With the weather better now (but not at it best) and things growing away, things need to be kept on top of, so here some of the things I will be doing over the next couple of days.

Weeding – I know I don’t like this one too, but for the veg to grow fast and big, weeds must go! Also they take water and nutrients away from our veg.

Potatoes – Time to start banking them up with all this rain they are growing fast so this is a must (although I’m doing mine with grass cuttings).

Peas and Beans – If you not done it runner beans need to go out if you started them in doors or plant the seed straight into the soil as well peas too! French beans to can be planted as it is now warm enough for them in the south of england. And don’t forget to keep the Broad beans supported.

Other plants – This week end I will be planting out my Pumpkins out as well (all of this family of plants marrows/courgettes can go out). Plant out sweetcorn too. Keep sowing Carrots, Radishes, Spring Onions, Peas and Lettuce for a succession of crops for the Kitchen.

And keep picking the Rhubarb for a great crop

Take Care

Fred

We looked at the three main types in my “New to Veg – Where to Start” post and as we seen there is three main ways you can grow your own veg, you can do one or all three if you like. But I will be going through each of them, so if you have a big garden and have lots of space or just a balcony with very little we all can grow some veg for our table.

Step 1

 
In the first place you need to choose what you want to grow, but that also depends on what you like to eat! There is no point in growing Tomatoes if you don’t like them. So in Step 1 we will look at each of the three main types in what you can grow in that way.

A Veg Plot

As this is the biggest of the three as it’s completely devoted to vegetables it just depends on size, but you can grow almost anything as long as you have the space.

In your Flower Garden

Within your flower beds you can grow many vegetables some you can hide in between other plants, with some like Beetroot with it’s Red leaves you can make a real striking statement with! But you can again almost grow anything with your flowers.

Pots, Bags and Hanging Baskets

With Pots you can grow all wonder of things from Tomatoes to Potatoes even root crops like Carrots, as well Beans and Peas. And with them in pots if you have a greenhouse you can start them off inside and bring them outside when it get hotter so you can get earlier crops, or at the end of summer sow them out side and move them into the greenhouse to get a late crop (I will tell you later in the year about how to have fresh New Potatoes with your Xmas dinner).

Grow bags are also good for Peppers, Beans as well as Tomatoes. But wait have you seen you can now grow your Tomatoes in hanging baskets now too! with a new variety that hang down over the sides.

And as we we all love Strawberry’s and so do the slugs, try growing them up out of the way in a hanging basket too, so you can have fresh Strawberry’s with out the slug bite. And like the pots you can take the basket in to your greenhouse for an early crop.

So as you start to think about what you would like to grow have a look at our Garden shop for inspiration in what to grow. And look out for Step 2. And don’t forget to ask questions if you need to.

take care

fred

With the warmer weekend ahead it possible to do many of the jobs that been out standing in the Veg plot, and with spring get ever closer it’s time to get out there!

So what needs doing…

 General Jobs

Make sure that your plot is all tidy, e.g. leaves and other rubbish to be cleaned up from around the plot,

Things to Plant

Start to think and plan what you are going to plant this year, working out your planting layout so you know where you are going to put them.

Also start to buy in your seeds and other things you need for this year (don’t forget you can get all your seeds, tools, ect. from our Garden shop).

You can now start to plant out on mild days Garlic, Onion sets and Shallots from now on.

Things to Harvest

Continue to lift Parsnips and Leeks as and when you need them. You can also pick some spring cabbage as winter greens too.

Fruit

Get all winter pruning of Apple and Pear trees as well as Currant and Gooseberries bushes, finished this weekend where the weather is frost free.

Don’t forget you can still do hardwood cutting of Currant and Gooseberries bushes that you want from the off cuts.

And finish any moving of fruit plants around the veg plot so this need to be done soon.

Vegetables

If not done lift and divide Rhubarb crowns now and prepare some for early forcing and well mulching them too.

Pest and Diseases

Even at this time of year and with it warmer this week, the slug can be around so keep an eye for them!

Mice can also be a problem at this time as they are short of food and will look for your stores to attack so keep an eye out and take action if you see signs of them.

Birds too and be a pain as they get hungry taking buds off of plants so look after them as well as putting net over plants to protect them.

Take a look for Canker in fruit trees.

So have good time it the Veg plot and let me know how you got on.

take care

fred