Saltburn Allotments Association

February is here again! There are lots of jobs you can get on with:

Mulch fruit crops to reduce weed and retain moisture leaving a gap around plants. Finish pruning autumn raspberries. You can begin to sow seeds if you have somewhere warm and with good light, just keep an eye on them for pests and diseases and you can chit your new potatoes when you have them.

Plant seed for salad or leaves and herbs under cover, don’t plant out yet as weather can still be cold. If the ground is not frozen you can plant bare rooted bushes and trees. You could still plant garlic if you have any left unplanted.

Make sure any greenhouses are clean for the new season. Plan your crops rotating where they grow to avoid problems.

If you are trying no dig you may want to gain benefit for the environment by using organic principles when you garden. It’s all about caring for the whole environment not just the plants you grow, and the bonus is your food is healthier and hopefully you get to see more wildlife in your plot and elsewhere.

There are lots of simple things you can do to help your crops grow without adding chemicals: good husbandry is a great start, clearing away any diseased or decaying materials as you go, keeping on top of weed growth, adding good quality organic matter to the soil, covering the surface around plants with a good mulch to maintaining moisture and suppress the growth of weeds.

Companion planting is another help for organic gardeners, using plants with strong scents to disguise other crops i.e. planting onion and carrots together is said to deter carrot fly or planting marigolds near crops can deter whitefly and other pests. I like to interplant and mix things up a bit, you can plant a ground cover on the surface to suppress weed growth such as clover under sweet corn, just make sure the corn is established first, or even try the three sisters method, using squashes between the corn and adding climbing beans to scramble up the corn, a method used by native Americans very successfully. It’s worth doing a little research and experimenting!

We are still collecting rents at the container or you can pay via Internet banking (Account is Saltburn Allotment Association, Sort Code 40-38-06 Account number: 61275089) using your plot number as a reference. Any questions please visit on Sunday mornings between 10 and 11.30 to check with our treasurer. A sixteenth of an acre plot is currently £29 and don’t forget to update any information with us that you have changed! Such as address or phone number!

Have fun in your garden this year; be ready for anything the weather can throw at you! Collect water, cover the ground under crops to keep them moist and beat the heat! If we change what we do it can help to give us a good crop whatever the weather.

Julia