Progress Reports
ANDREW WILLCOCKS, Head Gardener, reviews the first year of operation
PHIL HAUGHTON writes on the involvement of the

Our first year at the garden is over, and for me the conversion to organic status was interesting, although at times a little frustrating.

There being no continuity with garden staff we did not know what to expect from the soil. Most crops did very well with only a few exceptions

The wet spring of2000 meant that many of the earlier sowings did not germinate well, some not at all beetroot in particular proved very difficult.

Conversion to organic status means that most of the products normally used for pest and disease control were not permitted here.

The main problems were aphids, slugs and pea and bean weevil. Green fly and black fly were
dealt with by spraying with Savona, a fatty acid, with a reasonable degree of success.

For slugs we used soot sprinkled on the surface of
the soil around vulnerable crops, lightly forking it into the surface.

It is difficult to say how effective this was as there seemed to be an array of
slugs to deal with.

Pea and bean weevil were
more of a problem, mainly attacking the peas and sweet peas where they did a lot of damage.They also nibbled the leaves of the broad beans, leaving a tell-tale frilled edge on the leaves, but did not seem to seriously affect them.

The only real disappointment was with the sweet peas. Pea weevil, green fly and the cold wet spring did nothing to encourage them to do well.

Sweet peas do not like being sprayed with Savona so we tried to wash the worst of the green fly off with the hose pipe.

In choosing the varieties of vegetables we decided to go for a mixture of old and new varieties. In most cases the modern variety, did considerably better than the much older.

Painted Lady and Parsnip Avonresister was superior in size, shape and resistance to canker when compared with Hollow Crown and Tender and True.

Although it is widely held that the older varieties have more goodness and flavour, this is not always the case. Modern methods of mass production and the demand for perfectly formed uniform vegetables are largely to blame.

Our carrots by no means resembled those on sale in supermarkets but the flavour in both old and new varieties was excellent.

Last year was not a good one for fruit production. Apples, plums and pears produced minimal crops. This may be partly because over the last couple of years the trees have had to be heavily pruned to get them back into shape.

Also the wet spring caused the flowers to be somewhat short-lived preventing adequate pollination. Apples often tend to crop well every other year but it is unusual for so many varieties to fail in the same season.

We had a reasonable, and very tasty crop of apricots from our two mature trees on south and east facing walls. One is nearing the end of its days but new trees have been planted on other walls and are growing well.

Removal and replacement of older trees is essential. Most fruit trees tend to be relatively short-lived and as they age they become much less productive. There are new trees on most of the walls and in the orchard.

Where possible we have gone for older varieties and in the case of the apples
have chosen varieties which originated in the West Country.

The plums were not particularly productive and the fruit that did form was mostly affected by fungal disease, with green-fly which we treated with Savona with a reasonable degree of success. The years of disuse of the garden combined with mild winters has allowed pests to thrive unchecked. With careful management our problems should decrease in the coming years.

In the glass house our vines were incredibly vigorous and productive Unfortunately they were stricken with mildew. It took a while to find out what we were allowed to use to treat this problem and when the answer arrived, in Kumulus a sulphur-based powder, it was too late to prevent the grapes from being badly blemished and not suitable for sale. This was a great shame because their flavour was marvellous.

We believe the variety to be Muscat of Alexandria which was one of the most widely
planted vines through-out the 19th Century and still highly recommended today.

All things considered 2000 was a successful season for most crops.

In particular lettuce, radish, broad beans, Jerusalem and Globe artichokes thrived. Leeks, carrots, cauliflowers, asparagus and Brussels Sprouts also did very well.

In the glass-houses the tomatoes, peppers and aubergines were productive and the modern variety of mini-cucumber was a success.

We hope that 2001 will be even more successful and with more land being cultivated this year there will be more for visitors to see. During 2000 we had many regular visitors to the Walled Garden. We very much hope to see them all again throughout 2001 .
The Better Food Company

Ian Hillman approached BFC about the gardens back in May 2002.
We realised the gardens would be a wonderful project to take on which would enable
us to complete the jigsaw. Being able to grow some of our own produce and
further develop our local supply was an opportunity not to be missed.

Much of the season's planting was already done but we had to work quickly to
increase the sowing for autumn and winter crops. The team who have done most
of this work were Petya a student from Bulgaria and Chris our new gardener.

The herbaceous borders were taken on by Geraldine who knows lots about flower
gardening and Phil filled in the gaps and provided the management of the
overall project.

After some months of continuing with much of the produce going into the local
box scheme we increased the volume of produce going direct to the garden café
as well as sending lots to the new Better Food Company shop and Phil's
brother's restaurant Quartier Vert on Whiteladies road.

We have now opened a new shop at the gardens
to supply local Wrington people
and visitors to the garden

Chris and Phil have chosen to work the gardens a bit differently using a
permaculture approach. Permaculture is all about using the land and buildings
as fully as possible with the least amount of intervention.

Intercropping, making the best use of walls - of which we have many -
to grow up as well as on the ground, to protect the soil from erosion by less
digging, and leaving waste to compost by the plants instead of taking it all
away and exposing the soil to the elements - be it sun, rain or frost.

The gardens are very fertile and have produced some fantastic crops.
The beans, brassicas and beets have all done really well. The only real crop
failure we have had was potatoes which got blight followed by potato worm.
We dug them all up and are feeding them to pigs at St Werburghs city farm,
so no real waste there.

We're planning the cropping for next year and will soon be ordering seed.
Over the winter we've introduced lots of winter salad crops in the
greenhouses and in our new poly tunnel.

Chris has plans for a local composting project which will be a valuable
supply for the gardens and help reduce land fill of good vegetable waste.

Visitors to the gardens over the winter will obviously not see as much
activity as in the summer months so the entrance has been reduced from
£2 to £1.

We hope you continue to enjoy the wonder of these gardens as much as we are
enjoying working them and look forward to seeing you any time.
No doubt for most that will be in the shop - or in the garden when
spring is bringing everything back to life.