what-you-can-sow-in-the-vegetable-garden2
Here is a guide to crops that can be sown in September to give crops through the winter and early spring. If you thought you can put your feet up as winter approaches think again! and get planting.
What to do, 6 inches of snow outside, today has been spent knocking the snow from the shade tunnels before they collapse, and a customer rings up and wants to visit the nursery!
We are now waiting to see if all the seed potatoes will arrive in time for the first potato day at Swindon on 23rd January. We are also waiting to see if we will be able to get to the potato days as there seems, from the forecast no let up in the icy conditions for weeks, Global Warming! lets have some please.
Gardening wise there is little to be done except sit by the fire and browse the seed catalogues deciding what we should be growing for the time that we might be able to plant something.
Picks for 2010, well I shall be growing some Potato ‘Mimi’ this year, this produces unique, cherry sized, red-skinned salad potatoes and because it is dwarf growing it is ideal in containers, and it tastes good too.
Alongside this I will be trialling ‘Blue Danube’, this is another one of those Hungarian bred potatoes from the ‘Sarpo’ stable. This one does not have good foliage blight resistance but is supposed to have good tuber blight resistance. This would be good when I seldom get to the potatoes in time to cut off the foliage when blight strikes. It is also supposed to have better flavour than the other ‘Sarpos’ which would be another advantage.
More recommendations later, off to stoke the fires.
Fancy growing some new potatoes to enjoy with your Christmas turkey, then now is the time to plant them. Purchase some specially prepared seed potatoes, there are a lot of different ones out there but I favour Red Duke of York or Sharpes Express for flavour. You don’t need to chit (allow to sprout) these at this time of year, just get yourself a large pot or any strong black bag, alternatively purchase some of the special planting bags which are on the market, fill with any good compost, a bit of manure in the bottom does no harm, then push your tubers in about six inches deep, water, put in a sheltered spot and wait. Once they start growing keep watered if necessary and give an occassional feed of liquid seaweed. When it looks frosty put them inside, a greenhouse, shed or garage will suffice. Around October/November the haulm (leaves) will start to turn yellow. Cut these off and store the container in a frost free place until ready to harvest. There you have your new potatoes for Christmas dinner. Enjoy.
Having not kept this blog up to date I have decided to turn over a new leaf and start weekly additions. August is nearly over, weather bad as ever, just back from Sunny Southport Show and preparing for Garden Show at Shepton Mallet as well as applying for next years’ big shows.
Our seed range is growing fast, lots of new additions for 2010, our plant range is shrinking, we have decided to concentrate on Agapanthus and one or two other plants so watch this space for loads of new Agapanthus for next year.
Now it seems the weather is warming up again i shall return to planting seeds and getting things ready for spring. The broad beans have been started in pots and some onion sets that have arrived will be potted in the cold greenhouse to give them as early start. I have chosen a red, white and standard variety to grow this year. Starting them in pots means I don’t have to worry what the weather may do later and I can plant them at my leisure. The red variety is ‘Piroska Red’, one i haven’t heard of but am assured it has a glossy red skin and a mild flavour which is what you want from a salad onion. The White is ‘White Ebenezer’ (where do they get the names from?), I usually find these grow quite large and are not as mild as they claim, but I shall compare with the onese put in last autumn (Snowball). The standard type is ‘Centurion’, this variety is early maturing and produces evenly sized bulbs, which store well. I shall plant shallots too but these can wait a week or two and go straight in the garden.
Now well into January and still unable to get a fork into the ground, frost has persisted for days and looks like continuing. A good time to settle down with those seed catalogues and decide on this years plantings. Have just been deciding on which potatoes to grow, many of the modern varieties are so ‘mild’ in flavour they are not worth growing. I still favour ‘Sharpe’s Express’ as an early having just tasted some I planted late in pots for Christmas. They were delicious, full of that ‘new potato’ earthiness but not too waxy in texture. Although the yields may not be as big if you are growing your own you may as well go for the flavour you like. Another favourite is ‘Red Duke of York’ again as a new potato but it also bakes well.
Weather is cold and frosty, in fact the frost has not lifted all day - so much for global warming - at least it will kill some of the bugs which have been thriving over previous mild winters. Was going to start sowing the broad beans in the greenhouse but compost was frozen so have moved some inside for use as soon as it has thawed. The varieties I had chsoen were the reliable ‘Aquadulce’ and the decorative ‘Crimson-flowered’. This I grew last year with amazing results, not only were the flowers very attractive but the crop was huge and on plants which were sturdy and did not need staking. Must also sow the onion seeds as soon as possible, these will need some heat to get them going. Have chosen Ailsa Craig and Bedfordshire Champion this year.
I have heard several comments about the germination of sweet peas recently and it may be worth setting out a few guidelines to get the best from these.
If you haven’t sown in the autumn or if you did but experienced difficulties with germination, you can still sow seeds now and up to the middle of March in pots or boxes. It appears the most appropriate time is during the first or second week of February. Choose relatively deep pots or boxes, at this time soak the seed in some warm water for a couple of hours prior to sowing, this just softens the seed coat. Fil the containers to within an inch of the top using a good quality seed compost, sow the seed and cover with approximately three quarters of an inch of compost. Water well and place in a cool spot ideally in a greenhouse or on a shaded windowsill.
Germination should occur within 3 weeks depending on the temperature. As soon as the seed has germinated the plants should be placed in a cool, light position such as a garden frame and given as much air as possible during the day. Little watering should be necessary and then only when the plants show signs of flagging.
Planting out can occur from middle of March providing the plants have been grown hard as described above.
Potato days are now becoming more popular and easier to find. There are several held in the South West. The somerset Potato Day will be at Pylle this year, a change from the venue used for the past 3 years. You can buy potatoes by the single tuber, great if you only have a few patio pots. It will be held on Saturday February 7th from 10.30am - 3.00pm. This new venue has ample parking and is just off the A37
For more details go to www.potato-days.net