For all I’ve been hoping that the turnips would come good, I was forced to face an uncomfortable truth last week. Several drills have come up totally bare, and there’s an odd inconsistency between the biggest seedlings and the smallest. Something wasn’t right, and it took a visit from straight-talking neighbours to show me the error of my ways. I hadn’t set the drill box up correctly and so the belts had slipped and the seed had been sown willy-nilly.
Twenty five days after the initial sowing, I went back and harrowed in half the drills. This wiped the slate clean across almost an acre, and then I was free to rebuild the ridges and sow fresh seed at a proper rate. The work took a few hours, and now there will be a slight disparity between the old and new turnips when they finally come, but that hardly matters. I’m pleased to have worked out how to do the job properly, and I’m chuffed to see oystercatchers making merry in the freshly turned soil.
Bog Myrtle & Peat 