The summer season is a busy one, particularly when you’re establishing a new garden.
We’ve been working hard to fill our beds outside and in the polytunnels with the plugs of vegetables sown at the end of last winter and at the beginning of spring. As ever, it was a rush to get everything into the ground as the warmer and lighter days arrived, but we managed, with just a little feeling of panic.
We can almost see the plants thriving and growing luscious leaves in front of our eyes at his time of year. This spring provided perfect growing conditions, allowing all the plants to establish their roots. Once they have sent out tips to search for the nutrients and water within the soil, the top part begins to reach for the sky.
Mother Nature needed a little help this year and we spent many hours watering to ensure the crops survived. Our new watering systems were a huge help.
We have two very large outside growing areas at Freyja Farm – Pond Field and Orchard Field. Pond Field is now completely full of lovely brassicas, legumes, roots, alliums and leaves. We’re just about to begin planting Orchard Field with squash, summer squash and more winter vegetables.
Our polytunnels are chock-a-block with tomatoes, cucumbers, gherkins, cucamelons, melons, aubergines, peppers, chillies, lettuce, mesclun, leaves, beans, and herbs. The aromas of the growing summer fruiting crops should be bottled!
As the vegetables and soft fruit grow, so does the vegetation around them. Competition between weeds and crops is intense and while we know we will never not have weeds growing, our no-dig mulch approach has reduced the number of them.
Meanwhile, the cordon apple and pear trees planted last year at the Walled Garden are full of leaves and, fingers crossed, we’ll have fruit in the autumn. The orchard is looking tidy and green, and the soft fruit has mainly all established, though we have learned we need to water more as the temperatures can be considerably higher within the walls. The building of our mega greenhouse also continues at the Walled Garden, and we’re expecting it to be erected in July.
Enjoy your summer gardening, see you in the autumn.
Ann Paton and her husband Bob run their own farm and are recreating a walled garden at Freyja in the Tyne Valley www.restaurantfreyja.com
For more from Ann, visit www.freyjagarden.com/blogs/farm-updates
