There is always something to learn.
The Open Day on Sunday went well with a good turnout from the Caley and various allotment sites attending the workshop given by George Anderson and looking round the plot, with the Biochar trial and the Japanese vegetables attracting a deal of attention.
George gave a practical demonstration on why and how to summer prune various kinds of fruit and finished with a class on the technique of budding using buds from our Grenadier apple onto a rootstock he had brought along.
The buds should take within a few weeks.
The apples pears and plums are ripening nicely so time to net them all from the birds. The onions were all dug up and will be dried off somewhere sunny and dry. We’ll sow green manures as the beds as cleared hoping there is time for them to grow before the first frosts arrive.
Biochar trial
This week the onions in the Biochar trial were pulled up, photographed and weighed. As with the cabbages, there was a significant different between the Biochar bed and the control bed. This is the first year we have done this and there are variables with growing in normal garden conditions but it would be interesting to continue the trial next year and see what results we get.
The Results
Red onion sets [7 sets] 450gm (Biochar) 200gm [6 sets survived but 2 didn’t grow] (Control)
White onion sets [ 7 sets] 1.52kg (Biochar) 550gm (Control bed)
Potatoes -[ 6 tubers] 10.77kg (Biochar) 10.42kg (Control bed)
Cabbages – [3 plants] 8.18kg(Biochar) 2.95kg (Control bed)
Its Show time: This coming weekend 7/8 September is the Dalkeith Flower Show and we hope to enter some of our produce so may see you there.
Jobs for this week: Finish the pruning; Sow green manures;Cut back the comfrey and add to the compost heap
