Monthly Archives: March 2013

To do on your plot in May

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Weather permitting the soil is warm and everything should be growing well. Unfortunately the weeds are growing well too so you need to keep on top of those. Watch out for a late frost!

Harvest

You may have some salad crops ready. Hardy lettuce and spring onions, fast growing radish may well be available.

Winter cauliflowers, spring cabbage, sprouting broccoli and kale should be ready now.

Sowing, Planting and Cultivating

Cultivation

Weeds are growing. Hoeing them off as small seedlings will make the job far easier than waiting for them to grow with a deeper root system.

The other cultivation job outdoors is to thin out carrots and parsnips.

Sowing

Sow sections of seeds every couple of weeks to give a succession of fresh vegetables rather than a glut. If the weather is dry, it is a good idea to soak your seed drill before sowing and then just water with a fine rose after.

  • French Beans
  • Runner Beans
  • Beetroot
  • Broccoli and Calabrese
  • Cabbage and Cauliflowers
  • Chicory
  • Kale
  • Kohlrabi
  • Peas
  • Turnips and Swedes
  • Your salad crops should be sown in succession
  • Lettuce and Leaves such as Rocket
  • Radishes
  • Spring Onions

Sowing under cover

  • Sweetcorn
  • Courgette
  • Marrow
  • Pumpkin

These really don’t like starting in the cold and you only grow a relatively few plants so starting off in pots is well worth the investment.

Planting Out

If your plants are large enough, you can plant out now:

  • Brussels sprouts
  • Summer cabbages
  • Celery
  • Celeriac
  • Leeks.

In the greenhouse

The following are ready for replanting to a growbag or a large pot.

  • Aubergine
  • Peppers (Chilli and Sweet)
  • Cucumber
  • Tomatoes

Fruit

Be aware of the birds and if possible use a fruit cage or netting to keep the birds away.

Strawberries planted this year will perform better in subsequent years if you remove the flowers so they don’t set fruit in the first year but concentrate on building their strength for next.

Pests

Slugs will be a big issue, and can work through whole rows of seedlings.

Ensure Carrots are covered with a fleece, and edges are buried to stop the carrot root fly from gaining entry to lay eggs by the carrots.

To do on your plot in April

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Sowing, Planting and Cultivating

The weeds will now be springing into action, so keep the hoe going.

Things to Sow

  • Beetroot
  • Peas
  • Broad Beans
  • Broccoli
  • Brussels Sprouts
  • Cabbage
  • Cauliflower
  • Kale
  • Chard
  • Kohl Rabi
  • Leeks
  • Spinach
  • Beet spinach
  • Rocket
  • Lettuce
  • Radish

With your carrots, covering with a fleece and ensuring the edges are buried will stop the carrot root fly from gaining entry to lay eggs by your carrots.

Plant Outdoors

Globe and Jerusalem Artichokes

Onion & Shallot Sets

Asparagus.

Easter is also potato planting time.

Sow in Heat (Greenhouse or Windowsill)

  • Aubergine
  • Celery
  • Outdoor Cucumbers
  • Tomatoes (if you’ve not already done so).

Sow Outdoors Under Cloche

  • French beans
  • Lettuce
  • Sweetcorn

Fruit

Strawberries can be planted out now, it’s best to remove flowers in the first year as you conserve strength for growth and gain larger crops in subsequent years. An easy way to gain strawberry plants is to plant the runners into pots and when rooted cut the runner. The plants don’t last forever so you need to rotate them ever three to five years.

Hand pollinate peaches and nectarines. Tickle the flowers with a small paint brush to spread the pollen. Cover if a cold spell threatens.

A good layer of compost around the base of fruit trees will ensure they have the nutrition to provide another good crop for you.

Pests

The carrot root fly. Slugs and snails are now coming out and active.

To do on your plot in March

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General Jobs on plot

If you have any horticultural fleece, you can peg that onto the ground a week or so before you plant. The small rise in temperature of the soil can make a big difference

Harvest

Parsnips should be dug up in early March before they try and re-grow.

You may have spinach beet and chards available, the last of the late Brussels sprouts, winter cauliflowers, kale, swedes, salsify and scorzonera.

Sowing & Planting

If the weather permits you can plant your onion and shallot sets. This is the correct time to establish an asparagus bed if you are starting from crowns. Mid March should let you start planting those early potatoes you’ve been chitting. You can also plant Jerusalem artichoke tubers now.

Things to Sow

  • Beetroot
  • Broad Beans
  • Early Peas (but they may do best started in a gutter in the      greenhouse then slipped into a trench)
  • Brussels sprouts – early varieties
  • Leeks
  • Lettuce
  • Radish
  • Parsnips
  • Spinach Beet
  • Early Turnips

Sow in Heat

Windowsill or a propagator in the greenhouse will come into use now to start off your tomatoes, peppers, aubergines and cucumbers.

Under Cloche

Summer cabbages and early cauliflowers, early carrots will get away best under a cloche. If you set your cloche up a week or two beforehand, it will warm up the soil so you will get even better results.

Fruit Planting & Pruning

There is still time to finish planting bare rooted fruit trees and bushes, especially raspberries and other cane fruits.

You can still prune apple and pear trees while they are still dormant. It’s also time to prune gooseberries and currants. With currants shorten the side shoots to just one bud and remove old stems from the centre of the bushes.

To do on your plot in February

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The last few February’s have often been the coldest winter month. However spring is not far away. It’s usually better to hold off than try to sow in cold waterlogged ground that will rot seeds rather than germinate them. With our local soil being a clay the ground can be very wet and heavy.

 General Jobs

Finish tasks such as digging over, creating leafmould heaps etc.

Give the greenhouse a good clean, ensure the glass is firmly secured. Give the greenhouse a thorough clean before seed growing season.

Wash out and sterilise seed trays and pots so you seedlings will get off to the best possible start.

You can cover soil with plastic sheeting, fleece or cloches to warm it up for a couple of weeks before you start to sow and plant.

Harvest

There may still be some leeks available to harvest. Parsnips, turnips and swedes in the ground can be dug up when you are ready.

The cabbage family should be providing some early purple sprouting, kale and Brussels sprouts also available.

Other crops you may have: salsify, scorzonera, chicory, endive, celeriac, celery and Jerusalem artichokes.

Sowing & Planting

If conditions are suitable you can sow your broad beans in February along with early peas for a May / June harvest.

Jerusalem artichokes and shallots can be planted now, although shallots will benefit from covering with a cloche.

Under Cover

If you have a greenhouse, you can get an early crop of lettuce, rocket and radish underway. You can utilise cloches outdoors but success will be more dependent on the weather.

Onions from seed should be started now. They need about 15 degrees to get them going so you may be best using the windowsill in a cool room to start them off.

Fruit Planting & Pruning

There is still time to finish planting fruit trees and bushes, especially raspberries and other cane fruits.

Early this month you can prune apple and pear trees while they are still dormant. It’s also time to prune gooseberries and currants. With currants shorten the side shoots to just one bud and remove old stems from the centre of the bushes.

Rhubarb can be forced for an early crop of the sweetest stalks. Just cover a crown with a bucket or an upturned large pot and insulate the outside with straw or compost for added heat.