I have been putting off starting to set down any kind of plan for quite a few weeks but from a practical point of view it would be better to have some idea of where I might be starting if I manage to get out of Dubai in say the next 6-8 weeks. While there are flights every week leaving Dubai, and I would happily get tested for COVID-19 and jump on one tomorrow, unfortunately, there are no flights back to Dubai from the UK at present. It is just not sustainable for work or tax purposes to come back to the UK for a large period of time with little certainty of when I can get back to my team here. There are rumors of a big ramp up in flight services from 1 July. It might be possible to try and book onto a plane leaving a couple of weeks before then and try to book a plane seat for after 1 July to come home, That would be 3 months apart from the family which is quite a bit of time. The weeks are going pretty quickly now that I am settled into a routine albeit life can get a bit boring. We are now allowed to go out and exercise and to go to shops without a permit. I am very wary however of catching the thing here, Rightly or wrongly at 51 I would rather take my chances in the UK and at least have Jane around to look after me if I was sick.
So that gives me some parameters for a plan. Stay well and get home in mid-June. It is possible that Sam and Anemone could have completed work by mid-June and that I could time a trip home to start planting then. As a reminder I have 42 packets from Chiltern Seeds including lots of things I have never grown. There are many resources online - I thoroughly recommend Charles Dowding. I link to his you tube channel here. I have a few of his books and will probably purchase his online course - his videos on You Tube are easy to follow and common sense. His brand is "No Dig" - in fact he seems to follow a very counter-intuitive approach to most things or at least he won't subscribe to old rules for the sake of them. He will compost a lemon or bind weed. His rebellious ways also include an indifference to crop rotation.
Rotation is derived from old agricultural practices and is basically the premise that you avoid growing the same crop or family of crops in the same place for periods of time. Four years is a usual rotation. As well as rotating by family you also try and follow "heavy feeding" crops with crops that are lighter on the soil. The theory is that by avoiding a mono-culture you both give the soil a chance to recover and you avoid a build up of pests in the soil that might be associated with a particular crop. In many ways if you are going to keep the beds full and in use you are bound to have to vary what is planted in a particular spot as vegetables are harvested in succession.
Given that I have a dozen raised beds each 8 ft x 4 ft. in size I do not think I am going to run out of space or opportunities. I also have a narrow bed around the whole of the Potager and two giant demi-lunes that I was planning on using for mixed vegetable and flower plantings. Blessed with so much space I may as well rotate rather than take chances with pests or exhausted soil.
So the basic families of vegetables I need to rotate around in any given bed of half a bed are as follows :-
Cabbage/Mustard Family - Heavy Feeders
Broccoli, Cabbages, Brussel Sprouts, Radishes, Kale, Cress, Kohlrabi, Cauliflower and Turnips, Bok Choy, Mustard Greens - Follow with Onions or Legumes
Onion Family
Onions, Leeks, Garlic, Chives, Shallots - Follow with Legumes
Legumes - Soil Enrichers
Peas, French Beans, Broad Beans, Runner Beans, Mange Tout - Follow with any crop.
Fruiting Crops/Nightshades - Heavy Feeders
Tomatoes, Peppers, Potatoes, Eggplant - Follow with Legumes
Squash - Heavy Feeders
Squash, Cucumbers, Melons, Courgette/Marrows, Pumpkins - follow with Legumes
Umbellifors - Light/Medium Feeders
Carrots, Celery, Coriander, Dill, Fennel, Parsley, Parsnips - follow with Legumes or Onions
Sunflower Family
Endive, Lettuce, Radicchio
Beet Family
Spinach, Beets, Swiss chard
Now I have to say I cannot begin to decipher the right way to go, so what I propose is firstly to avoid following heavy feeding crops with other heavy feeding crops. Legumes or possibly onions seem to be needed to follow any notable heavy feeders but anything can follow legumes so presumably the salad leaves or beet could follow on there. Charles Dowding may not bother but according to the notes placed on his site by commentators he can afford this because he has "golden" soil from an extensive composting operation. I think my conclusion is that I will be sensible and try and mix things up and keep a good record of plantings in each bed. I also know that things look nicer when they are mixed up a bit so I will try not to raise huge "blocks" of the same plant in each bed. All of this If I ever make it out of Dubai before the Winter. The more I learn though the more I realise I can "jump in" really at any point in the year.
I will continue to plan in coming posts and fill up each bed from my purchased seeds from Chiltern Seeds. Maybe it's time to get the children's pencils out again !
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