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| Go greener |
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| With a growing number of gardeners eschewing chemicals in favour of natural alternatives, we can suggest some effective products from our organic gardening selection |
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| Relax and refresh |
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| Good food freshly prepared daily, aromatic coffee, chilled wine and a grassy play area for the children. What more could you need? |
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| Food heaven |
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| Our Farm Shop is heaven for food lovers! Delicious handmade food, top quality groceries, fresh fruit and vegetables and stylish cookware and gifts. |
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| The Discovery Walk |
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| As thousands of daffodils herald the spring, stroll or stride around our Walk while the youngsters enjoy the Nature Trail |
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Late veg sowings
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| Monday, 15th September 2008 |
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IN THE GARDEN WITH PETA MARSHALL
Whoever thinks that with the onset of summer the seed sowing season is over, has got it completely wrong! In the natural world, plants set seed all the year round. This seed drops to the ground and then germinates – it might germinate straight away, or it might take a year or so before it grows.
In the case of many types of weed, the seed can languish in the soil for maybe dozens of years before it germinates (this massively long-term form of procreation, where so many seeds are scattered over a very wide area and for a very long time, is largely what defines a plant as a weed).
So if we accept that plants can and often should be sown at stages throughout the year, are there any vegetables that should be sown now, at this stage in the summer, for later cropping? You bet there are, and here are the most significant ones:
Runner beans: It’s not a bad idea to sow some in modules and place in a garden frame or well ventilated greenhouse to germinate. As soon as they are up a few inches they can be planted out in a spare bit of space in the veg plot – such as where the early potatoes were growing and which should by now have been vacated. You won’t get massive crops before the end of the growing season, but you should get enough for a few good meals.
Salad crops: Further sowings (a term used by gardeners for this is ‘successional sowings’) of salad crops will ensure plentiful supplies at the end of summer and into the autumn. Make sure that lettuce seed does not become too hot as this will impair germination and the seed will lay dormant in the compost or ground. In my experience it is best at this time of year to germinate it in modules and plant out seedlings once established.
Carrots: Standard maturing carrots require 10 weeks or more of frost-free weather before they are harvested, so these should be sown now, and no later. However, the shorter-season stump-rooted varieties can be sown as late as the end of August. Sow these directly out into the garden, in drills 12in (30cm) apart.
Radishes: These are not everyone’s cup of tea! However, they offer the quickest turn-round of any outdoor vegetable, taking just six weeks from sowing to harvest. By all means sow the usual red-skinned radish, but now is also a good time to sow one of the longer-growing, winter-picking varieties. They’re good in stir-fries and winter salads, or for pickling. ‘China Rose’ has a slight heat, and tastes similar to summer radish; ‘Round Black Spanish’ is extremely hot with a rubbery texture. It gives a real kick to a stir-fry. I particularly like a ‘pod’ variety ‘Munchen Bier’, grown for its 3in. (7.5cm) long green stringless snap pods. They have a delicious spicy flavour. The white roots can be used as normal radish.
You can sow seed in growbags or large tubs. So in drills about 1/2in. deep, and sow the seed thinly. If growing out in the garden, drills should be 12in. apart. Eventually these winter radishes, being much larger than traditional summer types, will need thinning to between 6-10in. apart depending on the variety (see the seed packet for further details!).
Kohlrabi: This vegetable is used in ways similar to turnip. Varieties such as ‘Logo’, ‘Olivia’ and ‘Superschmelz’ are ideal for sowing now.
It is a member of the cabbage family, which means it should be in the ‘brassica’ part of your vegetable plot or allotment crop rotation. In reality, however, it needs less soil nitrogen than cabbage, broccoli or sprouts.
Sow three seeds per station, in drills 3/4in. (2cm) deep. Rows should be 12in. (30cm) apart. Thin to one strong plant per station once the seedlings are large enough to handle. In about eight weeks the kohlrabi should be ready for harvesting.
Florence fennel: Grown for its aniseed-flavoured swollen leaf stalks, which form a bulb above soil level, but it also produces edible, decorative wispy fern-like leaves. It’s not to everyone’s taste, but some people go nuts for it, and it looks attractive in the garden to. Look for the varieties ‘Finale’ or ‘Romanesco’.
Sow three or four seeds per station at 12in. (30cm) intervals, in drills 1in. (2.5cm) deep. If sown too shallow, the plants will be at risk of wind-rock as they grow. Thin to one strong plant per station once the seedlings are large enough to handle. In about eight weeks the fennel should be ready for harvesting.
Others: You can also continue to make sowings of other vegetables now, either for the chance of late crops for this year (French beans, chard, Chinese cabbage and beetroot), or to create plants that will come into season next spring (purple sprouting broccoli, kale, lettuce, parsley and spring cabbage).
In all cases the soil should be well prepared, and enriched with a well-balanced general fertiliser.
The sun never quite sets on the gardener’s seed-sowing season. Happy gardening!
This week in your garden
To be sure of a good display next year, wisteria should be pruned now. Cut the wispy shoots back to two buds from the base.
Deadhead dahlias regularly to encourage further flower production. And keep an eye out for the arch-enemy of dahlias: earwigs. Fill upturned pots with straw to trap them; then collect them and dispose of them.
Prune rambling and climbing roses once they have finished flowering to keep vigorous growth under control and encourage new, productive stems. But don’t prune repeat-flowerers or those with attractive hips, otherwise you’ll miss out on the show!
Peta Marshall is the plant centre manager at Priory Farm in Nutfield. Website: www.prioryfarm.co.uk
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