Here at Stephanie’s Kitchen Garden this week we will be setting up our irrigation ready for the coming season. We are currently experiencing a dry spell in East Anglia and haven’t had significant rainfall for a couple of weeks. Pots and beds are looking dry and we have already had to water our onion and garlic crops to try and prevent rust setting in later on.
We will be laying out our soaker hoses in the main beds. These are set up on timers during the main growing season, but for now we will be turning them on as and when we need them. The raised bed irrigation has remained in place all winter so is ready to go whenever we need it.
We will also be assembling our tomato grow houses. These are cleaned and dismantled for the winter and put up again each spring. Our tomato plants in the greenhouse are growing well and hopefully it won’t be long before it is warm enough for them to be planted into their final growing place.
The buds on our fruit trees look set to burst open at any time. As soon as the leaves begin to unfurl, we will give them a foliar spray with Epsom salts and continue this weekly until the leaves are completely formed. This encourages strong healthy leaves that will have more resistance to pests and diseases.
This week we will be sowing squash, watercress, salads, peas, French beans and rocket. The greenhouse is certainly starting to fill up with healthy seedlings and plants.
