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Semi-ripe cuttings of Prunus l. 'Rotundifolia' by Gareth Austin

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Opening up soil with the broadfork first

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New zealand flatworm galore under this plastic sheet

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Lots of Bindweed in these beds, really problematic perennial weed to deal with. Fleshy rhizome roots make it difficult to dig out.

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Lots of Bindweed in these beds, really problematic perennial weed to deal with. Fleshy rhizome roots make it difficult to dig out.

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Purple smok bush under planted with golden euonymous

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Deep foliage colour of Astilbe, rewarding perennial for damp shade

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New shoots of Agapanthus, stunning summer perennial for sunny positions.

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Bellis perennis, perhaps the most common of lawn weeds?

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Broad leaves dock is an example of a common lawn weed

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ragwort is another common lawn weed

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White clover is an example of a common lawn weed

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Its sometimes said that 'weeds are nature way of repairing soil' ...here Daisy's have colonised this space below an Alder which had been sprayed with Glyphosate repeatedly

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This Tulip cultivar just peaking

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Steps in installing First Early Potatoes in the market garden

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Production of first early potatoes in the market garden by Gareth Austin

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Container strawberry production in Polytunnel

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Container Strawberry production by Gareth Austin

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Broad Bean production in the Polytunnel

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Early Broad Bean production under protection by Gareth Austin

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Steps in the propagation of Eryngium by root cuttings

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Eryngium Sea Holly root cuttings by Gareth Austin

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With the deep mulch very little annual weeds, few perennial weeds popping up - Creeping Buttercup and Dandelion, easily removed with a fork as the soil structure is so open. Rose's budding tulip well, Tulips and other spring bulbs mostly past flowering, wallflower giving a nice edge

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Comfrey ready for its first harvest

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Job done. Leave the stem as although less efficient at Photosynthesis as the foliage it still does some

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Dead heading daffodils....removes unnecessary energy drain in the form of the unwanted seeds.

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Fresh silvery foliage of Helichrysum,  perfect for a sunny corner. Aromatic foliage. Goes by the common name cotton rosemary. Perfect time to be taking softwood cuttings of this and many other garden plants.

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Spinach, direct sown on the 18th April , coming into life in the Polytunnel

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Bio twine support installed around the beans, they're starting to get a bit top heavy now...and it'll only get worse as the fruit appears.

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African marigolds potted 6 days previous are pounding along, shows the importance of timing

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Job done

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Potting up the rest of the African Marigolds. Technique here is to fill all the pots in the tray, pop the plants out and then just create holes with your two forefingers and then push the plants into the pots. As quick and as even as possible here.

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Difference a week makes! Sweetcorn to the right potted up 7 days before.

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Potting up the rest of the Earlibird sweetcorn, sown 30th March

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Keep on top of these, twice a week do a crop walk and pinch as you go. Any wasted energy now will greatly hinder plant establishment.

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Sunflower Pacino Gold, sown 20th April in the polytunnel, emerging in cells

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15 succesful cuttings from two trays, potted Into 1L pots, watered and placed back under protection to root on.

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Root cuttings with fresh root growth, benefit of is layering them in the tray the same way as the removal from the tray is easier

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Eryngium root cuttings, taken 27th Jan, ready for potting on

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Hyacinths galore...fab perfume

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First flower buds on Grannys Bonnet, Prunus serrula in the background

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Heuchera 'Palace Purple' in summer leaf

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Ribes nigrum loaded with flowers

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Block 3 25th April

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Quick bit of flame weeding above the potatoes, some annual weeds and some shoots of Mairstail weed popping up too, trying to keep this under control before crop emergence. When the weeds are this small is a half hour job.

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Establishing the Asparagus and Rhubarb plants...roll on 2021 for Rhubarb and 2022 for the start of Asparagus harvests!

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Establishing Asparagus and Rhubarb bed by Gareth Austin

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Amendments for Asparagus and Rhubarb planting, Compost and High N base fertiliser. These are hungry plants and respond favourably to good growing conditions. Very much cornerstone plants of the Permaculture movement

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New zealand flatworm...found under plastic...quickly squished!

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Foliage colours and textures giving interest and colour, here theres Acers, Prunus, Laurus and Cordylines...

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More Hostas starting to show...remember these are easy to vegetatively propagate so one you have one plant you can have lots more within 5 years

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More Hosta sp. Starting to appear...Hostas vary from being very small to huge broad leaved types and are suitable from shade to full sun...a great genus for the garden

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Pyrus communis in full flower now

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From Asiatic to Oriental types, summer flowering lilies bring great perennial colour to the garden, depending on cultivar these can flower from June to September and can vary in height from 3' to 8', here these are planted in large pots which in turn can be placed anywhere to add some colour.

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What type of leaf is this?

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The big challenge with early flowering whatever is having insects to pollinate...if you have huge amounts of flowers to be pollinated and the weather was very wet or cold these may remain unpolinated. Many big growers remove this uncertainty by releasing dutch bees in their big glasshouse.

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although  the top looks very dry, this silty soil is still moist at 6" depth. Soils with good capillarity action will draw water up from lower depths, but in turn newly installed plants will need irrigated

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Protected strawberries heavy with flowers and fruits

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Planting Rhubarb and Asparagus in rows 5' apart and 3' in the row. Although the crust of the soil is very dry below the ground is moist. Generous amount of compost per plant and a heck of a good watering after planting.

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Block 2 23rd April, dates of sowings, planting and cultivars used

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Using ThingLink to label and date the individual crops in the bed, this is my block 1, you could use the likes of this for cross compliance if you add in batch numbers for seeds, compost and fertilisers. I plant to add to this as the season goes on to include harvest dates, yields and maintenance.

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Targeting watering on beds and not walkways is an efficient use of resources and time, currently we're working on 60L per bed on a weekly basis

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Two days after flame weeding, carrots appear, 17 days after sowing on 6th April

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Running the hoe between these onions, a week after planting, at this stage we're targeting thread stage weeds and this type of cultivating takes a few minute  to do the whole bed

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Ground very dry, newly planted things will need to be kept moist so they establish. Watering before 10am is a great habit to get into

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Former cabbage beds that were mulched and tarped, you can see the amount of weed growth in the short period...and how its yellow due to light shortage.

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Rocket potatoes looking nice, big challenge now is keeping them frost free

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First flowers on polytunnel Broad Beans

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Baby Kohl Rabi from the polytunnel

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Rye covercrop looking powerful, ready for chopping

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Direct sown rocket coming into life

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Trees loaded with blossoms, bumble bee doing the pollination happily.

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Wallflowers filling up nicely, very little weeds, a wee hoe would sort it out quickly

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Rose garden looking great, tulips are being harvested as a cut flower by visiting staff

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Chive hedge just budding up

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Garlic coming along nicely

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Prunus Kanzan...full of blossom....you either love 'em or hate 'em!

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Cordyline spot...common on plants growing in wetter soils...like Donegal! Up close it's a bit unsightly but not really noticeable from a dozen yards back.

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Another bit no good for planting, thick with roots from manure Beech - very dry as a result, ground elder pressure from right hand side and only gets sun in the morning.

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Awkward patch, thick with tree roots, only gets sun in the morning...awkward shape...so not great for planting, thick with snowdrops in early spring...so left at this stage. Heavy ground elder pressure creeping from right hand side.

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Sowing Little Gem lettuce, seeds fiddly so trying just to get a couple in each cell..will thin out.

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Measuring the heights of the tomatoes, going to do this weekly to record growth

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Have a few pockets left which could be planted this area would fit another 35x75' sheet, so just cutting and mulching the grass to build fertility...sits in full sun so potential

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Checking ground conditions under these bottom two beds, this area was very weedy last year, so leaving these longer to help with that. These areas will be for the tender plants - pumpkins, squashes, sweetcorn...not too sure about rest at this stage...might just green manure to manage weed pressure and help soil structure

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Time to run a hoe around these beds, volunteer potat  pressure on the right hand 4 beds, others mostly tree seedlings, some redshank, MairsTail and a bit of Couch grass

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Direct sown Peas poking through, sown 31st March

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Broad Beans, direct sown 31st match, poking through

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Direct sown Spinach coming along nicely, perfect stage for Tine weeder...

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Time to flame weed carrot beds, watered first as ground is so dry I'd be worried about the peat catching and smouldering for hours

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Potting up African Marigolds

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Running an Oscillatong hoe down the walkways, weed control and prevent capping.

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Sowing and planting in these raised beds

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Sowing dwarf sunflowers

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Potting up Sweetcorn

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Sowing Sweet Pea

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Glory of the snow in flower

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Big blousy rhododendron

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Crown Imperial in flower

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Tulips in full flow of colour

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Starting to prep Pumpkin beds

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Starting to prep Pumpkin Beds by Gareth Austin

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Polytunnel on 19th April

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Polytunnel state of play 19th April by Gareth Austin

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Planting the Tomatoes

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Transitioning from Salads to Spinach in the Polytunnel

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Transitioning from Salads to Spinach in the Polytunnel by Gareth Austin

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