TIPS from JOA GROWER this time include planting a green manure, compost checking, and having a general tidy up.
I must say that this time of the year is probably not my most favourite. Most plants are now safely in the ground and if they are not, there’s still time to put a few things in. Now is an ideal time to sow broad bean seeds. You can sow them direct into your soil or I prefer to sow them in to pots or trays and plant out when 10-20cm tall. Alternatively, you can purchase them all ready to go from us at our stall at Totnes market. Onions and garlic can also be sown now and this will give you a slightly earlier, bigger crop. Making it well worth doing. Use unheated green houses to grow perpetual spinach, or sow a few winter hardy salad leaves and lettuces. Check all your winter brassicas, tie up any of the taller varieties such as purple sprouting broccoli, Brussels sprouts and some of the kales, as they tend to get a bit top heavy and the cabbage family do not like to be wobbly when they are growing. There will be areas where you’ll have nothing growing in them and rather than letting the weeds take over why not try sowing some Green manures? These are crops grown for the sole purpose of adding fertility to the soil or to produce bulky green waste to add to your compost bin. There are quite a few to choose from including Vetches, Tares, Clover and my favourite Rye Grass. Many seed companies sell these and a few other varieties but it can work out quite expensive. A bag of organic rye grain from your local wholefood shop usually works wonders. Simply sow by broadcasting (sprinkling) all over the area and then raking in. Check your compost bins to see if you have any compost ready, you may need to dig down about 25-30cm to find some and if so now is great time to add it to your beds. Also add any leaf mould you may have collected last year or the year before. By using this now it frees up your bins for all the summer crops that need to come out and empties the leaf mould cage, so you’ve got room for this year’s leaves. Be a bit selective when collecting leaves. Parks and woodlands are always better than attempting to collect them along the roadside. Take some time to have a general tidy up! Much better to do it now, as this will help expose some of those dreaded slugs for the birds to eat. Take down your bean canes and store them in a dry shed or garage. Put away any nets, pots or trays, clean your garden tools, and have a clear out.
Planting asparagus crowns
OCTOBER can be a great month to start a new Asparagus bed. That’s as long as you have very free draining soil and not something that turns into a quagmire over the winter months. The first thing to do is prepare the ground. Remove all perennial weed roots (these are things like bind weed and couch grass). You may need to dig the bed over a couple of times just to make sure you’ve removed them all. Dig out a trench 30cm wide and 20cm in depth. Create a small mound in the bottom of the trench and place your crowns on top of the mound with their root spread out. Leave a 30-40cm space between plants. Pull the soil back into the trench and firming gently around the plants. Then make a slight ridge over the rows to direct the rain away from the young spears that will emerge next spring. It’s very tempting, but don’t cut any spears in the first two years, just allow them to grow into tall ferns. Only cut down to the ground in the winter months when the ferns have turned yellow. In the third year you can start to cut the spears (and believe me they will be well worth the wait!). Traditionally you stop cutting asparagus spears on mid summer’s day – June 21. We stock Asparagus plants at Growers Organics all year round. What ever you plant, pick, prune or put away. Have fun in the garden!