New Year – New Priorities

I didn’t make public my intentions for the plot last year so don’t have to publicly humiliate myself with the list of things that I didn’t achieve! But I did make some real – and overdue progress – on a number of fronts. So before setting out some plans for 2022 this is a brief list of the positives from 2021:

• Fixed the polytunnel that had been badly damaged in a storm at the end of 2020. Well when I say ‘fixed’ that’s not strictly true – I sacrificed the end section because I didn’t have the skills or materials/tools to salvage it and realised I could simply saw through the bars and reduce the 19ft tunnel by a few feet. Next task was to see if the damaged cover could be adapted to fit new shape and to cut out some of the ripped sections – have to confess that my ex-husband did most of the work on this part. And the result zero expenditure and a useable tunnel once more which helped produce a good crop of tomatoes etc
• Built a shed – I bought an old shed in 2018, had it dismantled and the sections moved to my plot where they had sat stacked up ever since! So finally was able to do the prep to level the ground, and over a couple of weekends, and once again help of my ex, got it erected and then fitted with guttering and water butt. And landscaped the area around it.
• Woodchipped all around my annual beds – dependent on deliveries of woodchips to site and then managing to get enough shifted to my plot.
• Successful crops – did well with kales, chard, spinach, peas, Greek gigantes beans, Borlotti beans, tromboncino squash, salad and oriental leaves, tomatoes – and zillions of asparagus peas! Also fruit – black currants and aronia did v well.
• Crop failures – runner beans, aubergines (although better than previous years as had a couple of mini fruit), peppers and chillies ( but am overwintering some to see if have a head start next year) Sweetcorn (yet again!).
• So-so crops – garlic (small), leeks (allium leaf miner), kohl rabbi, sprouts, squash & pumpkins (apart from tromboncino),
• Acquired a small brassica tunnel or polytunnel – and despite it blowing away twice it is now firmly in place in the right place.
• Flowers – cosmos did v well, also some marigolds and nasturtiums
• Cleared brambles from small plot – my mini forest garden
• Kept up with regular journal/and plan and set up and used database on Notion

So plans for 2022

• Mini Forest garden – continue to clear weeds, mulch with woodchips and create guilds around fruit bushes and saplings. Have new trees/shrubs to plant or nurture for another year before planting next year – apple, elderberry, quince, chinese dates etc
• Build a hugelkultur mound in forest garden – have the materials mostly gathered now just need to do the work
• Construct a herb bed or spiral
• Construct a couple of arches over pathway between annual beds – use for runner beans etc
• Grow more flowers – both for pollinators but also for cutting and as edibles
• Smarter planning – use of reminders etc in Notion so don’t miss sowing or planting dates to maximise growing periods
• Smarter harvesting – particularly of crops like spinach, chard which produce more than I can eat but could be frozen for later use
• Improve labelling – this is continuation from 2021 when I started to use reusable black plastic labels and white pen. They do remain legible all season – just need to ensure I dont run out and do label straightaway when I’ve direct sown.
• Improve recording of harvests – first and last dates and weights – to enable better planning in future
• More seed saving – in 2021 only saved bean seeds – plus some hosta and achocha.
• Improve observations so don’t miss potential problems or harvests.
• Use more strulch – found it worked well to both repel slugs but also as weed suppressing mulch
• Make more use of comfrey, nettles etc to produce feeds and soil amendments
• Install IBC tank and use for irrigation
• Repairs to polytunnel covering and installation of some effective guttering for rain capture
• Fix shelving and tool racks inside shed, set up potting bench and paint the outsides
• Set targets for particular crops eg produce all vegetables for Christmas dinner, self-sufficiency in potatoes for 3 months July-Sep, self-sufficiency in salad leaves for 12 months(!)
• Pay more attention to after care – eg thinning out of seedlings, weeding, staking
• And finally the one that I am trying to avoid which is to sow fewer varieties and to avoid overwhelm by having too many seedlings on the go at once. This can result in a failure to spot problems, to leave seedlings in trays and modules too long so they get leggy, and also planting too densely in final destinations.

And a final final one is to try to make the most of the time on my plot: to avoid or limit distractions elsewhere on site (this may mean making decision to stand down from committee or at least role as treasurer); to more consciously plan what I intend to do on each visit; to take time to observe all parts of my plot and the different elements and to take time to occasionally just sit and be in the moment.