A busy garden
NIR HALFON
The garden has gotten busy quite quickly this year. The transition from slippery, muddy pathways and puddles in the fields to dusty tracks and dry soil has been very quick. We did our best to use the first period of dry weather, when the soil was just right for cultivating and preparing the garden fields for the coming season. The little Massey plough which I wrote about over the winter did its job well and ploughed the land neatly at 6 inches depth. Now everything feels very dry. There is a drying wind blowing from the east. I am irrigating the first crops to help then establish and to soften the ground so that we can hoe between the plants. This is particularly relevant to the potato crop where the tractor needs to clean the ridges and re-ridge them.
Meanwhile, in the polytunnels, almost all of the 2019 beds have been replaced with fresh new crops. The last of the winter beds, spring greens and chards, are being harvested this week. In the past two weeks, selected new beds have been planted with tomatoes, cucumbers, beans and peas which are a real sign of summer vegetables. I am looking forward to pasta with tomato and green beans or homemade pesto!
None of the work would have be achieved without the help we have been getting. This year, more than ever, there has been a question mark over how we would cope with the work in the garden. All of the planned volunteers: summer students from Holland and Waldorf students on work experience have been cancelled. I’m immensely grateful for the offers of help we have had from the community. Unfortunately, we have had to hold back on some of the offers to limit the number of people coming into the garden for safety. However, a group of Plaw Hatch neighbours volunteered to help plant the onions. Onions are usually planted over two to three weeks. It is a slow, manual job. Each onion set is inserted into a hole in the ground. Simple, but it needs to be done 30,000 times. Thanks to our neighbours it was all done in just over a week and the onions have all come up. There will be more projects in the fields with which we will need help. Working in the field, the appropriate distances can be maintained whilst being outside and communicating with other people.
In addition, there is a group of dedicated and hardworking volunteers who live on the farm. Mandy, Kira and Lisa-Marie have been invaluable help. They have been working hard, transforming all those beds in the tunnels and carefully planting the new crops. They come every morning and do whatever is needed with enthusiasm and commitment. We are extremely grateful they are with us this year.
