Relaxed Farming - our farm in your classroom

A VERY active day in the polytunnel: the nights are still quite cold but the days are very warm, this along with twice daily watering means we are noticing a fantastic amount of growth. These two photos are of the same plant: a pumpkin and they were taken on the SAME day. We planted the pumpkin seeds on 8th April and today we saw the first signs of growth. The first photo was taken at 8:30am this morning and the second at 8pm! There is quite a difference.
Plant roots and shoots have the most amazing capacity to push and force their way through soil and other materials. Notice how in the first photo the shoot is actually bent over. It grows out of the soil like this in order to protect the more delicate tip of the shoot. Once the tip is clear of the soil, the whole shoot then straightens out. This is different to the asparagus (see 14th March) where the tip of the shoot is a curve in itself.
It is incredible that by the evening the cotyledon leaves and the first set of true leaves of the pumpkin were visible. We have had temperatures of up to 42°C in the polytunnel this week which has helped to warm the soil. Even though the night-time temperatures have gone down to 3°C, warmth is retained in the raised beds. This is important because when seeds start to grow they need the warmth in the soil as well as in the air.
In other news... none from Onion AND we candled the eggs under Katherine this evening: none of the guinea fowl eggs are fertile (shame) but ALL eight turkey ones are!!