Plant it, Pick it, Eat it!  

There are traditional ways of welcoming in a New Year, the ones we recognise now, in our existing generations and the forgotten ways of our ancestors.  The Twin Locks team have recently been looking at the traditional use of an Almanac calendar, in particular how age old methods of farming were practiced.  Our chit potatoes have just arrived, along with onion sets.  If we were to use recommendations from the Old Farmer’s Almanac, there are perfect times to plant your crops in line with the phases of the moon in order to get the best results.  If we consider how we live now, have we become so accustomed to the convenience of food accessibility that it is now taken for granted?  This is what we have been exploring of late and it has led us to the importance of allotments, gardening  for food purposes and micro crops.

Micro crops can be grown in the smallest of spaces, with the reward being bountiful.  You don’t need to be an expert propagator to produce a good yield of potatoes.  With this in mind the team here are going to share a month by month account of what to plant, when to plant it and how to do this in a limited space.  One member of the team lives on a canal boat, the roof of this will be the experimental location for a micro crop.  Charlotte potatoes, Sturon onion sets, leeks, radishes, carrots and salad leaf, will be grown in buckets, while tomatoes will be nurtured in the covered protection of the bow.  We hope that this will give all of you the confidence to have a go at growing your own vegetables.  Even if the final produce is a small crop, the act of getting your hands dirty, while appreciating the rewarding effort that goes into self-sustainability can help connect us back to the importance of where our food comes from.

Signs of Spring

Once we pack the Christmas decorations away we turn our attention to a deep clean both inside and out.  Keeping Twin Locks Garden Centre in tip top condition is no different to the tasks you will carry out in your own garden.  Plant benches are power washed, the build-up of algae on the paths is safely removed.  All plants are tidied and checked over to ensure they are in excellent condition.  Re-potting and careful pruning takes place only where needed.  We already have pre-potted spring bulbs on sale if you need a fix of colour in the coming weeks.  Recognising that not everyone plants in preparation for the next season means that we always aim to stock items that will allow you to play catch up.

Summer Preparation

 It’s hard to believe that we are already thinking about summer!  We welcome our delivery of summer bulbs at the start of February, this is where the team begin to acknowledge that spring and summer is around the corner.  Don’t let the weather put you off, get wrapped up, clean your pots down and prepare spaces that you want to plant up. 

Prosperous gardening!