We spent the afternoon planting out a few of our little seedlings. We planted some naturtiums, beans and gooseberries and some tomatoes - all seedlings. This year we tried something we saw at our local polytunnel project:
toilet rolls cut in half and placed in a long germination box (instead of the plastic trays). We felt the plastic trays are not strong enough to last more than a season and then they just become a waste product as they cant be reused so we felt that using the toilet rolls was a recycling project.
The one problem we did have though was that they seemed to cause? a bit of mould but the seedlings recovered and we seemed to get it under control. This did not happen when we planted in other seedling trays.
Not sure what we will acheive this year as the past two years there were way to many slugs, snails and the wind was too harsh even in the short summer season for anything to grow. As we dont use any form of pesticides we are at a loss of what to do. We also had trouble with neighbour hood cats burying their business in our seed boxes. Because the soil is so poor, mostly beach sand below the grass we use compost and bagged soil in recycled fisherman trays. We use odd pieces of fishermans nets that wash up on the beach in storms to cover these trays and protect them from the neighbourhood cats.
It works quite well and we have quite a few herbs and onions and chives that are now about 3 years old growing very well in them. We also have a recycled tyre tower which we fill with manure and compost during the winter and then plant potatoes in them in the summer. Last year we grew quite a few.....
We also have a couple of herbs and veges growing on the more protected front porch. We have managed to grow celery from bottom offcuts, onions the same way and have time, mint, sage, an apple tree, a blackthorn berry tree, strawberry planter and a few others crammed in there with some willow cuttings in a big pot besides.
It really is proving to be difficult growing things in this climate of very short, windy summers. Luckily we have a suplus of horse manure that we have access to from our ponies and also ample cattle dropping from the common grazings (which are writhing with earthworms) so thing should inprove. Its just a process and time passes by.
