This is the next calendar year I have been operating on obtaining greens rising on my croft here on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. It truly is a steep studying curve and not so straight ahead as raising vegetables in England or locations with much more favourable climates.
Initial – there is the trouble of regular high winds. The Outer Hebrides, or also identified as the Western Isles, is a single of the windiest areas in Europe. Winds are regularly recorded at the Butt of Lewis in surplus of 100mph during the wintertime. Even though temperatures will not go to extremes here, it can be the wind that gets to crops. Nearly anything about a handful of inches will get blown over or ‘wind-burnt’. So very first and foremost, a variety of windbreak desires to be believed of.
Windbreaks can occur in lots of kinds: classic stone dyking, sheep fencing with “50/50” mesh, hedging started off with brief expanding species these as willow or leyland cypress and polytunnels. Here on Lewis, one can see the old stone dykes all over the area, specially in far more distant sections of the island these as Good Bernera on the west coast. With the previous black properties, the people made use of to construct ‘planticrues’, which is in essence a walled backyard garden subsequent to their homes. We have a derelict black house on our croft in Terrific Bernera and it has a person of these future to it – just the right sizing for a vegetable patch. Even though there are far more than adequate stones in the soil here to develop partitions, the issue is knowing how to construct the matters as it’s a ‘traditional craft’. On Lewis, there are the odd evening classes offered in ‘dry stone dyking’.
Barring the stone dyking, quite a few people today choose to go the sheep netting with the inexperienced “50/50” mesh sewn to it. This is the initially study course to consider, but it by no signifies lasting. It will give just plenty of of a windbreak right until you can get the leyland cypress or willows founded. Ours ended up shredded ultimately, these types of is the electric power of the wind here! But it held extended adequate…
So, as I pointed out before, Leyland cypress or willows (salix viminalis) are fantastic, brief rising trees to start off off a shelter belt. After you’ve obtained them set up, you can then plant much more deciduous trees at the rear of them (this sort of as larch and rowan). Even though I would never advise Leyland cypress down in locations like England owing to the actuality that they mature so big in a incredibly brief room of time as perfectly as dry out the soil excessively, they appear to be to do far better right here for hedging for that quite explanation! We planted a hedge right here over 7 yrs back and it can be nonetheless scarcely far more than 4 ft superior! – whilst in England in that similar total of time, they would be more than the prime of a home!
Polytunnels are greatly applied right here on Lewis and the other islands to enable secure the vegetation a lot more from wind than from frost. We have sited our next to a shelter belt of trees. Some folks have created sturdy fences with 50/50. The polytunnel by itself wants some safety. But they do stand up far better to the gales than traditional glass greenhouses, which end up in shatters – the shards flying around dangerously on to other people’s sites, not to mention your very own. The greenhouses that seem to be to do superior listed here are the geodesic dome kinds as the wind just goes up and around the round form.
Secondly, the query of soil acidity. Because of to the point that the Western Isles is mainly rock and peat bog, this tends to make the soil fairly acidic. Some destinations are a lot more fertile if they are what is regarded as ‘machair’ which is basically sand dunes. As the sand is built up of shells, it truly is calcium-centered or ‘lime’. This assists to neutralize the acidic peat to make rather fertile soil. But the the vast majority of areas you should not have this, so liming the soil is essential. This is of training course, introducing sand. Also including sea weed is a great additive – the local yard centres provide seaweed soil conditioner which is seaweed composted down. It really is rather costly. A further option is to basically go to one particular of the beaches and collect up seaweed to set straight on the soil in the winter time. This can make a very good mulch for overwintering vegetation these as rhubarb or cabbages, but it also adds in calcium and minerals, which are so depleted in the Hebridean soil. It is a good concept to place it down in the polytunnel too! We are executing this in addition to adding organic and natural compost and horse manure.
Thirdly, the damp and boggy situations. It’s not so negative in the summer months, but in winter season it really is a real ache! We have acquired drains beneath the ground in really a large amount of sites on our area. It assists so a lot, but the water often appears to be to find somewhere else to obtain… As for the polytunnel – we had difficulties with dampness within creating the tomotoes, peppers, aubergines and courgettes to wilt with mould and mildew as perfectly as the ground getting coated in environmentally friendly algae. Not like in a greenhouse where by you can set in roof air flow which you can open and shut at will, it truly is more complicated with a polytunnel. Our doors have the mesh on them, which helps a bit, but the issue is more along the floor. On our up coming polytunnel, we are likely to do what they’ve carried out at the Shrub Stall in Tolsta – put mesh about a foot or two substantial close to the base to allow in air flow.
Finally, the midges. You can find no getting away from them in the summertime – they are worse in the polytunnel! The only way to make gardening 50 percent-way pleasurable is just to don a midge internet, extended sleeves and loads of insect repellant.