Sun, wind, sowing and weeding!
Today Willow came to Dig-It and was quickly joined by the ARC team, Scott, Karl and Laura with Maggie on Andy’s bus.
The wind was very strong and it was quite chilly at first, so everyone started off in the summerhouse making seed planters from loo rolls guided by Steve. We made some potting compost by mixing half and half compost and vermiculite and then the rolls were filled. Then everyone had a go at surface sowing cress seeds - this is where seeds are sprinkled on top of the soil, not buried. Laura put the tray of pots into the greenhouse.
Scott weeded a large bed of onions with a three pronged hoe - it was hard work as the soil was quite wet!
It was Karl’s turn to weed next. Duncan on the plot next door showed us that he had a very weedy bed of leeks which needed sorting out, and he also had some beetroot we could take away - so Karl took the hoe and pulled away the weeds, being very careful not to pull away the leek roots. Maggie (eagle eyed!) spotted a Red Kite hovering nearby, so it was nice to watch it for a while.
After lunch, Karl raked the leek bed and then he and Scott harvested a row of beetroot, helped by Maggie, using a garden fork. Topped, tailed and bagged - they went back to the ARC to be cooked and enjoyed.
We very carefully harvested some lovely lettuce, just cutting one leaf at the base from the biggest plants. Willow took some home for tea!
Did you know the reasons crops are planted in rows? It’s so we can weed more easily - always leaving enough room for a hoe to be pulled through like Scott and Karl did today. Also it saves water, so we can just water in a line, and lastly - we’ll it just looks very smart and pretty!
We hope you enjoy our photos and can’t wait to see everyone next week!
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