From July/August North-west bed
Pepper Mid-Feb onwards indoors, plant ‘out’ mid-May From July/August (harvest green to increase yield) Greenhouse
Garlic Nov (already in) June In edges of various beds
Mangetout March June Next to fig up fence; in tomato pots until tomatoes ready
Broad beans Nov (already in) April-May South-west bed
Podded beans May July Square bean bed
Tomatoes March in greenhouse August/September In pots along fence

So my tasks so far look like this:

  • February:
    • Look over that list and existing seeds, buy seeds as necessary
    • Transplant herbs into perennial beds
  • March:
    • Sow rocket as necessary (wherever)
    • Chit potatoes (late March)
    • Plant peppers on windowsill / in greenhouse
    • Plant mangetout (in tomato pots / next to fig)
    • Plant tomatoes (in greenhouse)
  • April:
    • Sow chard as necessary (perennial beds)
    • Sow misc lettuce as necessary (NW bed)
    • Plant courgettes in greenhouse (mid April)
    • Pull up broad beans (late April)
    • Plant potatoes (SW bed)
  • May:
    • Plant out courgettes (NW bed) (mid-May)
    • Plant out peppers (greenhouse) (mid-May)
    • Plant podded beans (square bean bed)
  • June:
    • Harvest garlic
    • Harvest mangetout
  • July:
    • Sow chard as necessary
    • Sow rocket as necessary
    • Harvest podded beans
  • August:
    • Harvest potatoes

Next I need to work out what other tasks I need to do: fertilising, tying in fruit, peas, and tomatoes, etc. Then I can transfer it all into my calendar — thus minimising decisions to make and enabling me just to do things when I have a moment.

the garden project

Pruning

Juliet Kemp

It’s about the time of year that I need to prune my fruit trees and bushes. I have done this before, but I am far from convinced that I did it the best way (and also I can’t remember what that was anyway). Hence this resource collection on pruning, and a summary for what I need to do.

Apple tree

Blackcurrant

Blueberry

Any comments from experienced pruners (especially of dwarf apple trees!) welcome.

writing

Stories!

Juliet Kemp

Slightly belatedly, I have a story, “A Dangerous Magic”, in Silver Blade issue 20.

I also have a story, “Blocking”, forthcoming in Strange Bedfellows from Bundoran Press. That won’t be out until April 2014 but I am greatly looking forward to it.

(There are another couple of stories on their way which I don’t think have been formally announced yet so I won’t mention. But I am very excited about them too.)

the garden project

New mini greenhouse

Juliet Kemp

I’ve been planning to build a mini greenhouse by the back door. The original idea was to use various bits and pieces of scrap this and that to construct it from scratch, frame and all; but then my parents offered me the frame of their old one (the cover having expired).

So with a big pile of bubble wrap and some parcel tape, this is the result:

Bubblewrap Mini Greenhouse
As you can see here, there’s no proper door closure

Just in time to house my chilli pepper over winter. The highly scientific “put a hand inside it” temperature check suggests that it is doing its job in keeping things at least a little bit warm.

This was also one of my Permaculture Design Diploma projects, and you can read the first draft of the design writeup here.

This week I also harvested the last of my tomatoes, and pulled the old plants up. I have a fair few green tomatoes, but also a surprising number that had gone odd-looking — slightly brown or black, but not in a pattern suggesting blossom end rot. My only guess is that it’s been cold enough that they’re suffering from that. Certainly some of the plants have died off already, so it may just be that any surviving tomatoes died with them. I’m sure I’ve harvested this late before without problems, but perhaps it’s been warmer for longer those times. My tomatoes also started later than usual this year, due to the bad spring. I will bear it in mind for next year; and I still got a decent crop. The remainder of the red ones went in a very low oven for a couple of hours today with some oil, and became very tasty indeed.

Another go at the grape vine, with snail defences from the start this time.
Another go at the grape vine, with snail defences from the start this time.

Then today I planted a new grape vine, with full snail defences from the start. Let’s hope it’s more successful than the last one.

growing things

Emergency Squash Cloche!

Juliet Kemp

Somewhat to my surprise, my volunteer squash has actually produced a couple of baby squashes. (It turns out that it’s a butternut squash. Hurrah!) But as we head conclusively into autumn, there isn’t enough warm weather left for them to grow to a decent size, let alone to ripen.

Tiny butternut squash, still green, on compost
Really very small indeed

Apparently you can use unripe winter squashes (like butternut) in much the same way you use summer squashes (like courgettes), so I anticipate experimenting with Butternut Courgette in the near future. I’d still like them to get a little bigger first, though, so I raided the pile of bamboo poles, and the big stash of bubble-wrap in the garage, to construct an Emergency Squash Cloche:

Raised bed covered with bubble wrap hung on bamboo pole frame
Not the most attractive thing, but hopefully functional

I’m not sure if it’ll work, but it was free and took only 15 or 20 minutes to set up and tie together. It’s not a good long-term cloche, either, as it’s hard to get in under it, but it’ll do for the next couple of weeks to see what happens. My main problem at this point is preventing Leon from pulling it down in order to pop all the bubbles.

permaculture

Permaculture in Pots on the radio

Juliet Kemp

Recently I was interviewed by Stef Geyer for his 21st Century Permaculture show on ShoreditchRadio. It was good fun to do, and it’ll be broadcast live on ShoreditchRadio at 8pm on Sunday 29th Sept. After that you can listen to it (or other older shows) at the mixcloud page. I am not sure I will be able to bear to listen to myself, but have been listening to and greatly enjoying the older shows.

parenting, permaculture

Recycling! Rubbish into toys

Juliet Kemp

Natural Parents Network: Recycling Rubbish Into Toys for a ToddlerI wrote a post over at Natural Parents Network about recycling ‘rubbish’ into toddler toys.

However much we try to reduce the amount of packaging that comes into your house and waste that goes out of it, it seems that we are still constantly throwing things out. Meanwhile, the baby wants something to play with… In true permaculture style, I can solve two problems at once by diverting some of the ‘rubbish’ from the recycling bin to the toy box. Read on over at NPN for a few suggestions that have gone down well with Leon.

Uncategorised

Guest Post: Natural methods for keeping cats out of your garden

Juliet Kemp

This post was written by Rachel Thomas from www.babysitting.net. Next door’s new kitten has just started using the containers in my porch as a toilet, so I will be trying some of the more permaculture-friendly options! We certainly have a lot of coffee grounds here, so that one is well worth a go.

Those of you who have cats understand the pain of keeping our furry friends out of the planters and gardens. Those of you that don’t, understand this pain as well. Natural repellents can save the day by protecting your flowers and vegetables from being trampled or eaten. Not only are these non-toxic methods to protect your plants and the animal, most of them are inexpensive and easy to try.

1. Citrus Fruits – The peels from citrus fruits can be pungent to the point of repelling a feline from an area. These fruits consist of oranges, lemons, grapefruits and many others. Placing these peels on or around your garden can shield the plants from the kitties and deter future visits. Once you’ve noticed the feline traffic disappear, simply remove the peels. While not all cats have been repelled by this method, there has been a great deal of success among people.

2. Used Coffee Grounds – Many people have had a degree of success using used coffee grounds. Whether they are sprinkled in or around the pot, these grounds produce a smell that is unattractive to many cats. They will avoid the area if possible and find a more appealing location for their purpose. 

3. Rough Stones – Placing porous and rough stones in your garden can create a very uncomfortable location for a cat. Depending on the style of garden you have, a layer of stones on top of the soil could help reduce the amount of water that is evaporated from sunlight as well as protect against the pitter-patter of feline feet. Many gardens look beautiful as they support a white quartz background to a series of blooming plants.

4. Black Pepper – Many people have had success repelling cats by using black pepper on and around the garden area. It’s a non-toxic method of creating a terrible smell that the little creatures are discouraged by. However, you do not want to use salt in your garden. It will kill the plants and make the soil useless for future growth.

5. Mothballs – Some people don’t like the idea of using mothballs for they contain naphthalene, which is deadly to life. However, you can greatly reduce the harmful effects if you load them up in a mason jar or even a pop bottle. Once you poke large enough holes in the containers to allow the smell to permeate the garden, cats will avoid the area.

6. Motion Sensing Sprinklers – If you have an elaborate garden, you can attach a motion sensing switch to activate your garden’s sprinkler system any time an animal gets too close. Although this can be a bit more costly than the above alternatives, it is a near fool proof method to deter cats from the area. The sound of the sprinklers themselves is enough to drive fear into most felines.

When protecting virtually any area from unwanted animal activity, it’s all about decreasing the comfort level. In addition to these methods, there are sprays and other materials you can pick up at any pet shop that can help discourage cats from entering your garden. Nearly all of these are non-toxic repellents and many of them are organic. Regardless of the size of your garden, there are ways to keep it safe from becoming a restroom or a bed for your own or your neighbor’s cat.

Author Bio:

Rachel is an ex-babysitting pro as well as a professional writer and blogger. She is a graduate from Iowa State University and currently writes for www.babysitting.net. She welcomes questions/comments which can be sent to rachelthomas.author@gmail.com.

permaculture, the garden project

Planning the ‘Forest Garden’ beds

Juliet Kemp

Following up from my analysis of where my garden needs some redesigning, one part of the solution was to plant up half of the raised beds as a forest-type garden; or given the size of the space, in a forest-garden-influenced style. The beds are the ones along the left-hand (western) fence in the photo below. I’ll be keeping the other two beds for annuals.

Several raised beds with paving slabs between them in most of picture, 6 foot fence to left, some grass to right, rose tree in background.
Back garden, early summer 2012

So this is what I’ve come up with:

South-west bed (the long one along the fence in the above photo):

  • Fig at back. Ideally it would be trained as a fan along the fence, but that may be more effort than I have available in terms of management and maintenance. I may instead just prune it to come forwards from the fence rather than backwards, but let it grow (a bit?) outwards. I’ll need to read up a bit more about it before the spring
  • Herbaceous perennials: Daubenton’s Kale, Good King Henry, possibly also planting some (non-perennial, but may self-seed) chard through the ground cover.
  • Ground cover: strawberries (alpine and other), sorrel, hopefully periwinkle if I can get hold of a plant.

    • North-west bed (the one just by the herbs):

    • Grape vine (again) at the back, with extensive manual anti-snail defences. To be trained up fence above the herbs.
    • Herbaceous perennials: bay, fennel, possibly others next year.
    • Ground cover: oregano and thyme. The oregano should do much better in the ground than it is doing in pots. Alpine strawberries, as I got a huge load of runners the other week. Rocket (not perennial, but self-seeds).

    There should be room for next year’s tomatoes in pots between the two beds against the fence, and then south of the south-west bed, where they’ve been this year.

    I’ve read that you can grow asparagus through ground cover as a herbaceous perennial, which if it’s true I may try the year after next. (I like asparagus, but the last time I grew it my feeling was that it took up quite a lot of space, which you couldn’t use for anything else the rest of the year, for a very small crop.) I’d also like to investigate other perennial salad leaves, but for now that is enough to get started.

    I’ve ordered my various bare-root trees/shrubs from Martin Crawford’s Agroforestry Research Trust, so am looking forward to their arrival in December!