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- February
- The Vegetable Garden
The Vegetable Garden
In order to obtain maximum benefits from fertilisers and best results from crops it is advisable to check the soil pH and possibly the nutrient levels at this time of the year. This can achieved simply with a pH test kit or a nutrient & pH test kit. Depending on the results, add lime to the soil as required and improve heavy soils with calcified seaweed. Other nutrient deficiencies can also be resolved.
Prepare sites for spring planting by deep cultivations and the addition of manure. Cover a sunny well-drained area with polythene or glass to dry and warm the soil in order to get an early start and sow early peas such as Feltham First, and broad beans such as The Sutton. For early crops, many vegetable seeds can be sown at the end of the month on a windowsill or in a propagator including parsnips, lettuce, broad beans, peas, cauliflowers, and early cabbage. If you have a heated greenhouse you may want to sow an early crop of tomatoes.
Purchase seed potatoes, choosing cultivars carefully for cropping season. Unpack immediately and set up the tubers on end in boxes or egg trays (without compost) in a frost-free place with a temperature of around 5-7°C (41-45°F). Some light is necessary, but restrict the humidity and keep the air circulating. This should produce sturdy sprouts that will provide a longer growing season and a heavier yield. Old egg boxes or seed trays can be used to arrange the potatoes on end. It is recommended to arrange them with broader end with most eyes uppermost. For a heavy crop of baking potatoes, leaving only four to six eyes is desirable, whereas an early crop (where many small potatoes are desirable) it is best to leave six or eight eyes. If you need to store your potatoes before chitting them, remember to keep them cool and in good light and at no time must they be exposed to frost. Watch out for greenfly on tubers, spray with a proprietary pesticide at first signs. Planting in the garden begins in mid to late March depending on conditions, with the early varieties going in first and when the shoots are around 5cm (2”) long.
Why not grow an early crop of early potatoes in a container in a frost-free greenhouse? Use first early varieties and a good quality multi-purpose compost. If using a 25cm (10”) pot, add 7.5cm (3”) layer of compost and then place one tuber upright and cover with 5cm (2”) of soil: keep topping up as shoots emerge. If using a potato planter or larger pots, adjust quantities accordingly. Grown this way you could be eating home grown potatoes in May or early June
Plant shallots and onion sets in the soil when weather and soil conditions allow, cover with cloches if necessary. Plant the bulbs with a trowel, burying two-thirds of each bulb. Space the bulbs at 225mm (9”) in rows 30cm (12”) apart. Garlic bulbs can be started into growth in pots for planting out in March.
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