GreenFriends™ UK

Gardening Corner: April 2009

"The destruction of Nature is the same thing as the destruction of humanity. Trees, animals, birds, plants, forests, mouintains, lakes and rivers - everything that exists in Nature  - are in desparate need of our kindness, of the compassionate care and protection of man. If we protect them, they in turn will protect us."
From Man and Nature by Amma

Helping Spring Along

Spring finally seems to be arriving. I'll bet that everyone is more than a bit glad. After the coldest winter with the harshest weather for many years it is definetly warming up. The birds seem to be starting to proclaim their ownership of territories for breeding. I saw 6 moorhens having a massive brawl on a pond a few days ago. All 6 seemed to have all decided that they owned the pond and wanted no other moorhens within 100 yards of it!!! The birds also seem to be finding their voices. Quite a few species can be heard singing now, including blackbird, robin, song thrush, mistle thrush, blue tit, great tit, and wren.

The buds on quite a few trees are swelling up ready to sprout new leaves, and some flowers and herbs have begun to emerge out of the soil. We have several chive plants appearing out of the soil with 2 inch high sprouts. And finally, after months of frost and snow we have been able to begin the digging we planned to start all winter. So much for plans.

One of the concerns of the gardener at this time of year is getting the soil warmed up as fast as possible. The warmer the soil, the better your plants will grow. There are several ways to help this process along. One is to reduce the amount of shade in your garden. We have a hedge on the south side of the allotment, which we have to keep low so as not to shade out too much of our beds. We have also this year tried a new method of putting window frames on the beds or pieces of garden fleece. The window frames create a mini greenhouse effect, concentrating the suns energy directly on the soil. The garden fleece keeps the frost off, and also helps to trap warm air next to the soil.

Allotment Diary

We have begun sowing seeds for the new season. At home on the windowledge our tomatoes have already germinated, and the peppers and aubergines have just started. In the greenhouse we have seeded some broad beans.

The garlic which we planted in December (a little later than is normal, but it worked last year) has finally started to sprout. The snow and ice have slowed its development right down.

These are our leeks, which we are slowly harvesting.

This is our kale which has been eaten by slugs (already, and its only March - aaaaaaggggghhhhhh!)

Happy gardening and see you all next month

- Richard and Kaivalya

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