New Routes: January 2009

by Jill Coleman

New Routes has had a slow start to the New Year. Although we were on site all the way up until Christmas Eve, we shut down for a week and the end of December and were due to return in the first week of January. However, along came that cold snap which froze the plants into their pots and the compost in its bags. Then we tried to turn the water back on and … nothing.

With no toilets or cups of tea on site we were forced to shut down for a further week and embark instead on a five-day tour of Warrington’s garden centres. At least we managed to stock up on seed potatoes for the new season, which we will start chitting very shortly. We will be planting our first earlies in containers and raised beds, but the maincrop can go into the allotment.

Once the weather warmed up last week we were able to head back down to inspect the damage. It wasn’t too bad. We lost a few of the broad bean plants, and one or two of the overwintering geraniums in the polytunnel don’t look too healthy. Overall, however, we haven’t done too badly. Underneath the layers of horticultural fleece most of our young plants were thriving. There is a little bit of grey mould around and green moss in some of the pots, but nothing that couldn’t be cured with a bit of TLC. Everything in the tunnel has been given a good airing during the daytime, and the learners have worked through the pots, freshening up the compost and removing any dead or damaged plant material. They have also pricked out and potted on a few trays of perennial seedlings.

We haven’t done much work outside. We tidied up some of the raised beds, weeding them and composting the old bits of broccoli and pea plants. There are some early shoots on some of the rhubarb plants, so we have covered one up to try to force it. Friday morning was bright and dry, so we took a couple of rolls of ground cover round to the allotment which we rolled out and weighed down with wooden pallets. It would be a shame for the weeds to take hold again. The onions that we planted there in the autumn seem to be doing just fine too.

We should be getting back to normal within the next couple of weeks. We have some more topsoil on order to finish off the last couple of raised beds and to top off the existing ones where the contents have settled. There is also a load of manure on the way to dig in around the various beds so that it’s well integrated by the time we come to plant out in the late spring.

The weather forecast is threatening a bitter February, so it is possible that we may be forced to spend some more time off site. It is difficult to keep the gardeners motivated at this time of year, so we aim to bring in more craft-based activities where possible, and involve the learners in planning for the year ahead. We are trying to encourage individuals to choose what they would like to grow in their own raised beds and we have placed a selection of seeds and seed catalogues in the cabin for inspiration. When it is freezing cold outside and the sleet is coming down sideways like it was today, it is often hard for our learners to envisage harvesting their crops, but we have to keep reminding them that spring is just around the corner and that in only a few weeks there will be trays and trays of seedlings in the polytunnel. I take every opportunity to point out instances of new growth to show that everything will soon be bursting back into life.