Winter preparations
Winter is coming and with it come the first of the Brussel Sprouts and Red Cabbage which you can now find at our Farmers' Market stall and on our online shop. Our calabrese is coming to an end, but don't panic as it's won't be long until our much-loved Purple Sprouting Broccoli will be ready in early December.
In the last few weeks we have been busy planting out our overwintered onions. This was a great team effort with all hands on deck to make holes and plant out the transplant modules. Our peas, broadbeans, carrots have all been sown in the tunnels to provide early spring produce next year. And the overwintered hispi cabbages have been sown into module trays ready for the first spring plantings.
Our newly sown greenmanures are just getting established in areas where our summer crops (e.g. squash and courgettes) have finished. The mix of rye grass and field beans that we have chosen is winter hardy and helps to protect the soil from erosion especially during wet and windy weather. It also provides useful fertility for next years crops. The extensive root system of the rye grass is adept at dredging up the minerals that may have been washed away during winter rains. It is particularly good at lifting the nitrates in the soil and releasing them slowly (once dug in) to the following crop.