There’s a definite sense of spring being just around the corner. As well as the early spring bulbs being in full bloom, there’s a bustle in the atmosphere at Ryton Gardens as the spring tasks get underway. With the help of our wonderful volunteers, winter pruning in the Soft Fruit garden is complete. Weeds have started making their presence known in the fruit beds, so I’ve been removing them before applying compost, which will feed the plants and the soil, as well as acting as a mulch to suppress further weeds.
Another spring task is seed sowing. This year, most of the plants that I grow from seed will be going into the Biodynamic garden. Biodynamic gardeners and farmers believe that there are subtle rhythms associated with the sun, the moon and the planets that influence the quality of crops. A planting calendar based on the position of these celestial bodies in relation to the Earth is produced annually that gives the best dates for sowing and cultivating different crops, depending on whether they are grown for their fruit, flowers, leaves or roots. I will be following the planting calendar to find the best days for sowing different seeds, for example, beans will be sown on fruit days and lettuce on leaf days. Biodynamic growing also involves using special manure and herb-based preparations that are applied to the soil and compost to enhance microbiological activity and improve soil fertility. This week I have been making a tree paste preparation, which was applied to the bark of the pruned grapevines and fruit bushes and trees to nourish them and improve their health.
As the work of sowing seeds and preparing the soil for planting out continues, Helen, Matt and I will also be busy working on completing our diplomas in the time we have left at Garden Organic.
