Area cleared for new communal composting facilities
The Allotted Month - March 2015
I’m having another try at growing garlic this year .My previous attempts at growing in containers and then transplanting into the soil have given disappointing results. I’ve put this down to the soil having a high clay and moisture content as well as taking a al long time to warm up.
Garlic can be planted Autumn or Spring but I’ve always gone for Spring planting as the temperatures at my allotment are usually too low and it is a bit of a frost pocket. I’m giving the garlic the best chance of doing well by planting in a compost/sand mixture in containers in my greenhouse as garlic prefers a loamy well drained soil. This time I’m trying Marco which is supposed to have a distinctive strong flavour and is a good storer.
This year I’m also trying a few different varieties of pea, beans and courgettes. For garden pea I’ve gone with a variety called Meteor which can be grown without support .It can be sown directly into prepared seed drills from April or sown in pots and transferred . It does not need support as it only grows to 30-40 cm .The pods contain 8-10 seeds. The seeds should be sown 1-2 cm deep with 3-5 cm between rows.
Instead of Runner Beans and due to limited space I’ve gone for climbing French Beans (Neckarkonigin) a high yielding variety with large tender pods. These can be sown after danger of frost has passed and should be sown in groups of 10 around poles .When they have grown to a height of 15-20cm they should be earthed up .
The Potato order arrived last Wednesday so I now have my potatoes chitting in trays in a light frost free space to give them a heads start when they go into the ground.
I was going to go for all earlies but have ended up with two main crop – Golden Wonder and Sarpo Mira and one early ,which is the variety closes to Cornish Gold. I selected them on the basis of disease resistance, flavour and ability to produce good chips/boiled potatoes !
I also have my onion set and shallot order and plan to put the shallots in next weekend if the weather improves and the soil dries out a bit. I have not dug over the planting bed yet so I need a spell of drier weather to help break the clods up. Onion sets are normally planted later at the start of April.
I had poor success with my courgettes last year and I put this down to keeping them in an overheated greenhouse and insufficient watering and feeding . One of my neighbours had planted theirs directly into the soil outside and had a great crop. It is recommended to pick some of the fruits when they are quite small and tender. If allowed to grow too big they develop into marrows which make a good soup. Courgette flowers can also be fried in a tempura batter although I’v enever tried this myself. I’ve selected Diamant this year which is a variety with dark green cylindrical smooth fruit but is not suited for cultivation under glass.
Finally I have sown my Musselburgh Leeks and have them in two pots on the window ledge to beneft from the afternoon sun.Leeks are a very low maintenance crop once established and are really useful for soups and casseroles .They can also be used in stir fries if used when they are still small.
Happy growing.
J Greenfingers