First of all, let me wish you a Happy New Year! May all your wishes come true, your crops all grow and all your slugs move next door.
Well I hope you all enjoyed your Christmas and New Year festivities. If like me, you over indulged and your clothes still feel a little tighter than they used to, don’t join a gym, get down the plot!!!!
The rain we have had recently really has been apocalyptic, although over the holiday period it did dry out a little, you can soon see if your ground needs any soil improvement to help drainage. Horse manure is as good as anything else. It will improve the structure and hence the drainage especially if you happen to have a heavy or clay structure to your soil. So, a little bit of wheelbarrow work and then some digging will soon get you back in shape, that is if you had one in the first place. Heavy rain on badly drained soil is the best argument there is for having raised. Beds., They do not have to be expensive if you use the wood from old pallets or scavenge from any skips you see on the road. Your status as a recycler will go up.
I am still harvesting sprouts, but they are now going straight in the freezer replacing the frozen soft fruit and rhubarb we are getting through at a rate of paces. The kale is being eaten as it is harvested as are the few parsnips that are left. I shall grow more of those this year. The onions, garlic, broad beans and peas are still going strong despite the weather.
A lot of the soft fruit has buds on it now. A few sharp frosts will not do it any harm, but we do not want another beast from the east again. If you know where you are going to plant your Runner or French beans, you should have started a trench by now. The purpose of digging a trench is for all your kitchen waste and shredded paper – not meat – and a sprinkling of manure to be given time to rot down and give you a fantastic harvest later in the year. I am sure you all know that the best squash and pumpkins grow on your compost heap – they are hungry beasts. What I do is dig a trench/hole about a 18 inches deep, where I know they are going to be planted and fill it up with manure. Cover it with soil and it will be ready in time for planting. Apart from the preparation for your Legumes (French/Runner Beans etc.) your bed for brassicas, Cabbages, Kale, Cauliflowers etc. should have a little lime incorporated in the soil. If you want to grow root vegetables, Carrots, Parsnips etc. the ground should be well dug and more importantly, stone free. If your carrots or parsnips have twin roots it is invariable because the roots have hit a stone during their development.
If you have a greenhouse or bright windowsill now is the time to sow your tomato and aubergine seeds.
The next main crop you will be planting is potatoes.
HOW TO GROW POTATOES
Everyone has their own preferred way to plant potatoes and if it suits you and you get good results stick with it. I used to dig the conventional trench and plant in that. Now, after the ground has been prepared, I use a bulb planter and sprinkle a little fish blood and bone in the hole before dropping in the potatoes with the eyes/chits uppermost. Fill the hole up and wait for the first shoots to appear. Plant the seed potatoes about 12inches apart and in rows about 30inches apart. Remember if a frost is forecast make sure the foliage is covered either by soil or with some fleece. Frost will blacken the foliage and set the growth back but will not affect potatoes. A few do and don’ts whatever method you use.
- Do not allow sunlight to fall on the tubers, which develop under the surface of the soil, or they will turn green.
- Do the mounding up in the morning, when plants are at their tallest. During the heat of the day, plants start drooping.
- Maintain even moisture, especially from the time when sprouts appear until several weeks after they blossom. The plants need 1 to 2 inches of water per week. If you water too much right after planting and not enough as the potatoes begin to form, the tubers can become misshapen.
- The last mounding up should be done before the potato plants bloom.
- Hoe the dirt up around the base of the plant in order to cover the tubers as well as to support the plant.
Mounding up keeps the potatoes from getting sunburned, which can cause them to turn green and produce a chemical called solanine. Solanine gives off a bitter taste and is toxic.
Dennis Flaherty Allotments Secretary
allotments@growchiswick.org