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livingontheland - Re: [Livingontheland] back again

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Subject: Healthy soil and sustainable growing

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  • From: John D'hondt <dhondt@eircom.net>
  • To: Healthy soil and sustainable growing <livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] back again
  • Date: Thu, 27 Nov 2014 20:28:24 +0000


On 27/11/14 00:42, herb farmer wrote:

Hmm. It seems that where we live & grow, & what or IF, often depends on family or other personal considerations -- more than any philosophy or dreams. Still, you can do a lot on one acre with that much experience behind you. We look fwd to hearing more in the future.

For now I'm getting winter greens settled in, tho not early enough to make good mkt harvest yet. This is unfamiliar territory for me, never planned ahead for winter mkts before. Need more beds of Viroflay spinach! More Siberian kale! More arugula! Technically we should have the lattitude for some winter growth; so 7-8 hrs sun & some temperature protection - bed coverings inside unheated greenhouse -will help get some to mkt. At worst we'll get early start on great harvesting in early spring. When too many other growers are straining to sell radishes.

Reminds me: have you heard (anyone) of Sutherland kale from highlands of Scotland? I started some along with Siberian & Western Front.

paul

Nope, Sutherland kale I have no experience with. Our best kale bar none is red Russian as long as we plant that before middle August. We have about 20 different winter crops that have never let us down but any seedling going in the ground after September has little chance of surviving. Even the weeds stop growing and go dormant now. But these vegetables keep growing slowly and they give us fresh greens every day. Come next March they start booming into flower and a kale plant that has stood at around 2 feet all winter will go to 6-7 feet in a few days (before keeling over and sending up new flower stems from the ground galore.) These flowers are extremely important for pollinators and of course they are edible and a delicacy for humans as well.
Of course we don't have 7 hours of light here now let alone 7 hours of sun. In fact we have seen no sun for over a week. Dark clouds all day with 60 km/hr winds. The last week has given us plenty of fog thick as pea soup and two nights of severe frost.
John




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