Working and Studying

Things are hotting up for us three apprentices at Garden Organic, at least work-wise, if not weather-wise. We all passed the five practical assessments we had last week, but there’s still a lot of work left to do on our diplomas. Work at Ryton Gardens is also in full swing, sowing seeds and preparing beds for the coming year. Thankfully there’s a lot of scope for combining the diploma work and gardening, as a large part of the diploma involves collecting evidence of the work we’re doing in the gardens. So as long as we remember to take photos while we garden, we’re killing two birds with one stone.

Preparing the beds for sowing and planting is a really important task. In organic growing, plant nutrient requirements are generally supplied by the addition of organic matter and by growing green manures. I’ve dug the green manures into the beds in the Biodynamic Garden, which will add organic matter to the soil, and provide nitrogen in the case of plants in the legume (pea and bean) family. I’m also applying garden compost to the beds in my gardens as this contains good levels of nutrients, as well as improving soil structure.

I’m germinating most of my seeds in our glasshouse and polytunnel as it’s more reliable than sowing them directly outdoors. They are sown in individual pots or modular trays to reduce root disturbance during transplantation. However, I’ll be sowing plants that don’t like any root disturbance, such as carrots, parsnips and Florence fennel, as well as quick growing plants, such as radishes, directly into the soil. The month ahead will be full of anticipation as I wait for the little seedlings to emerge.