Sarah Wilson , founder of Compton Garden Flowers , takes us through a week in late November on her efflorescence farm . Sarah and her husband Bob farm in the village of Compton Dando , which can be detect between Bath & Bristol .
MondayWell , it is absolutely pouring rain this forenoon , but to be honorable , I do n’t mind ! It ’s been such a dry summer that the terra firma needs a really unspoilt few weeks of rain to recover . Autumn is , at last , start to deliver some much colder weather – which is a bit of a easing because it means that it wo n’t be long before the tulip bulbs can be implant . tulip need a period of dusty weather before embed , ideally around six week . So I am suppose that mine will get planted around Christmas time this yr !
November is the month that you really get going to notice the shorter mean solar day . Nonetheless , my glasshouse and polytunnel are stuffed full of seedlings sown in former fall , some destined for planting out in the next few weeks , some needing to be tucked up overwinter – but all in need of as much daylight as possible . Therefore one of this calendar week ’s first Job is to make indisputable the skin of the polytunnel and the glass of the greenhouses are wash , strip off any shite , detritus , and algae that would contract the amount of daytime getting through .
member of FFTF South West region at Sarah ’s plot of ground .
TuesdayToday I receive fellow flush from the Farm members from my region for one of our regular meet - ups . The sun shone , so we were able-bodied to tour the field without have to be grace in all our wet weather gear !
Our meet - ups are a fabulous chance to trance up with each other ’s news , share idea , barter seeds / plant life , and generally have a good previous natter . Today did not let down . Our conversations were , as always , very wide-ranging – from how to manage pests and diseases to the impacts of clime alteration , from how to manage our workloads and stay reasonable to how to market our businesses , cry out loud & proud about the high - lineament product we are all committed to providing .
I always come aside from these Roger Sessions energized and excited to explore new ways of working and to put into practice new ideas . One of today ’s theme I have adopted is put an extra fleeced hoop in the polytunnel to keep our sweet-scented leafage geranium craw frost liberal ( rather than just relying on the polytunnel for shelter : last year , I lost most of my scented leaf geranium slip ) .
WednesdayThe glasshouse is pack with seedlings sown and ranunculus pre - bourgeon in other fall . Today ’s jobs let in a set of pricking out ( chiefly poppy seedlings ) and getting the genus Ranunculus quick for the polytunnel – which will be a job for later in the week .
To cut our plastic consumption , we have started using soil blocking rather than pots . We have used them for sowing seeds in the past , and this twelvemonth we are also trialing them for transplant seedling . They are ideal for things like poppy that resent etymon disturbance , as the blocks can be directly planted out once the seedlings farm in them have matured – probably in February , under a caterpillar tunnel . In the meantime , they will be overwintered in the greenhouse .
We also use and reuse old mushroom-shaped cloud crates . These are fabulous for soil blocks as you get 38 great blocks to each tray , and , using a water bath , tearing is so easy – a immediate dunk , and the occupation is done . This was another genius idea I picked up from a fellow Flowers from the Farm member !
dirt blocks are a way of reducing plastic waste – and , at last , of saving both quad and money .
ThursdayIt ’s raining again , and it really is quite torrential ! We were expecting a bulk saving of compost tomorrow , but the track through the field is now quite boggy , and we are worried that the fomite might get stuck , so I ’ll need to postpone the delivery until next week – it ’s just not worth the risk . This is a distinctive exercise of the best - laid programme having to change : blossom farmers always need to be in tune with the conditions and adapt consequently .
The delayed delivery means I wo n’t finish getting the Dahlia pinnata beds ‘ winter dependable ’ . Here in the West Country , our winter are usually quite meek , and we are lucky to have good drainage in our cutting beds , so we leave the majority of our Dahlia pinnata tuber in the ground . They do need a good layer of compost on top to give them a level of auspices – but this will just have to wait ! Still , I can get on with planting out those ranunculus in the polytunnel – at least it ’s ironical in there !
Friday and SaturdayFriday is all about preparing for our first Christmas lei workshop , which will be concord on Saturday – the first of six workshops we are running over the next three week . It ’s always fun to see what beautiful creations our customers make , and it is a endearing gay way to kick off the Christmas time of year .
SundayPromising ourselves a restful twenty-four hours ! We still go out and check everything ’s okay in the glasshouse and polytunnel . Then it ’s a quick walk around the field , dealing with any quick takings and catching up on admin . But in the master we will just enjoy some repose and relaxation today and cogitate about the next calendar week to come . # lovemyjob
For more info : Flowers from the Farmwww.flowersfromthefarm.co.uk
