Richard's patch

[richardw]

Thanks, its grown well since winter having had some great rainfalls, just need some hot days now

[richardw]

Black Spanish Radish has been grown for seed for 15+years and in those 15 years it always throws some white skin radishes, ive always pulled them before they could flower but the number never seems to change year in year out. Having more luck with bolt resistances though, early last summer i sown very thickly,(in the past its been more mid summer sowing), i would have then pulled half the crop out that started to before winter, had one or two bolt during winter, then come spring i pulled the first radishes that showed signs of flower stems leaving the slowest and which were the largest too. There's just on 40 flowering in the photo which i'm amazed with the height of, 2 metres. I would say 80% would have been pulled out from sowing. Next year i'm going to sow another month earlier again(Nov)to push that bolt resistances further.

[richardw]

Had to get the net over these radishes last evening as i heard a herd of sparrows inside the patch doing what sparrows do when they are starting to peck the fulling out seed pods. Gota anchor the net down well, the little bastards can just about dig under it.

[richardw]

Ive tried something different this growing season with my asparagus patch, i sowed it in clover and so far i would say it been a screaming success. Keeps the soil temps more steady- gives young shoots protection from frost, only thing is its important to pull any grass plants that do manage to grow.

[steev]

Never heard of clover as a nurse crop for asparagus; looks promising; if nothing else, the purple in green is pretty. Depending on how deep you've set your crowns, it might even be possible to till in the clover for nitrogen; I doubt that would much impact the clover's return. You may have found a "perpetual motion machine".

[richardw]

Dont plan on removing the clover even though that variety doesn't put down roots as it spreads out, there for it would be very easy to remove.

[meganp]

So what variety of clover is that Richard?

[richardw]

I dont know, it came in a round bale of hay i put over it last summer. I had heard of a organic grower up north sowing clover in her asparagus patch, so because so much clover came up from out of the hay i thought, 'why not try it out'. Makes you wonder if you could grow other stuff like this, just got to keep the grasses out.

[steev]

I'm thinking to use tepary and mat beans, both of which stay low, as harvestable, nitrogen-fixing living mulch in my corn patches.

[richardw]

As a ground covering living mulch anything like that steev is worth a crack

[richardw]

farmermike  On your list of 'wanted' you had turnips. This is a post grex cross that was made by Cesar a few years ago from known varieties, ive grown two generations since, keeping as much colour diversity as possible. But what i'm really pleased with in the present crop is like all my other biannual lines my main focus is breeding for non bolting in the first year growing season, this crop has had no bolters pulled this growing season, last summer i would have pulled half out by now. 

[reed]

I like my turnips to bolt, just like radishes. Young leaves, flower buds and seed pods are the part I like, the roots are just there to till the soil. All that aside that is one beautiful patch ya got there. Love all the colors, clearly I need to bring some more variety into mine.

[richardw]

I'm expecting bolters soon though, surely they wont go through to winter without some bolting.

[steev]

I harvested the turnip crop; it's a really nice one, but only one.

[richardw]

And what happened it..?