Rain, rain go away............

How fine and still it was yesterday and what a contrast to today's unpleasantness! If the garden had had no wall, I'm sure we would have been blown away! Fortunately, our students have been documenting their activities, rather than battling the weather so here's Jane's account of the preparations for the salad garden.

WHAT DO I NEED TO DO TO MAKE A SALAD GARDEN?

1. TESTING THE SOIL

Doing a hand test- you have to use your hands to know the physical properties of the soil.

Doing a soil analysis- to know the chemical properties of the soil (pH, K, N, P)

Testing for organic status- to make sure that the garden is organic

Testing for levels of pH, P, K, N (acid/ alkaline, potassium, phosphorus and nitrogen).

2. PREPARING THE SOIL

Raking the soil- to aerate the soil

Levelling the ground- to make sure that the ground is all at the same level.

Hand weeding- to take weeds out of the soil using hands.

Mulching- to cover the ground with carpets/black plastic to stop weeds growing.

Sowing green manures- to make the soil better and loamy.

Fencing to protect from pests- to make sure that no animals go through the fence ( especially rabbits and rats)

3. PLANNING WHICH SEEDS TO SOW

Observing the weather- to know how it will be affecting the soil and plants.

Using the organic vegetable planner, choosing the right seeds for Bawdsey conditions, finding seeds to sow in spring, finding seeds to harvest in summer. We do this because we are on an academic timetable and we want to harvest the crop. We use the organic vegetable planners to decide which vegetables are suitable for Bawdsey conditions, to know which seeds to sow in spring and to harvest in summer. Use OV planners to know what is the most suitable soil, space between rows and plants.