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Firstly, let me introduce myself. I'm Chloe, an organic market gardener for seven years and now managing Vital Seeds' social media, and helping out with admin. I'm going to be writing some of our newsletters too, and if you contact us with any growing questions it's likely to be me that'll reply! As we move towards the end of July and step into August, the celebration of Lammas is almost upon us. Lammas is a celebration of harvest abundance, a moment to reap and enjoy the fruits of your labour and share them with those you love. Why not take a moment to take stock and celebrate your successes and dedication? While you might have had a tricky start (and didn't we all, with the endlessly wet winter and slow, cold spring), you might find that there is still plenty of abundance and beauty to be found in your garden. Growing, after all, is an act of resilience. Gaps may be starting to appear in your garden as you (and slugs and other garden critters) begin to harvest. These can be filled by sowing successional crops, and now in particular is a great time to sow oriental greens like pak choi, mizuna and purple frills. For a full list of seeds that can be sown in July, please follow the link below.
Jobs to keep your garden tip top While you can definitely start to relax a little, there are still plenty of jobs to do this month including:
Germination testing It's crunch time! Our annual germination-testing marathon is now underway. We use vigorous techniques to germ test, counting how many seeds successfully germinate either on top of paper, between corrugated paper or in soil in seed trays. Each species has different requirements (e.g. temperature) and specific germination rates that we're looking to surpass, making it quite the undertaking. Our internal standards are set far higher than the minimum legal requirements, ensuring our seeds are of the highest possible quality when they land on your doorstep. Happy sowing and growing Chloe and the rest of the team P.S. Our 'Second Spring' seed collections are flying off the shleves but there's still time to pick one up - get your winter veg sown now! |
The sunshine of May has given way to rain and more changeable conditions, which is only fair as we had a good long stint of hot temps and baking sunshine recently. Only a few weeks ago were getting into the fields early to avoid the scorching sun, and now thanks to the rain everything is really vibrant and growing rapidly. The tunnels have come alive with the scent and sight of towering sweet peas, with 'Enchante' in particular filling the tunnels with their sweet perfume. The first flowers...
The last couple of weeks have flown by, and brought with them a real mixture of spring weather and activity. We were feeling a little behind on our tasks, as is often the way at this time of year, but we end this week feeling quite on top of things and pleased that we've even managed to get around to some of those maintenance jobs that always slip down the list! The weather has been busy; we had a very cold wind last week, which shifted into a few welcome wet days that left the land glowing...
It's been a great couple of weeks here at the farm, with the weather staying sunny and mild. We were promised a few showery days, so we broadcast our green manures out in the field - we've got 3 beds down to manure in our rotation, building up organic matter, storing nitrogen and improving the soil fertility. The rain hasn't made an appearance yet, so the sprinkler's have had to go on... This year we are doing a mix of white clover, red clover, phacelia and buckwheat. The phacelia and...