April Weather

April was unusually dry and settled, weather that we would normally get in May and June! Met Éireann called it the "Warmest and sunniest April on record; dry for most of the month!"

Less than 15mm or rain fell during the entire month, almost 1/4 of what we would expect. The mean temperature was 10.6 degrees C, 2.7 degrees above average and the mean soil temperature was 12 degrees C, 2.8 degrees above normal. The total amount of solar radiation for the month (intensity of energy from the sun including overcast days) was a full 33% higher than normal (49240 Joules/sqcm) which is almost as much sun as we would expect in June!
These conditions were great for the mood of Dubliners, but not great for the garden as we didn't have enough water (and had not yet set up a hose to water the garden from the tap) and germination and growth of many seedlings was slow or non-existent.

The weather was generally warm but we did have frost conditions in the Dublin area on the 4th to the 7th and again on the 26th. Although frost tender potatoes had been planted in the last week of March, they had not sprouted enough to show any damage early in the month and the frost on the 26th did not seem to hit the garden. Although the cool conditions probably delayed some of the growth and germination early in the month, adding to the lack of water.

These two graphs show the exceptionally dry and sunny conditions throughout most of April. We did not receive any rain at all until the 22nd and the 24th was the first time in more that a month that we got more than a drizzle!

Week 17 - Bed 9 Planting

We removed the sod and dug this bed the previous week and in the fine seedbed we sowed one short row each of the following brassicas (listed order from south to north) for transplanting later in the summer:

• Pentland Brig Kale - a very frost hardy and heavy cropping leafy winter veg with a distinct flavour, with leafy side shoots and spears like broccoli
• Darkmar 21 Brussels Sprouts - a early variety producing large, dark green sprouts in Oct-Dec
• Early Purple Sprouting Broccoli - early variety producing many purple spears from early March
• Waltman Calabrese Broccoli - autumn maturing, with a small central head followed by large number of side shoots
• Holland Late Winter Cabbage - large, white, solid, hardy variety
• Cour di Bue Summer Cabbage - large pointed heart variety, maturing in early autumn, light green in colour
• Red Drumhead (Cabeza) Cabbage - large, solid, ball shaped, deep red variety to harvest from summer to autumn
• Vertus Savoy Cabbage - medium late variety with round flattish heads, medium green, well curled and frost hardy

In the same bed we also planted 2 short rows each of the following brassica family plants:

• Cherry Bell Radish - fast growing scarlet, globe shaped variety
• White Globe Turnip - purple topped, flat, white flesh variety - not to be confused with the Swede Turnip
• Larno Kohl Rabi - pale green variety

Week 17 - Bed 12 Planting

This bed was double-dug over the past few weeks and in the fine seedbed we sowed:

• Verdonet Leek (1 short row) - a very hardy, large dark green variety which stands all winter and well into spring
• Lancia Leek (1 short row) - a productive variety which can be harvested from mid July to Oct
• Nantes II Carrot (1 long row) - an early, small cored, medium length, blunt variety
• Tarpy F1 Spinach (.5 long row) - a fast growing hybrid with smooth round dark oval leaves
• Rucola Coltivata Rocket/Arugula (.5 long row) - a refined variety with rich dark leaves and wonderful spicy taste

The leeks will be transplanted in the early summer.

Week 16 - Bed 10 Planting

We finished double-digging this bed, worked it down to a fine seedbed and sowed a polycrop (everything mixed in together) containing the following mix of seeds:

• Long Black Scorzonera - a heavy yielding, long root with white flesh and black skin
• Nantes II Carrot - an early, small cored, medium length, blunt variety
• Halblange Hamburg Parsley - a variety of parsley grown primarily for its thick, pointed half long parsnip-like roots
• White Gem Parsnip - wedge shaped root variety with smooth white skin
• Tetra Dill - a herb with feathery foliage and aniseed flavour
• Marvel of Four Seasons Lettuce - red and green butterhead heirloom variety
  
• Aruba Lettuce - a very red, large headed looseleaf variety
• All Year Round Lettuce - a pale green compact butterhead variety
  
• Salad Bowl Lettuce - cut and come again looseleaf lettuce, with long green leaves
  
• Roger Lettuce - red batavia variety
  
• Little Gem Lettuce - dwarf cos variety
  
• Till Lettuce - dense looseleaf variety with arrow shaped leaves

These seeds were raked in and pressed into the soil and covered with a thin layer of peat compost. The following onion varieties were then randomly transplanted into the seedbed from pots which were originally sown from seed in week 11:

• Baun Onion - a large, white, strong bulb excellent keeping variety
• James Long Keeping Onion - an old english variety, with medium sized reddish brown bulb

Week 16 - Bed 8

photo by Eoin Campbell

After four weeks the pea seedlings have grown quite a bit, especially compared to one week ago. Several leaves have formed, and the root system has branched out out quite a bit and has reached almost 20cm long.

Week 16 - Bed 5

photo by Eoin Campbell

We dug up one of the broad bean seedlings again this week and there has been a huge amount of growth in the root system after 4 weeks. The total length of the plant is about 30cm with at least 80% of it underground. It could be more as it looks like the end of the tap root was broken off. (That is Bruce holding the plant). The root has already grown through the depth of cultivated soil and the extent of the root system shows the huge amount of energy that was stored up in the seed.

photo by Eoin Campbell

A close-up photo of the same plant shows the seed, the white stem above it that was underground (up to the top of the finger) and all of the horizontal roots coming from the tap root. The tiny hairs of the white roots have clung to the soil particles

Week 15 - Bed 6 Planting

This bed was prepared as a lazy bed, which involved cutting out a piece of sod with as much topsoil as remained attached, and turning it upside-down. The surface of the bed was then worked over with a sharp spade to break up the clods. In this bed we planted a polycrop mixture of potatoes and broad beans (fava beans), with peas to be added later (I forgot to bring the seeds):

• Maris Peer Potato - a second early variety with cream skin and creamy yellow floury flesh
• Hangdown Green Broad Bean - a vigorous early longpod variety

The potato sets were planted at wide spacings with the broad bean seeds pushed into the soil at random spacings between the potatoes.

Week 15 - Bed 8 Planting

photo by Eoin Campbell

This bed was prepared a few weeks earlier, with early peas planted at the south end of the bed. This photo is of one of the peas seedlings that we dug up. Only the green leaves and section of the stem was above ground, only 2-3 cm high. The white stem is about 2.5cm long, and below the seed the root stretched almost 15 cm below ground, all of this growth in only 3 weeks, from a dry seed (not pre-soaked or sprouted).

We divided the remainder of the bed into four roughly sections, each about 20% of the bed, and planted beetroot and chards (leaf beat or silverbeet):

• Swiss Chard - dark green leaves with broad white ribs (also known as silverbeet or leaf beet)
• Rhubarb Chard - rich ruby-red leaf stalks and dark green/purple foliage
• Barbietola di Chioggia Beetroot - a mild-flavoured italian, pink skin variety with white flesh and pink rings
• Storuman Beetroot - fast growing globe beetroot, both summer and main-crop
  

The chards and the pink beetroot were planted on a equally spaced grid, and the red beetroot were sown by scattering a lot of seeds and covering them with a fine layer of soil.

Week 15 - Bed 11

We dug up one of the onion sets, to examine the growth after 1 week. The roots have started to establish and the tip of growth is about 2.5cm above ground.

Week 15 - Bed 5

photo by Eoin Campbell

We dug up a potato to examine the amount of growth after only 3 weeks (from a chitted seed potato). The green leaves are only beginning to appear, but the root system is alreaady quite large. The longer thinner roots are the main root system of the plant, while the new potatoes will grow at the end of the shorter, thicker roots. Notice that all of the growth is above the original seed potato.

photo by Eoin Campbell

Original seed potato with numerous roots already visible, and leaf growth in the background. The tiny hairs of the white roots have picked up soil particles.

photo by Eoin Campbell

A broad bean seedling after only 3 weeks in the ground. The leaf shoot (top) has barely broken the surface of the soil, but the root is already 4-5 cm long.

Week 14 - Bed 11 Planting

We double dug this bed and planted:

• Printanor Garlic (27 cloves) - spring planting variety with cream coloured cloves harvested in the autumn
• Centurion Onion (26 sets) - early maturing round variety with brown skin suitable for medium term storage
• Sturon Onion (26 Sets) - golden bulb variety with fine flavour and good storability
• Red Sun Shallots (8 bulbs) - mild flavoured red variety, ideal for salads and stores well
• Guardsman Scallions (3 short rows of seeds) - very strong upright salad onion variety, especially suitable for autumn crop
  
• Nantes II Carrots (3 short rows) - an early, small cored, medium length, blunt variety
• Little Gem Lettuce (4 stations) - a dwarf cos variety
• Aruba Lettuce (4 stations) - a very red, large headed looseleaf variety