Introducing Tuesday’s Robin

In all the gardens I work in, there is a friendly robin, who often comes to see what I’m up to. The garden I work in on Tuesdays had the friendliest robin of all. Sometimes he follows me around all day, hopping quite close to inspect any fresh earth I’ve turned over or perching in the bushes or trees nearby to sing me a little song.

It’s in the autumn and winter that I see him do this the most - when he isn’t busy chatting up the ladies and looking after his young chicks as he does in the spring and summer. This time of year, even if I’m not digging over any soil, he often turns up nearby and will sing me a soft and quiet song, rather than his usual territorial exclamation of a song that he calls from the treetops. This song is gentle and meandering and given the muted volume and the fact that he follows me around to sing it, it appears to be sung just for me.

This week I managed to get you a recording so you can hear tuesday’s robin too. Please excuse the sound of my clipping in the background! He was sitting in the hedge right beside me while I chopped up materials for the compost.

I wouldn't call myself an expert at befriending robins, for that you'd need to turn to someone like Jon Young and his amazing bird book 'What the Robin Knows'. However, my top tips for this are:

1. Make a point of spending good chunks of time in the garden as a whole and working away in a single spot in particular.

2. Start letting your robin know you've seen it and that you're friendly, rather than a threat. If a robin approaches, say hello! Don't turn and stare at him - he might find this threatening. Instead, once you've spotted he's there, get back to what you were doing and just perhaps keep an eye on him out of the corner of your eye.

3. You could try playing a little call and response - this is something birds do with each other - one will sing a little tune and then the other will sing a little tune back and then the first one will reply again and then the second and so on. So hum, whistle or sing a little tune and then pause and see if your robin will sing back. Or wait for your robin to sing and then when he pauses, sing a little tune back. You may find you get a nice little duet going! You might find he takes to this straight away or it may take a good few tries to get something like this going.

4. If a robin approaches really quite close, keep still or only move very slowly and chat to him, so he can get used to you. You may eventually find that he hops right up to you and looks you in the eye. This is a really special thing!

5. The next step I'm working towards is to be able to feed my little robin. I've done it once with a little worm, but I've tried and failed so many times. You need to build up some trust first and then very gently toss something kind of towards but not directly at him. Usually I've found that anything thrown towards a robin scares him off. It's all about slow movement and a lot of patience. The time he took it, I carefully put it down and then slowly looked away - but made sure I could still see him out the corner of my eye. And I waited a while... and then hooray - he came and took it!

One thing you'll find as well as you get to know your robin is that they all have distinct personalities. One robin I've met - he used to come visit me on wednesdays - was great for call and response games. He'd sing so very softly and we'd sing/whistle back and forth to each other for ages. He used to be really plucky and would come sit on the edge of my weed bucket to watch what I was putting in. Tuesday's robin is a louder singer. He sings away merrily by himself, often long and beautiful songs. He's taken longer to become comfortable enough with me to get down on the ground and inspect my work, while I'm still at it. My robin at home is only just now starting to pay me visits while I'm out in the garden, but then I don't have such a regular routine with tending my own garden and often have noisy children with me!

So I definitely recommend keeping an eye out for your robin. Or whichever bird it is that is friendliest where you live. It's a lovely way to begin to feel connected to the natural world around you.

A Festival of Leaves

It’s been such a beautiful autumn this year. Driving out in the countryside and working out in the garden has been a real pleasure for all those wonderful fiery tones all around.

And I’m getting a really good leaf harvest now they’re finally dropping. 

I’ve been collecting them up to make into leaf mould. If you’re not doing this already, I really recommend it. It’s a fantastic soil conditioner. It is full of organic matter and, more importantly, full of just the right kind of microbes for everything from a forest garden to a perennial bed - all those plants that will grow in a mature, forest ecosystem. If you think about it, these plants in the wild would expect a yearly dose of fallen leaves. This leaf fall is not just pretty, it’s a key event in the calendar for forest ecosystems. In fact, if you think about it, it’s basically soil critter Christmas!

This feast of autumn leaves means it’s time for microbes in the soil to get fat! Or certainly for their numbers to swell as they take on the monumental task of gorging themselves until every last leaf has been turned into soil - into organic matter, into plant food, into more fungi, bacteria, predatory protozoa, nematodes, micro arthropods and arthropods. In short - more workers for those forest plants to help them find the right kinds of foods they need in the year to come. To get back to our Christmas analogy -  it’s like us stocking up on new socks, that new gadget for the kitchen or toys for the kids - the things we need to keep us going through the year. Each different species of microbe has a different specialism - a different mineral, for example, that they’re particularly good at mining for. So long as these microbes are there in the soil, the plants can call on them when a particular mineral is needed to help grow flowers intead of leaves or to help synthesise the appropriate substances needed to fight off a pest attack.

In a garden environment, we’ve taken a bit of a step away from natural ecosystems and tend to have a variety of different ecosystem types all rubbing up against each other. Fallen leaves are fine in areas that grow the types of plants found in woodland habitats - perennial beds, shrubberies or woodland gardens, for example. But we don’t want our lawn or driveway to start thinking about growing forest plants, so fallen leaves and the soil environment they create are a problem for these areas and it needs us to step in and help out by raking up those leaves. We’re basically holding succession back - halting the natural inclination of the environment to grow up, mature and become a forest.

So we rake up leaves from lawns, driveways, patios, vegetable beds - anywhere we don’t want to grow those forest style plants. I either pile mine up into huge mounds, or where I can, I make chicken wire pens to pour them in to. On a small scale, you can fill black bin bags punched with holes or hessian sacks. Make sure your leaves are damp, but not totally sodden. Site them somewhere shady and leave for at least a year. Apply the resultant black, crumbly leaf mould in the autumn to any appropriate garden beds bereft of their own festival of fallen leaves!

Understanding Soil Ecosystems

I've been doing a little research into soil ecosystems. After all, this is what my no-dig approach is all about - supporting those networks of life within the soil that help to keep it healthy and full of nutrients for my plants. And what I've found out has made me even more adamant that the no dig approach is the way forward. I've also learnt some very useful new tips about managing the soil in an appropriate manner for the type of plants I'm trying to grow.



My main source has been Jeff Lowenfels and Wayne Lewis's book 'Teaming With Microbes' and I would definitely recommend this book for anyone interested in finding out more about some of the science behind the no dig approach. The basic conclusions of their book are that it's important to look after the complex ecosystems in the soil as microorganisms in the soil readily provide all the nutrients our plants need to grow just as a by product of being alive. Different types of soil ecosystems exist for different types of plants and we can manage the soil carefully to encourage the system needed for whatever we're trying to grow.



Just think about it - no additions of man made fertiliser, synthetic or organically produced, are needed in an old growth forest. Thriving and abundantly healthy natural systems exist because of this soil based support system, which can only be found in undisturbed soil. Hence the no dig approach. As soon as you dig the soil, you smash up delicate networks of mycorrhizae, you throw deep soil micro organisms to the top and bury those that prefer to be at the surface. Whole hosts of organisms can't recover from this shock and are wiped out. Their complex interconnected networks have to be completely rebuilt. Additions of fertilisers, pesticides and fungicides are also lethal to this system. Intensively farmed soils are consequently all but dead.



But when they are left undisturbed, it's an amazing system and it's something that we can support through careful management practices.


The soil contains ecosystems every bit as complex as those in the rainforest, temperate woodland or coral reef, for example. All manner of beasts make homes alongside each other - predators and prey both visible to the naked eye and so tiny we can't perceive them without magnification. In a single handful of soil, there are more organisms than there are people on the planet. Think of the worlds of activity going on in a simple back yard with all that mini life hidden beneath the surface.

They're busy at it - living, thriving, hunting, scavenging, dying, eating, excreting, creating the basis of all live above their world - food for our plants.


The main organisms we're interested in are the smallest - the fungi and the bacteria. They consume the wastes of larger soil organisms and the wastes they produce are nitrogen based and form the bulk of soil-based plant foods. Fungi produce ammonium and bacteria produce nitrates. Both of these natural forms of nitrogen are in a plant-ready format and are more easily absorbed by plants than synthetic forms of nitrogen. Neither is washed out by rain water in the same way that synthetic fertilisers are, making more food available to plants.


And handily, the soils that fungi thrive the most in are those that support the types of plant that like ammonium based nitrogen - forest soils. Bacterially dominated soils - producing nitrates - support plants that are less woody and with typically shorter life spans- your vegetable garden or lawn, for example.




Here are a few top tips for encouraging the right kind of soil food web for your plants :




- for a bacterially dominated soil (eg the vegetable garden), use a home made compost with green plants as the main ingredient. Either incorporate this into the top layer of soil or use it as a mulch on top.


- for a fungally dominated soil (eg forest garden or shrub and perennial plant based flower bed), use a home made compost with brown materials as the main ingredient. A leaf mould is ideal. Apply as a mulch. Don't work into the soil. You can also simply add woody materials as a mulch- little piles or a mulch of prunings of twigs and small branches or even woodchips can all help tip the soil food web more towards a natural woodland type.

The Forest Garden Begins

At last, I feel I can say that we have a proper forest garden - albeit a very young one - and not just the little foresty bits around the edges that it's been for so long. We've been planning and working towards this for years, having started with an old yard covered in concrete. This winter, with soil preparations suitably advanced over part of the plot, it was finally time to get planting.

And now it's Spring, I'm enjoying watching them all wake up for their first year at Oak House.

So let me introduce you:

Walking along towards the forest garden from the house, we first come across the Medlar, welcoming us through onto the main pathway. This one is for David and I've promised to give it a try, but have to admit it sounds revolting - you apparently leave the fruit on the tree until they've putrified inside and then suck out the gooey middle. It apparently tastes a bit like caremel and David swears it's heavenly. I'll keep you posted!

The borders to the main path are yet to be planted, so we'll head along a little side path up onto the bank.



This is where the chop and drop soil improving plants have had a couple of years getting the soil ready for me and so this is where I've been busy planting out this winter. In the photo above you can see cocksfoot grass and red clover, both of which are fast growing and deep rooting, so help both break up my compacted soil and add lots of humus if I chop them back regularly. All the plants going in here are shade tolerant as this is the northern edge of the forest garden.

Next along this side path, we come across the Califonia Allspice - a suckering shrub whose bark can be used as a cinammon substitute. I can't wait to give this one a try!

  

This plant is normally dark red flowering, but I'm aiming for a more naturalistic woodland look, so went for a less exotic, green-white flowering variety called California Allspice 'Athens'. The flower buds are just forming now, as you can see above.

Along the path, I've planted several red currants - this is one of the best fruit bushes for shady areas, so planting it along the northern edge of my plot seemed a sensible idea.



In the background of the photo above, you can see one of my many broom plants. I have them scattered around, their main purpose being to fix nitrogen to feed all my growing plants. I also use them as a chop and drop mulch to improve the soil. Being a woody chop and drop, it's even better for helping to create a woodland type soil, feeding the kind of soil organisms you'd expect beneath trees.

Next to the redcurrant pictured above, I've planted a little aquelegia as an early perennial salad crop - the leaves are very good in a mixed salad in the early part of the year as the young ones are just emerging. It's also good for pollinating insects once it starts flowering in late spring. It's good here, as it tolerates part shade.

 

A little further along is an apple tree - Tom Putt - a good all rounder.



Travelling around the corner, past more red currant, we come to the lovely Lizzie Plum. Another one I can't wait for. I have to admit to being totally sold on the catalogue photo of the fruits of this one - big, juicy, dark red plums. Makes my mouth water just thinking about it! No flowers yet though, so I'll be waiting a while to try them.




This is underplanted with lupins for nitrogen fixing and pollinating insects.



Nearby is one of my honey berry bushes - these are a non climbing relation of honeysuckle, that produce blue fruits which apparently taste a little like blueberries, but with a honey aftertaste.



Last along the path is the Mulberry. I just had to have one of these as they are my all time favourite fruit. Like giant raspberries, but with way more flavour. Wonderfully juicy, a little tart and extremely more-ish.

Later this year, I hope to get a few more understorey plants in. I've not decided exactly what yet, but am looking forward to selecting a good mix of useful and edible plants. Comfrey, strawberries... Any suggestions are welcome!

Year round salads

One of the dreams I've been chasing in my garden over the last few years is to have year round salads without any effort at all. I'm quite a fan of a fresh green salad, but as a busy mum of two busy young kids, I struggle to keep a good succession of lettuce growing. Either the slugs get them, they go to seed before I find time to harvest them or I just don't find the time to get enough batches growing from seed to keep a regular supply going in the veg beds. So one of the goals of going perennial in the vegetable garden has been to sort this out. Latin names for all the plants listed are given at the end.

Having said I've been searching for year round perennial salad plants, two of my key players are actually annuals. Both of these plants self seed abundantly and between them, provide excellent supplies of lovely, mild tasting salad leaves year round.

For the autumn through winter, until early spring, I have Lamb's Lettuce.



And for the late spring, right through summer and to the early autumn, Mountain Spinach.



Right at the end of winter, my perennial rocket springs into life after its short winter sleep, so these plants give rocket leaves nearly all year round. After their first year, the plants reach a fantastic size, providing plenty of salad leaves for us from just one plant. Here is one of my plants, with just its early spring growth showing. By mid summer, this will be a sizeable bush.



Fresh, young Aquelegia leaves emerge around the same time. I initially put this plant in for its flowers, but it turns out the young leaves make a good addition to spring salads. This year I've planted some out in the forest garden. Here is one of the young plants getting settled in:



Primrose flowers, a lovely spring native, are another mild tasting and very pretty salad ingredient to brighten up those last wintry days in early spring.



Milky Bellflower sends up its leaves around April time and these can also be added to spring salads. The tall spires of large, bell shaped flowers that come later can make a pretty addition to summer salads, as well as looking great in the flower garden.



Sweet rocket (below) is used in the same way. This is a traditional cottage garden plant, which usually comes with heads of pink flowers, but here I have a white flowering variety.



Other edible flowers self seed around the place - we find plenty of calendula, the delicious nasturtiums and lovely, delicate tasting borage cropping up all over the the garden. I usually transplant them to a useful spot and weed the rest out.

And if that's not enough, I have various soft herbs that I often add for a little extra flavour. Two favourites are garlic chives for year round garlic flavour and sorrel, for a constant supply of zesty lemon tang.

If you're interested in any of these plants, here are their latin names, along with season of salading:

Lamb's Lettuce - Valerianella locusta - late autumn to early spring
Mountain Spinach - Atriplex hortensis - late spring to early autumn
Wild Rocket - Diplotaxis tenuifolia - late winter to late autumn
Columbine - Aquelegia vulgaris - spring
Primrose - Primula vulgaris - late winter - spring
Milky Bellflower - Campanula lactiflora - early spring and summer
Sweet Rocket - Hesperis matronalis - early spring to late summer
Marigold - Calendula officinalis - late spring to autumn (or through winter in mild years)
Nasturtiums -Tropaeolums - summer to mid autumn
Borage - Borago officinalis - summer to late autumn (or into winter in mild years)
Garlic chives - Allium tuberosum - year round
Sorrel - Rumex acetosa - year round