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Purple sprouting broccoli gone to flower

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Purple sprouting broccoli gone to flower

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This Brassica oleracea went to flower probably for a number of reasons, the bed probably doesn’t get enough sun for broccoli as well as being a newly dug bed, the seeds came from Aldi and I can’t find the cultivar.

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Good germination taking place in these two herbs. Sown on 2/2/21 in coco, perlite mix and topped with vermiculite to hold in moisture and help with germination.

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50/50 compost and perlite mix then watered.
Each cell was planted with only 1 or 2 seeds, they were then placed on our heated propagator table in the tunnel.

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After 5 days these trays are already germinated

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Root pruning fragaria x ananassa, Elsanta
The reason for root pruning is to give the plant more vigour for their second season growth

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These pests feed on the roots and the cambium layer of strawberry plants. An infestation will destroy the root system inevitably killing the host plant

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First we used the broad fork to aerate the soil.

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We are flame weeding these beds to kill off any unwanted competing annual weeds.

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Their was 70ltrs of compost added to the bed to add to the OM layer

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Keelan showing his skills using the Jang seeder with the FJ30 seed plate in. We are sowing Brassica juncea var, mizuna

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We roll the bed with the roller to give good contact between soil and seed.

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We water in our seeds to ensure germination takes place

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The little pink leaves are starting to show on the  rhubarb I divided on the 7/11/20

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1 or 2 seeds sown in cells. They were germinated in a 50/50 mix of compost/perlite and just plain water on our heated propagator bench in the tunnel.

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For me this fiery orange with the black center has to be the one for interplanting. The bees are attracted to it which is great for pollination and it suits poor soil

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They also flower well into autumn

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All of Prunus domestica are suitable to growing on our site

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These wonderful Pyrus communis cultivars are all suited to growing on our site here in Donegal

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Orchard maintenance is very important to ensure the quality and yield of the crop.
All of the Rootstocks and cultivars being used are suitable for this schedule but the ground should be tested for ph every season.

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All of the Cultivars are on rootstock MM106 which is well suited to the podzol soil we are on, the cultivars have been selected for their flavour and form as well as disease and scab resistance. They have been planted in this formation to give some colour contrast in the orchard to make it a joy to look at.

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Here we are pruning Ribes rubrum, we do this to promote healthy new growth in the spring, thin out congested, low hanging or crossing branches as well as any dead or dying wood. This raises the crown and also helps to reduce to risk of disease and makes harvesting next years fruit easier.

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Chitting seed potatoes for 2021, Setanta, Arran victory and Charlotte are the cultivars. Chitting will help to give the potatoes a good head start into growth and developing a good root system

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These leek seedlings were sown in a mix of coco, compost and perlite they were sown on 1/2/21 and will be set out as soon as the last  signs of frost have passed. The cultivar is oarsman F1

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First sowing of Celery ‘green sleeves’ and Celeriac ‘monarch’. Sown on 16/2/21 sown into single cells in coco/compost/perlite mix and topped with vermiculite for moisture and heat retention.

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These Alicante tomatoes are about a month old now and have been pricked out and potted up into 1 ltr pots.

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This Rheum rhabarbarum ’pink champagne’ is an early variety which is ideal for forcing and produce a long slender pink stalk, it’s easy to grow and is a very desirable cultivar.

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Hand pollinating this Prunus persica in the
poly-tunnel as theirs very little sign of natural pollinators around at the minute. Ot is repeated every day for a few weeks when the plain sacks have turned yellow and are ready to be distributed

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Thinning out these Beta vulgaris they have been germinated in these single cell trays in a mix of compost and perlite, each seed is a cluster and produces two or three seedlings Each so to ensure we have even sized large beets it is essential to thin them out at this stage

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These heavily congested espalier fruit trees are about to get rejuvenated, they haven’t been pruned in at least 5 years.

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Using wood mulch to create the walkways in between the garden beds

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Here I’m nipping out to tips of these broad beans as a precautionary measure against  black bean aphid, and also slow down vegetive growth and to promote the production of the fruits.

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Using the 4 row seeder we sowed 12 rows of  Eruca sativa, the bed was prepared by adding a layer of compost then it was footed in to compress it a little in order for the seeder to turn better, and the seeds were watered in.

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Applying the Nematode Steinernema feltiae to our market garden beds in the fight against Tipula spp. These are the larvae of the crane fly, they eat the at the roots of plants resulting in poor growth and reduced yield. a few grams contain millions of microscopic nematodes, they are mixed through water and applied with a watering can to already soaked soil, they swim through the soil in search of the grubs, they enter their body injecting them with lethal bacteria and feed from their insides and laying their offspring in the dead grub.

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Nipping off the side shoots from Cucumis sativus plants is recommended to encourage the plant to grow upward, the first small fruits are also nipped off to encourage vegative growth and to keep fruits from developing close to the ground

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Weeds compete with plants for water, sunlight, and nutrients, but they can also harbor pests or diseases so its essential to remove them. Stones can impact the growth of root vegetables so removing them is a good idea

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Here were using Scale cereale as our cover

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Here I can be seen direct sowing potatoes. We Selected the cultivar Sarpo Axona as Disease Control Method for late blight as they are a resistant cultivar

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Fill modules generously with seed compost and level off so they're filled to the brim, then sow one or two seeds in each – you can always pinch out surplus seedlings later

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Here I can be seen sowing microgreens into trays

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Separating out seedlings growing together and transferring them into their own plugs or pots of potting mix. Start pricking out as soon as the seedlings are big enough to handle. Fill plug trays or pots with good quality all-purpose potting mix.

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The tomatoes are planted and quite young, a piece of twine is tied around the bottom of the plant and secured to the upper rebar. The plant is then clipped to the twine as it grows with these biodegradable clips. we then follow up and shorten the trusses when they get too big. the tomatoes get watered every day through a timed irrigation system

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We used the cullinear hoe to cut the heads of any small annual weeds. The tops were just left in situ to feed the soil.

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We water in our seeds to ensure germination takes place

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Fertilizer mixing unit for liquid fertilizing without a watering can. The well designed dosing system ensures a precise mixture of water and liquid fertiliser.

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Applying a top-dressing of chicken manure, pellets can be used to fertilise soil from February to November, and should be applied every 4-6 weeks during the growing season all around the garden.

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here we are harvesting and bunching spring onions from our poly tunnel

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here i can be seen grading onions, the smaller ones are graded out as they are too small to sell

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these rhubarb were weighed before being bunched and and packaged for sale

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Here we are pruning back congested branches in the crown of these Ribes rubrum shrubs. We cut off any dead, dying or diseased branches as well as anything crossing or low hanging. We do this to promote new growth, reduce the risk of disease and to make harvesting the berries easier come Summer

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heavily Pruning these old espalier apple trees as they haven't been pruned in at least 5v years

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These are hanging baskets with Fragaria x Ananassa. Im unsure of the cultivar as I inherited these plants from a neighbour.

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Twine was wrapped around these posts in tiers to support the peas as they grew

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We laid some cardboard down and covered it in a thick layer of wood mulch to prevent weeds from taking hold

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These Strawberries were graded out as they were not fit for consumption

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these Strawberries were weighed and packed ready for sale

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Applied at 1:50

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To treat the problem organically you could try mixing one part milk to nine parts water and spraying the leaves lightly on a warm, dry day. Make sure it's done in the morning, not the evening. Leave it for a couple of weeks and then repeat

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Having strawberry pots suspended above a water table will prevent adult vine weevil from getting to your plants

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These sticky traps are great for hanging inside a polytunnel for catching whitefly and other pests

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We plant marigolds beside cucumbers to help control aphids, they attract parasitic insects which predate on the aphids and keep their numbers down

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When you release ladybugs, place them at the base of a plant or in the crotches of low branches on trees. They will crawl higher into the plant in search of aphids

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the different colours in this cropping plan denote the different plant family's, we plant using this plan so as not to let any harmful diseases build up in the soil and pass on to the next crop

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we use the flame weeder to create a stale seed bed for planting into

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Using pumpkins as ground cover to block out light to competing weeds

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Rye, like many plants, releases allelopathic chemicals to defend itself against competition from other plants. These chemicals work by inhibiting the germination and early growth of seeds, which can be seen in the weed suppression potential of rye cover crops

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We used the cullinear hoe to cut the heads of any small annual weeds. The tops were just left in situ to feed the soil.

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Installing pigeon netting is an important step when planting brassica plants. The date that the netting was installed was recorded on a maintenance spreadsheet

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Making sure to stoop down and keep the back straight is the correct way to lift cumbersome items from the floor

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Cleaning tools and returning them to storage is very important, it prevents rust and degradation and will help to make your tools last longer.

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Returning Chemicals to the chemical store

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Chemicals are dangerous to people and the environment so to keep them safe we make use of a locked chemical store, all used chemicals are also recorded in a maintenance sheet online.