Apprentice allotmenteer Micky announced the other day that he had cracked the secret to maintaining a successful allotment.
In an idle moment he had happened upon The Real Seed Catalogue at http://www.realseeds.co.uk/beginners.html where they have listed their top tips for beginners, which I have summarized below:
~ Tips for Beginners ~
If you are just starting out growing vegetables, here are a few bits of advice we think might help:
Tip 1: Don't buy too much seed.
Tip 2: Get a really clear gardening book.
Tip 3: Don't use cheap compost. Really, just don't.
Tip 4: Weeds are easy to kill when small.
Tip 4: Cold spells will prevent seeds germinating.
Tip 4: Plants run off direct sunlight.
Tip 5: Learn to save your own seed.
Tip 6: Befriend the oldest gardener you can find.
You will learn the most from the oldest gardeners. Want to know when to sow cabbages? Find the oldest person you can who has truly great cabbages, and do exactly whatever they say. They will have seen it all, and they will know what you can and can't get away with in your particular local climate and soil.
Tip 6 made his eyes light up.
Now, as I am the oldest gardener he knows, and in truth probably the oldest person he knows, he now considers that he cannot go wrong.
I was, of course, quick to point out to him that any list of tips for the beginner that excludes the philosophy of being “In Toon with the Moon” isn’t worth a club rooted cabbage and if he has any ambitions of achieving any kind of success he better start “Tooning In” pretty damned quick!
Speaking of being “In Toon” I mentioned in an earlier blog that I had managed, in between showers, to plant onion sets, garlic, shallots and broad bean seed.
I must confess that suitable weather conditions were upper most in my mind not the phase of the moon on the days that I planted them.
Now, as I am the oldest gardener he knows, and in truth probably the oldest person he knows, he now considers that he cannot go wrong.
I was, of course, quick to point out to him that any list of tips for the beginner that excludes the philosophy of being “In Toon with the Moon” isn’t worth a club rooted cabbage and if he has any ambitions of achieving any kind of success he better start “Tooning In” pretty damned quick!
Speaking of being “In Toon” I mentioned in an earlier blog that I had managed, in between showers, to plant onion sets, garlic, shallots and broad bean seed.
I must confess that suitable weather conditions were upper most in my mind not the phase of the moon on the days that I planted them.
Following on from my rant to Micky about him “Tooning In” I thought I had better double check with the Moon Bible on the suitability of the days in question.
I am pleased to report that the days I selected were the ideal days proving that I am now so finely “Tooned In” that I no longer need to refer to the Moon Bible.
I rest my case.
After my last blog, one or two of you, the Young Pretender included, have had the nerve to accuse me, The Werewolf of Hampshire, of being obsessed with the Saskatoon just because it rhymes with moon.
I have been quick to point out to them that there is a big difference in being enthusiastic as opposed to being obsessed and that when the saskatoon berry appears on the supermarket shelves they will remember where they heard of it first.
In truth, so enthusiastic am I, that my new ambition is to be the first man to plant a saskatoon on the moon!
I’ve already booked my ticket!
I am pleased to report that the days I selected were the ideal days proving that I am now so finely “Tooned In” that I no longer need to refer to the Moon Bible.
I rest my case.
After my last blog, one or two of you, the Young Pretender included, have had the nerve to accuse me, The Werewolf of Hampshire, of being obsessed with the Saskatoon just because it rhymes with moon.
I have been quick to point out to them that there is a big difference in being enthusiastic as opposed to being obsessed and that when the saskatoon berry appears on the supermarket shelves they will remember where they heard of it first.
In truth, so enthusiastic am I, that my new ambition is to be the first man to plant a saskatoon on the moon!
I’ve already booked my ticket!
