Monday 19 January 2009

Allotmenticity - 19-01-09 Aston FM Sod It Grow Your Own Pt 8



More "Sod It Grow Your Own" madness from today's Gary James Show on Aston FM.









I managed an afternoon's digging and tidying up on Saturday, just before the weather changed again. I've dug over the proposed Brassica bed and limed it ready. I might give it another blast as I detected some clubroot on the previous crop of cabbage. The plan is for the cage which will completely enclose the bed. Hopefully it might stop the pigeons eating all the tops off the Brocolli and Kale. I read that birds don't bother with Kale, but I can assure you they certainly do! Also I can disprove the idea that if you take off the sprout tops they won't bother with them. WRONG! They do that too.

Does anyone remember an idea, I think it was on Gardeners World, about growing 6 different vegetables in a bed measuring a square yard? I'm sure it had Sweet Corn in the centre and beans that grew up the corn along with various other crops around the base.
I might even contact the BBC. I've looked on the net but can't find any reference to that particular idea.
Last Wednesday I went down to B&Q with a friend who has a Diamond "Geezer" discount card. Useful for getting 10% off everything, seeds etc. The £1 section is well worth a look. Balls of twine & string for a quid - 10%. Picked up a great lounger for the corporate area.
I got a packet of Lavender seeds, so I can alternate the Rosemary and Lavender bushes for my hedge (eventually!)
I've just bought a paper shredder for the office and according to a source you can mix it in the compost heap. Avoid shiny paper like magazines, but it's good for soaking up a damp bin. Obviously like lawn mowings, make sure it's well mixed in.

Well, that's all for now.

The Legend is down south at the weekend so I'm packing the bag ready,

The Captain.

3 comments:

allot of veg said...

Hi look at 3 sisters this describes corn + beans + squash growing in the same bed - was that what you were thinking of?

Matron said...

The square foot gardening was based on an idea at the model vegetable garden at RHS Wisley. They used nine 3ft square patches in a grid to grow something all year round (not much) but they did.

Thomas said...

I recently on paper shredding and compost, in my blog entry, Paper Shredding and Green gardening practices. I'm about to have a go at it.