Preparing the beds for the winter time

School garden beds after being prepared

When the winter is coming we have to prepare the beds that we will be using in spring. The steps:

1. Clear the bed
2. Take away ant put into the compost all the dead plants and weeds
3. Modify the pH with lime if the bed is too acid with sulfur or wood chips if it is too alkaline
4. Cover with a net or plastic
5. Hold the cover so it doesn't blow with the wind

Taxus baccata - Yew tree

Latin plant name Taxus baccata Common plant name Yew tree Plant type Conifer tree  Size (meters) 10 - 20 m Distinguishing features The trunk can be up to 2 metres (exceptionally 4 m) diameter. The bark is thin, scaly brown, coming off in small flakes aligned with the stem. The leaves are lanceolate, flat, dark green, 1–4 centimetres long and 2–3 millimetres broad, arranged spirally on the stem, but with the leaf bases twisted to align the leaves in two flat rows either side of the stem, It is relatively slow growing, and can be very long-lived, with the maximum recorded trunk diameter of 4 metres probably only being reached in about 2,000 years. It is considered by several authors that the oldest yew tree in Spain is located in Bermiego,Asturias. It is known as 'Teixu l'Iglesia' in the Asturian language. It is 15 metres tall with a trunk perimeter of 6 metres and a crown diameter of 10 metres. It was planted around 1160. It was declared Natural Monument on April 27, 1995 by the Asturian Government and is protected by the Plan of Natural Resources. Most parts of the tree are toxic, except the bright red aril surrounding the seed, enabling ingestion and dispersal by birds. The major toxin is the alkaloid taxane. The foliage remains toxic even when wilted or dried. Horses have the lowest tolerance, with a lethal dose of 200–400 mg/kg body weight, but cattle, pigs, and other livestock are only slightly less vulnerable. Symptoms include staggering gait, muscle tremors, convulsions, collapse, difficulty breathing, coldness and eventually heart failure. However, death occurs so rapidly that many times the symptoms are missed. Fatal poisoning in humans is very rare, only occurring after eating a lot of yew foliage. The lethal dose is reported to be between 50 and 100 grams.The wood is also poisonous. There aren't weeds beneath the yew trees because the roots are also poisonous. In the ancient Celtic world, the yew tree (*eburos) had extraordinary importance; a passage by Caesar narrates that Catuvolcus, chief of the Eburones poisoned himself with yew rather than submit to Rome (Gallic Wars 6: 31).  The yew is often found in churchyards in England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland and France. In Ireland it is called the death tree. Yew is the wood of choice for longbow making; the bows are constructed so that the heartwood of yew is on the inside of the bow while the sapwood is on the outside. This takes advantage of the natural properties of yew wood since the heartwood resists compression while the sapwood resists stretching. In latin the termination 'xus' gives the indication of its use in medicine. Taxol is a medicine use to treat cancer and it is extracter from the yew tree.

Preventing late frost

Late frost can cause a lot of damage in our crop and to our plants.

If we have trees that have blossomed and we expect to get late frost we have to protect them from it, otherwise the flowers will get frozen and we will not get any fruits.

To protect a blossomed tree from the late frost we can used different techniques:

1. Cover the tree with a fleece. We will use this for temperatures between +2º and - 5ºC
2. Place a bucket full of water on the bottom of the tree. The water will take most of the frost from the tree.
3. Sprinkle the tree with running water. It has to be running water to avoid the sprinkled water to get frozen as that will do even more damage than the frost.
4. Place a tar barrel close to the tree. The tar will give some heat to the tree.

Christmas wreaths

If we want to set up a business to make and sell christmas wreaths the plants we will need to have are:

1. Holly tree
2. Ivy
3. Pine tree
4. Gorse / Furze
5. Acuba japonica
6. Blackberries

Polytunnel

A polytunnel is a tunnel made of polyethylene, usually semi-circular, square or elongated in shape. The interior heats up because incoming solar radiation from the sun warms plants, soil, and other things inside the building faster than heat can escape the structure. Air warmed by the heat from hot interior surfaces is retained in the building by the roof and wall. Temperature, humidity and ventilation can be controlled by equipment fixed in the polytunnel.

The idea temperature in the polytunnel is between 23º and 25º. At higher temperatures the fungus will grow and attack the plants.

Apart from special equipment we can modify the temperature and the humidity inside the polytunnel using very simple techniques.

To lower the temperature we can:

- Paint the glasses in white to

- Open the doors

To raise the temperature we can:

- Put the blinds in the evening

- Place a reflecting blanket

- Use a propane burner

- Place hot-water pipes

- Place red lamps

If we are building a green house we can build the south face with brick as it will retain the heat inside them and the north side with stone to avoid loosing the temperature on that side.

If we need to lower the humidity inside the polytunnel we will open both ends of the tunnel to circulate the air.

Malus domestica - Apple tree

Latin plant name Malus domestica Common plant name Apple tree Plant type Deciduous fruit tree  Size (meters) <3-12 m Distinguishing -features The leaves are alternately arranged simple ovals, petiole with an acute tip, serrated margin and a slightly downy underside. Blossoms are produced in spring simultaneously with the budding of the leaves. The flowers are white with a pink tinge that gradually fades, five petaled. The fruit matures in autumn. The center of the fruit contains five carpels arranged in a five-point star, each carpel containing one to three seeds, called pips.

Euphorbia pulcherrima - Poinsettia

Latin plant name Euphorbia pulcherrima Common plant name Poinsettia Plant type Shrub flowering plant Size (meters) < 4 m Distinguishing features The poinsettia is a culturally and commercially important plant species of the diverse spurge family that is indigenous to Mexico and Central America. It is particularly well known for its red and green foliage and is widely used in Christmas floral displays. In areas outside its natural environment, it is commonly grown as an indoor plant where it prefers good morning sun, then shade in the hotter part of the day. However, it is widely grown and very popular in subtropical climates such as Australia.

Courgettes

Courgettes are also called zucchini. 

In a culinary context, the courgette is treated as a vegetable, which means it is usually cooked and presented as a savory dish or accompaniment. Botanically, however, the zucchini is an immature fruit, being the swollen ovary of the zucchini flower.

Courgette is one of the easiest fruits to cultivate in temperate climates. As such, it has a reputation among home gardeners for overwhelming production. One good way to control over-abundance is to harvest the flowers, which are an expensive delicacy in markets because of the difficulty in storing and transporting them. The male flower is borne on the end of a stalk and is longer lived.

While easy to grow, courgettes, like all squash, requires plentiful bees for pollination. In areas of pollinator decline or high pesticide use, such as mosquito-spray districts, gardeners often experience fruit abortion, where the fruit begins to grow, then dries or rots. This is due to an insufficient number of pollen grains delivered to the female flower. It can be corrected by hand pollination or by increasing the bee population.

The courgettes need a neutral high rich organic soil. They need warmth and shelter so in Ireland it is a good option to plant them inside the polytunnel.