Life on the Weald - April 2020

Life on the Weald (Month 2 in isolation) April 2020

A view across The Weald from our plot - April 2020

Generally it was feeling more like Spring during April.

The garden at home provided a colourful start to the month.

Anemones, front garden 1 April 2020

Tulips, front garden 1 April 2020

Tulips, back garden 2 April 2020

Tulips, back garden 2 April 2020

The garden is more important than ever to us as we begin our second month in isolation due to the Covid19 epidemic and frighteningly, as the death toll in UK rises, we head towards possibly the worst outcome of any European nation.  Fortunately, during the period of isolation, visits to the allotment are permitted (or even encouraged), provided social distancing is maintained, as they provide both exercise and food and are positively beneficial for our mental health.

There has been a great community response at The Weald with plot holders donating surplus produce, supplemented by gifts of groceries which have then been distributed by volunteers to vulnerable people in the community who are unable to leave their homes during the Covid-19 crisis.

With garden centres closed, a number of gardeners have found themselves without seeds and other necessary supplies but, thanks to the internet and the site's website and Facebook page, there has been a great co-operative community spirit with plot holders swapping and donating seeds and plants. I've managed to swap chillies, English mace and celery seedlings for a yellow courgette, Crown Prince squash and some tomato plants.

Apart from lockdown we have had the weather to contend with which has been varied. February was the wettest on record followed by very changeable weather in March with some sunny spells and a high of 14C but interspersed with cold days almost down to freezing at night ( -2C in the countryside) and periods of chilly winds.  April by contrast has been the sunniest since 1929 with a top temperature locally around 22C but the intermittent cool winds have continued and the end of the month has seen top temperatures falling to 11-13C and heavy rain.

In the garden at home the beautiful showing of tulips which had begun to flower in March continued throughout the whole of April.

Tulips in flower throughout April

Not quite as colourful as the tulips but the rainbow chard, "bright lights" has certainly brightened up the allotment.

Rainbow Chard (Bright Lights) 3 April

And the grape vine is coming into leaf........

Grape vine - 5 April

........and the plum tree beginning to blossom

Plum blossom - 5 April

Early April and the broad beans sown in November have set and those sown in January are beginning to flower.

Broad beans in flower - 7 April

At home the chilli peppers sown in pots in February/March are coming on, some slower than others, but the Purple cayenne and Trinidad Scorpion are looking good.  The purple cayenne are said to be hot at 50,000 SHUs (Scoville Heat Units) but the Trinidad Scorpion is among the hottest in the world at 1,500,000 SHUs so care has to be taken in handling as it can cause skin irritation - you certainly don't want to rub your eyes if you have been touching it!

Purple Cayenne - 10 April

Trinidad Scorpion - 10 April

Back on the allotment we are still harvesting purple sprouting broccoli but the kalettes are coming to an end. We have had masses of chard and rhubarb and will be picking this for some time to come.

Purple sprouting broccoli picked 11 April

The camellias have brought additional colour to our front garden - they don't like our soil - but when we panted them we dug large holes and filled them with Ericaceous compost and we mulch the plants each year with more as well as giving them an occasional feed with a liquid plant food for azaleas and rhododendrons and other lime-hating, acid-loving plants - it's what we use to feed the blueberries on the allotment.  Sadly, after an initial burst of flowers, the edges turn brown.  A friend tells me its a common fungus that affects camellias and cannot be treated - she advises to pull off the dying flowers and not let them fall to the ground as the fungus can last up to 5 years in the soil - so looking forward to 2025!

Camellias - 14 April

Back at The Weald, the first early Duke of York potatoes were growing well and it was time to earth them up a little.  This helps more tubers to develop and maintain moisture. Hoeing between the rows will also keep the weeds at bay.  It is worth doing this weekly as weeds can soon take hold and engulf the potatoes. 

Duke of York, First Early potatoes 15 April

The broad beans sown in November were filling out nicely, so I thought it was time to finish off the remaining ones in the freezer from last year.

The last of the 2019 broad beans, straight from the freezer

broad beans 20 April 2020

broad beans 20 April 2020

The 2020 crop of Aquadulce Broad Beans, sown in November 2019 are almost ready to harvest

Peas that I had sown in the open ground in March were beginning to show and so too were 4 of the 6 asparagus plants.

Lincoln Peas, 20 April

Asparagus, 20 April 2020

Asparagus 20 April 2020

We had planted 6 asparagus crowns, 2 each of Gijnlim, Connover's Colossal and Pacific Purple. Sadly there was no sign at all of the two purple ones and the other four which did show were very thin and spindly, nothing colossal about any of them.  You should not cut the spears in the first season (not that there was much worth picking) but hopefully they will establish themselves for cropping in 2021.

Our two vines - growing in containers - were also beginning to flower and the tubs needed weeding and top dressing with some new compost. This is how they looked on St George's Day

Grape vine 23 April

Grape vine 23 April

The arrival of the warm weather had encouraged me to remove the covers from seedlings  growing in the garden which included celery, cavolo nero and kalettes and and indoor grown squashes and some of the chillies which I had put outside to harden off - something I would later regret as several suffered a setback from windburn.

Home grown seedlings 27 April

 At home, where the small lawn had once been, the second early Nicola potatoes were just beginning to show.  I had also planted a few in a growing sack and also a few Charlotte that were left over from the ones planted at The Weald.

Nicola 2nd early potatoes

Charlotte 2nd early potatoes

Nicola 2nd early potatoes 26 April in the garden at home

And on the allotment there were still jobs to be done.  The "A" frame which supports the runner beans was in need of repair but we have managed to clear an area and get it erected.  We also dug a trench about 25-30 cms deep, where the beans will be planted, which I lined with shredded cardboard and vegetable matter and then filled in - this will add nutrient to the soil as it breaks down but will aid water retention.

The bean frame under construction 27 April

The broad beans planted in January and early February are now in full flower and looking healthy with no sign (yet) of blackfly.

January sown broad beans - 27 April

January sown broad beans, in flower  - 27 April

Back at home, the Nicola potatoes had come on a long way since earlier in the month and had put on quite a bit of growth in the last week.

Nicola potatoes in the garden at home - 30 April

As I said at the beginning of this month's blog, April has been one of the sunniest on record with hours of sunshine 60% above average and temperatures also above average for this time of the year and it has been very dry so a lot of watering has been necessary.  The last few days of April, however, have seen a change. Tuesday 28 April was cloudy and wet across most of England, although dry and sunny in the north, and the last two days saw temperatures falling to average as low pressure moved across bringing unsettled weather.

With the cooler weather, I brought some of the plants, which I had put outside to harden off, back indoors as they were suffering from the wind and lower temperatures.  We are hoping for a return to warmer weather in May.

John Austin

Hove, April 2020