As you can imagine, now is a great time of year to be working outside in the garden. We've been really busy moving our seedlings from their modules in the polytunnel to the raised beds and into the ground we've been preparing and they're really thriving. The weather here has suddenly got a lot hotter so we're working as quickly as we can to prevent our plants from dying in the heat of the tunnel. We've rotavated two patches of land so that we can plant directly into the soil. In one we've planted potatoes which will help to further break up the soil and improve its health so that we have more options for how to use it next year. In the other we've planted brassicas including cabbages, broccoli, sprouts and cauliflower. Because brassicas often get eaten by birds and other pests we've built a framework around that patch of land and attached netting to it to keep our little plants safe. We've also used old plastic bottles to create a mini greenhouse for each plant to further protect them until they're a bit bigger.
Elsewhere in the raised beds we have courgettes, tomatillos, tomatoes and peas with a framework to climb up. We'll use the spaces in between the plants to plant herbs.
We've also been doing some companion planting and inter-cropping. The pictures below show a bed containing fennel herb, globe artichokes and cardoon, another containing amaranthus, sunflowers and tree spinach and a third with lettuce and onions.
Meanwhile over at our Skinningrove site we're putting the final touches on the work we've done and preparing to hand it over to the community! It's been a long journey and we've really enjoyed working with the community there and hope that they'll enjoy the garden in our absence. We're looking for more local volunteers to help maintain the Skinningrove site so if you're interested, get in touch! To see how the site is looking and what's left to do before we leave, check out our video update on our facebook page https://www.facebook.com/In-Harmony-Food-Revolution-319074662038733