Worms and Weed Suppressant Fabric

Today I conducted a worm survey on my allotment.  I chose three locations. Firstly on ground which had been covered with weed suppressant fabric and was not used to grow a  crop in the last growing season.

Second was an uncovered patch that had gone a bit wild after the legumes and squashes had been harvested

The third sampling site was patch where onions and beetroot had been grown and was not heavy with weeds.

At each location I dugout a cube ( spade's width and depth) of soil onto a white plastic sheet.  Then I sifted through by hand using a spatula (a toy sandpit spade actually) and counted the worms that were big enough to be visible.  The first observation as that there were precious few earthworms at any of the three sites.  Sources talk about 5 to 25 worms per square foot, but I only counted a total of 8 (not counting a centipede, millepede, wireworm and a snail.

The fabric covered area was the worst, yielding just one very pink knotted worm (see top photo). The other two sites were close although the less weedy site just edged it at 4 genuine earthworm.

Overall I am worried at how few worms I turned up.  The original aim of this survey was to attempt to assess the effect of weed suppressant fabric on soil health, as indicated by the number of earthworms.  Just one worm is a fairly clear result.  This is not a result I welcome as I have found the fabric to be a boon, saving me lots of hours of weeding while producing good yields (of sweetcorn strawberries and brassicas for instance).   I may repeat my survey in wetter weather.  (The normal Edinburgh torrent has abated for the last week.) But it looks to me that I should stop using the fabric, except in desperation.

Back to Black

Today the weather was pleasant so I set about the task of emptying out the mature compost bin.  At the far end of our rectangular garden we have two 'daleks', one in each corner.  Our kitchen (and garden) waste gets added to one while the other is left to rot down - with the help of brandling worms. It is high time I did this as, with slower breakdown at colder temperatures,  the active bin has been brimming full for weeks.  The end result is, at most, a third of the height of the full dalek.  Now emptied the waste can be directed to the second bin where there is plenty of room. 

Here's the same bin at the beginning of the year (9/2/19)

With dalek in place:

I have bagged up the compost for now as I have yet to decide where the greatest need is:  flowerbeds or tubs.  Most likely I will avoid the option of taking them to the allotment as this involves transport. This black stuff is like gold dust. 

Four Seasons Square Foot Beds - Retrospective

It's a strange thing when growing a square foot crop: The last thing you need is a runaway success!

To go back to the start. What better plan for a school garden than to show how vegetables can be available for harvesting the whole year around?  Space of course is limited so the square foot gardening concept is ideally suited.  A four metre by one metre bed was duly divided into 4 one metre square beds and slate labels made up accordingly.  The idea is that each 1 metre bed is divided into 9 square foot beds.  This can be done permanently with wood or slate. Alternatively a wooden 'noughts and crosses' or hash frame can be temporarily deployed to help with the spacing when sowing or planting.  

Of course the real challenge is the sowing/planting plan - and the timing.  One year in and here is a season by season report.

Spring  - Photographed 18/9/19

Spring sowing plan

Winter Purslane			Celeriac			Kohlrabi
Swiss Chard			PSB (Rudolph)			Beetroot
Swede			Leeks			Parsnip

Spring has suffered from being raided in December for the School Christmas Bazaar. The celeriac, kohlrabi, swede  and celeriac were just too tempting when you knew you had a ready market for these crops which might not survive the cold temperatures or the predations of pigeons or soil borne pests. Not surprising as nearly all of the crops for spring harvesting are already mature before the year end but are left to hang on until the target date of 15 March.The PSB was not planted out because it was realised that it would bully all 8 of the surrounding crops and deprive them of light.  Parsnips were the real surprise as they thrived in the limited space given to them.  The downside was that their leaves flopped languidly over the neighbouring Spring and even Summer squares. The beetroot and leeks in particular suffered. The winter purslane seed failed to make any headway or got eaten before getting established.  Swiss Chard is a real asset to any seasons planting.  Cropping is the only issue as it is harvested a bit at a time and the soft leaves and fleshy stems are not easily transportable.  There is a reason why supermarkets don't supply Swiss Chard and this is it.  

Summer planting plan

Lettuce			Broad Bean			Onions
Peas			Elephant Garlic			Strawberry
Radish			Spinach			Rocket

Despite appearances from the late season photo Summer was very successful.  The broadbeans cropped well but then had to be removed so as not to shadow out the rest.  Lettuce grew and then bolted.  Peas rocket and radish all did the same.  The Strawberry is the only perennial in the whole 4 beds and is of course a dwarf variety.  Both onions (from sets) and elephant garlic were the surprise winners for the Summer bed, yielding respectable quantities for the minimal space given to them (see below )

Autumn planting plan

Fennel			Cucumber			Lettuce
Beetroot			Tomato			Peas
Leeks			Dwarf French Beans			Carrots

Tomato (Totem) was the runaway winner in the Autumn bed. Despite its "dwarf" label it had to be restrained.  Neither cucumber nor peas could compete.  On the plus side it fruited well. Carrots were the surprise success here (although they would have been better if thinned more)  Fennel was a no show replaced by a late sowing of coriander.

Winter planting plan:

Leek			Coriander			Kohlrabi
Beetroot			Swiss Chard			Swede
Carrots			Mooli			Parsley

Brassicas are great winter vegetables but given the space they need the leafy ones are not suitable for square foot gardening. (We do have a separate brassica only bed next to the 4 seasons bed). Root and stem brassicas like mooli, Swede and kohlrabi are good for this purpose, although the mooli was sown too late to reach a respectable size.   Some crops (Swiss chard, beetroot) seem to suit nearly all seasons.  Leeks might be another candidate for that accolade  - except that this year they failed to perform wherever they were planted.

So many lessons learned this year.  We plan to run the experiment for another year with the possibility of building on our experience.  Seasonal greetings to you all.

4 Seasons Beds on site

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A Square Foot of Onions

Elephant Garlic

Swede

Kohlrabi

Beetroot

Celeriac

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