WELL, I don’t know about you, but I blinked and seem to have missed the summer. And not only that, but now we have frosts that may or may not come… we just have no idea what’s going to happen. But alas, let’s assume that with the arrival of autumn is the inevitable arrival of winter, which means there are preparations to be made in the vegetable garden before temperatures approach zero. Pull all of your onions and garlic and once they’ve dried out, store them by plaiting the stems together and hanging them up or by cutting off the stems and storing them in a net bag. Use any onions that have gone to seed up first. Use all autumn leeks as they’ll go mushy if left, but winter leeks will sit in the ground happily throughout the winter. I dig my potatoes up earlier as I find the slugs have usually demolished them by now if left in the ground, but this is your last chance to dig up your remaining main crop potatoes. Don’t wash them, but do make sure they’re dry, and store them in paper or hessian sacks. Any damaged ones should be kept out and used up first to stop the spread of rot. Leaving a few inches of the vine attached so as to reduce the chances of rotting, gather your squashes and pumpkins in.

Store all of these crops in a cool, dark, well-ventilated place such as a garage, checking regularly for mould and use damaged crops first. Now that that’s done, there is still time to sow greens under cover so we can have them fresh over the winter months and early spring. In a greenhouse, cold frame, or under cloches (even cutting the bottoms of 5 litre bottles off), spring onions, winter lettuces, mustard, mizuna, rocket, lambs lettuce, kale, chard, winter varieties of spinach, and peas for shoots can all be grown. For small roots in early Spring, some varieties of carrots and beetroot can be sown now. You can harvest the leaves of the beetroot over the winter and then leave the roots to mature to golf-ball size, ready early next year. Herbs such as chives and parsley can be grown in pots on a sunny windowsill. Winter varieties of broad beans such as Super Aquadulce can be sown, either directly into the ground or into modules and then planted out when they are 10-20cm (4-8 inches). These will be ready to harvest in late spring and what’s advantageous is that the tips of the plants that blackfly are attracted to tend to be tougher and they usually leave them alone. Happy growing, folks!

Green manures

AS we cut down old plants and clear beds, we are left with rather a lot of empty space. You can leave the soil exposed and bare, or you can cover it with plastic or cardboard, essentially ‘putting it to bed’. Another option is green manures. Green manures provide natural protection for the soil over the winter and increase soil fertility and health, the most important thing when it comes to growing annual crops sustainably. You have lots to choose from: Clovers, Buckwheat, Phacelia, Rye (one of the cheapest and easiest to find – your local health food shop will probably stock it), to name a few. Do research as different ones are better suited to different soil types. Winter field bean, grazing rye and Italian ryegrass are a few that are still okay to sow in October and November. Once you’ve chosen, simply scatter the seed quite thickly over the soil surface and gently rake approximately 3cm (1”) of soil over the top of it. Birds are often attracted to it, so putting up a few bird scarers may be necessary (CDs or foil trays hanging from bamboo canes work well). In the late winter to early spring, either cover your beds with cardboard for a no-dig method, or cut your green manure down to the ground, add it to the compost bin, and dig the roots into the soil. For both methods, leave the bed at least a month before directly sowing seeds into it, however larger plants are okay to plant sooner.

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It’s all about the soil
COMMERCIAL farmers rotavate the soil multiple times a year, feed plants with chemical fertilisers, use weed killers, when the dry weather comes, crevices open up in the fields and when the rains come, flooding and soil erosion. Without the chemicals, the plants simply would not grow well as nutrients are constantly taken from the soil, but seldom are they given back.
The number one thing on the top of any gardener’s list should be the health of the soil and how to maintain it. This comes in many forms, primarily by adding compost (homemade or bought) or well-rotted manure to the soil, or adding green manures and digging them in. Another option – and late autumn is the perfect time – is leaf mould.
Most of us have compost bins where our food and garden waste is composted and you can add the leaves directly to your bins, but now is the time to make your own leaf mould, or “black gold” as I’ve heard to it aptly referred to as.
Either make a large wire mesh cage and pile in as many leaves as you can, or alternatively, fill black bin bags with leaves, sprinkle some water in, tie the top, pierce the bags several times with a garden fork to allow air to flow, and after eighteen to twenty four months, you’ll have beautiful fine, rich compost! Simple!

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A touch of colour ‘neath skies of grey

BETWEEN the rainy days (or rainy weeks!), I like to make the most of every bright and sunny day. As long as the soil isn’t too wet that it sticks to your boots or frozen then it’s fine to work with, so wrapped up warm and with a flask of hot tea, I take to the veg patch to steadily make my way through to Spring time.
Clear any beds that are yet to be tidied and give them a good mulch of compost (about 1”/2.5cm). Also mulch around the bases of berry bushes and tie the new stems of vining fruits such as raspberries and blackberries to support wires in preparation for next season’s crop. Winter is also a good time to expand on and plant new fruit bushes. Ensure you give them plenty of space, leaving room for the plants to fully mature and for you to walk around them to harvest the beautiful fruits. You can plant fruit bushes any time during the year by purchasing potted plants (we sell these at Growers Organics’ nursery in Yealmpton and Totnes market from February to October), so don’t worry if you miss the winter planting.
Now is a good time to mend any structures that have been neglected over the busy season or make new structures. Compost bins can easily be made out of four pallets either tied or, more securely, screwed together. Raised beds make managing growing spaces and maintaining pathways easier and can be an initial expense if built from new timber, or can be a lot cheaper if built from pallet wood. Beds should be no wider than 4’ (120cm) so you can easily reach the middle and no longer than 8-10’ (240-300cm) so you don’t get lazy and walk across them instead of around them. Pallets are relatively easy to get hold of and are often free. Just be aware of which pallets you’re using! All pallets are treated to sterilise them and require a treatment stamp consisting of two letters which helps to identify how they have been treated. The main one to avoid in the UK is ‘MB’ which is Methyl Bromide, a highly toxic pesticide. Do NOT use this one. ‘HT’ (heat treated), ‘KD’ (kiln dried) and ‘DH’ (dielectric heated – high-frequency electromagnetic field) are all safe to use.
After any of the high-winded storms we get this time of year, go out and collect bare sticks for pea and bean supports. Only take branches off the floor, never off the trees themselves, and remember to leave plenty on the ground for the natural eco-systems. Storing your sticks somewhere dry will prolong the life of them, but they’ll still be okay for a year or two if you don’t. What’s wonderful is you can return them back to the woods once they’ve gone brittle and let Mother Nature reclaim them.

Rainy Day Plans
NOW is the time of year when seed companies are releasing their seed varieties for the upcoming season. Flicking through a catalogue or scrolling online is a way to be productive when the rain is pattering on the windows and you want to stay in the warm and dry. It’s also a great way to start the excitement growing (excuse the pun) for the season to come. There are now so many different organic seed varieties to choose from, but control yourself! We all know how easy it is to get carried away with lots of different varieties and things to grow and before we know it, we’ve got a table full of seed packets that we will never have room for! Perhaps find a friend, neighbour or allotment buddy who you could sit down with and decide on varieties for you both to share, splitting the cost and the seeds. And regardless of whether you’re the ‘strict plan’ or ‘go with the flow’ type of gardener, making a rough plan for the coming season will help with the realities of how much you can actually fit into your veg patch. I’m sure most of us will probably over-buy and subsequently over-sow anyway, but maybe just buy ten plants instead of thirty…

A big thank you to all our customers who visited the nursery or our Totnes Market stall throughout the season, just to let you know we are now closed for the winter and will reopen mid February.

Reconnect’s Organic Gardening column is written by Tanya Pearson of Growers Organics. Visit www.growersorganics.com, or call 01752 881180.

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THERE’s a chill in the air and our first frost is approaching as we well and truly embrace the British autumn. Before the first frost, there are crops that need to be removed from the garden and stored. Firstly, all of your onions and garlic should be pulled. Once they’ve dried out, store them by plaiting the stems together and hanging them up or by cutting off the stems and storing them in a net bag. Use any onions that have gone to seed up first. Secondly, this is your last chance to dig up your remaining main crop potatoes. Don’t wash them, but dry them off and then store them in paper or hessian sacks. Lastly, leaving a few inches of the vine attached so as to reduce the chances of rot, gather your squashes and pumpkins in. Store all of these in a cool, dark, well-ventilated place such as a cold shed or garage. Check regularly for mould and use damaged crops first. Speaking of onions and garlic, these can be sown now and will give you a slightly earlier and bigger crop, so they are certainly worth doing! It’s always nice to have some fresh greens in the dark winter months, I find, and in an unheated greenhouse, winter hardy salad leaves can be sown: mizuna, rocket, mustard, lambs lettuce and other winter lettuces to name a few. Choose a suitable over-wintering variety of broad bean seed such as Super Aquadulce and now is an ideal time to sow them. They can be sown directly into the soil, but this time of year is when rodents start to get hungry and broad bean seeds are a wonderful meal for a mouse! I prefer to sow my broad beans in pots or trays and then plant them out when they are 10- 20cm (4-8 inches) tall. You can also buy plug plants (but remember that Growers Organics is now closed until next year). Brassicas like to be rooted firmly in the ground, so keep an eye on them as some top-heavy crops such as purple spouting broccoli, Brussels sprouts and some kales may need supporting so their weight doesn’t uproot them. A cane for them to lean against works wonders and you can earth up around their bases to add extra stability too. I always finish picking my runner beans and French beans when I still have pods left on the plant. I leave these to fully ripen (go brown and papery) which then gives me my seeds for next year. They’re the easiest seeds to save. If the weather’s turned wet (we are in England, after all!), bring brown pods indoors and let them fully dry out before storing the seed. Happy growing, folks!

• A big thank you to all our customers who visited the nursery or our Totnes Market stall throughout the season, just to let you know we are now closed for the winter and will reopen mid February.

A tidy garden for a new season
BEFORE it’s quite time to start thinking about next season, I like to tidy up from this season first, giving me a clean and tidy growing area to start with next year. And now is a good time to do just that before the cold and wet weather really sets in… that is – if it hasn’t come early! Clear any old crops from the veg plot and add them to the compost heap so they can’t harbour pests and diseases over the winter. Remember any old cucumber and tomato plants from the greenhouse too. Now that I’ve mentioned it, clear the greenhouse out: remove any shade cloth and clean the glass to maximise as much of the weaker autumn daylight as possible. Sort through pots and trays (you know, that pile of unsorted ones you have from throughout the busy season), throwing out any broken ones, cleaning any that need it, and re-stacking them for easy use. Any tender plants that are in pots can now be brought into the greenhouse to protect them from the winter weather. Make sure to check the bottoms of pots and under the rims for our slimy garden friends – or perhaps ‘foes’ may be more accurate after this year… But as us gardeners say: there’s always next year.

Reconnect’s Organic Gardening column is written by Tanya Pearson of Growers Organics. Visit www.growersorganics.com, or call 01752 881180.

The post Some seasonal advice for Autumn appeared first on Reconnect Magazine.

EARLY June is still okay for sowing cucumbers, courgettes and squash seeds, or you can buy ready grown plants to get a bit of a head start. Peas and dwarf beans can also be sown up to mid-July which will give you an autumn crop.
This time of the year is when blight strikes and if you don’t catch it in time, you’ll lose your entire potato and tomato crops. Blight is caused by a fungus-like organism which can occur in wet weather, spreading quickly from the foliage and down to the fruit/tubers. It starts out on the leaves, so regular checks of foliage is a must. If the plants have blight, remove the affected leaves immediately and burn them or get rid of them. Don’t add them to your compost heap or else it will spread.
Keep on top of pinching out the side shoots of tomatoes. These are the small growths that appear between the main stem and the leaf. I admit that I do like to let one or two side shoots grow until they are about four inches long; then I pinch them out, stick them in the ground and they take root, growing into new tomato plants!
Pick the fruits of courgettes regularly before they get too big or else you’ll get a few large marrows rather than many courgettes… Unless marrows are what you want! With winter squashes, pinch out the growing tip when the plant has set out about six small fruits if large fruits are what you want. Otherwise, just leave the plant to do its thing and you’ll get an abundance of small, perfect-size-for-roasting squashes.
Now is the time to ensure your brassicas (cabbage, kale, cauliflower, broccoli, kohl rabi) are covered with fine mesh to prevent cabbage white butterflies laying their eggs on the leaves and the subsequent caterpillars from devouring your plants and stripping them bare. If you see the cabbage whites intrigued by your crops and are yet to net your brassicas, check the underside of the leaves for tiny clusters of eggs and remove them before they wreak havoc – and then net them.
With gardening, it’s all about planning, so although we’re all enjoying the sunshine and good weather, now is the time to perhaps start thinking about winter brassicas. These can go in from July onwards, so think about where you’ll want them and start clearing those beds in preparation. Brassicas need a good 30-45cm spacing, but because they take so long to grow, I like to interplant my brassicas with quick growing vegetables such as lettuces and kohl rabi to maximise on space and get multiple harvests from the same bed.

Happy growing, folks!
Growers Organics is open 7 days a week in Yealmpton PL8 2LT and at Totnes Market every Friday and Saturday.

FEED, FEED AND MORE FEED!

FRUITING vegetables including tomatoes, courgettes, squash, aubergines and peppers could all do with a bit of extra feed at this time of the year to give them more energy to put into their delicious fruits. Although organic feeds can be bought from many garden centres (including our nursery here at Growers Organics), the best plant feed – as it is with most things – is home-made. People comment on my wild patch of weeds, but that ‘wild patch’ contains a lot of stinging nettles which, along with my comfrey bed, is actually my year’s supply of liquid fertiliser – and it costs me next to nothing to make. Fill a bucket or barrel (I use a recycled dustbin – washed out, of course) with either comfrey or nettles and then fill it to the top with water. Replace the lid or place a wooden board over the top and leave it to stand for at least two to three weeks. And it’s ready to use! I’ll warn you now that the mixture is a smelly one, so you may want to wear gloves when you use it… and maybe a peg for your nose too! When you feed your plants, be sure to water them first and then water a second time with the liquid feed or else the feed will run straight through dry pots and will be wasted.

Reconnect’s Organic Gardening column is written by Tanya Pearson of Growers Organics. Growers are at Totnes market on Fridays and Saturdays. Visit www.growersorganics.com, or call 01752 881180.

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THE clocks going forward is always a sure sign that Spring is here and every year I’m glad for it. With the extra daylight comes more time in the garden, but also the list of jobs to do! Growth increases exponentially this time of year, so dedicating ten or twenty minutes a couple of times a week to weed your vegetable garden will keep on top of the weeds as they grow and stop it from becoming a daunting task. Keep an eye on the onion patch – onions don’t like the competition and weeds will hinder the development of the bulbs, so carefully hand weeding will keep your onions happy. April is the time to be planting second early and maincrop potatoes. You may start seeing the tops of your first early potatoes now (planted in March). As they grow, carefully earth them up using compost, wellrotted manure (at least a year old) or even grass clippings to increase your yield. It’s a good idea to water them prior to earthing up to lock the moisture in. If you cover the top growth then don’t worry; potatoes are robust and you should see the plant poking through soon enough. This can be done several times over the coming months. You’ll want to pinch out the tops of your broad bean plants once they’ve got three or four sets of flowers to avoid attracting blackfly. Prevention is key, but if you do find you’re too late, try using a small amount of washing up liquid in water to wipe the blackfly away. You should still get a good crop. Now is a good time to sow root vegetables as the soil has warmed up. Carrot and parsnip seeds should be sown directly into the soil and mixing the seeds with a bit of horticultural sand makes them easier to sow thinly. Covering carrots with fleece once they appear helps to protect them from carrot root fly. I find beetroot and swede are better grown in modules and then planted out when they’re big enough to handle. Tender plants such as Runner beans, French beans, sweetcorn, cucumbers, outdoor tomatoes, courgettes and squashes can all be sown direct or planted out towards the end of May when we’re clear of frosts. Plants may need hardening off, so pop them outside during the day for seven to ten days and bring them inside at night. That should be enough to get them acclimated and then they can be planted out. By mid-May we should see the last frost thaw and our vegetable gardens start to show their true colours. But don’t get too comfortable! Keep an eye on the weather and if it looks like it’s going to be a cold night, grab some fleece to cover tender plants. By the end of the month, we should be completely free from potential frosts. Happy growing, folks! l Just a reminder that Growers Organics nursery in Yealmpton is now open and we are back in the market square in Totnes every Friday and Saturday.

A tip on the ol’ slugs ‘n’ snails
SLUGS and snails are prevalent at all times of the year, but Spring and Summer see gardeners offering a bountiful feast to these problematic gastropods. Make sure you protect young seedlings from these hungry mouths by covering plants with fine mesh, fleece, or cloches (an empty plastic bottle with the bottom cut off makes an excellent little greenhouse to protect crops). You’ll be surprised how quickly these tiny mouths can desecrate your hard work! Going out at night with a torch and collecting slugs and snails is fine, but I like to approach the problem from a different angle and encourage natural predators of these pests: frogs and hedgehogs are excellent guests in the garden to help here. Cutting small CD-sized holes in the fence will allow hedgehogs to pass through and leaving out shallow dishes of water for them to drink from is good too. A small pond – even one in a large plant pot (without a hole in the bottom, of course) or tub – with some rocks and plants in is enough to attract frogs into the garden. These pest controlling helpers are relatively inexpensive and organic too! It won’t magically solve your pest problem, but it will drastically decrease the populations.

Reconnect’s Organic Gardening column is written by Tanya Pearson
of Growers Organics. Growers are at Totnes market on Fridays and
Saturdays. Visit www.growersorganics.com, or call 01752 881180.

The post Spend more time in the garden appeared first on Reconnect Magazine.

WELL it’s the start of a new growing season and I hope that you all have the same enthusiasm for growing vegetables as you had last year. Despite everything else that was and still is going on in the world our gardens flourished. So let’s make 2021 another great year on the vegetable plot.
Those of you with green houses or poly tunnels can now start sowing a selection of seeds. I recommend you don’t do the varieties that will need frost protection, as you have plenty of time to do those later when the weather has got a little bit warmer. Keep an eye on the forecast for frosts as all plants in an unheated green house may still need just a little more additional protection.
Those of you growing your seeds on the window sill in the house don’t forget that as soon as your seedlings start to come through the compost turn the pots or trays daily, this will stop them becoming tall and leggy.

Window sills are also a brilliant place to start chitting (sprouting) seed potatoes. Your aim is to get short stocky growing shoots and not tall pale and spindly ones,as these will probably get damaged whilst being planted out.
There are many different varieties to choose from. Do remember that if they are labelled as ‘First Earlies’ that means that when they are grown, they will be your new potatoes and won’t keep very long. So dig them as and when you need them. ‘Maincrop’ will store right through the winter, as long as they have not been damaged when you dig them out or been attacked by slugs. So I would recommend that you buy about 25% ‘Firsts’ and 75% ‘maincrop’.

JUST a reminder that Growers Organics nursery in Yealmpton PL8 2LT will reopen mid February 2021 and our plant stall will also be back in the market square in Totnes in February. Thank you for reading and Happy Gardening!

Joa’s A-Z of Organic Gardening:
Z is for Zzzzzz. A good night’s sleep, after all your hard work and fresh air in veggie garden.
And just like Z being at the end of the alphabet, I am at the end of my writing career. It’s has been a great pleasure for me to be able share my organic gardening thoughts with you for the (almost) last 10 years. I do hope it has been of some help to you all, but now I am going to pass the batten (well trowel) onto someone who has worked along side me at Growers Organics for the past 3 or 4 years. I know I am leaving you in safe hands!

Introducing Tanya…

HELLO, there. I’m Tanya. Now, I don’t have the years of experience Joa does, but I certainly make up for that in my love for organic, home-grown veggies! I’ve been gardening for the last six or seven years and this is my fourth season working at Growers Organics. What’s wonderful about gardening is there’s always something new to learn.
Like most, I started with radish. Also, like most, I grew far too much of it. I learnt that a small square foot of radish is plenty for me. I love growing great produce to eat, but I also love experimenting, learning and enjoying it all along the way – that’s what gardening is all about for me. How else can we learn if we do not try?
I started with a few small raised garden beds and progressed to an allotment. Both are constantly full of experiments gone not-quite-as-planned and many more are in-progress, but amongst the failed crop of cauliflowers and the half-eaten spinach leaves the sparrows enjoy far too much for me to net, you’ll find a whole host of food to eat: from strawberries and berry bushes, to climbing beans and trailing squash vines; from nurtured rhubarbs and asparaguses, to self-seeded chamomiles, lettuces and tomatoes. And if I get to eat a few things before the wildlife gets to them, then all the better!
So, take a walk with me through the vegetable patch, won’t you? And let’s all enjoy it together…

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“SO will you be putting you feet up now for a little while?”

Customers are always asking me as soon as the winter gets here. In fact I always seem to be just as busy especially as the days are so short at the moment.
There’s nothing nicer than a bright dry sunny day in the vegetable garden or on the allotment to take away the winter blues. A great time to tackle that patch of earth that you were meaning to get dug over back in the autumn and never quite got around to it! This will be fine as long as the ground isn’t too wet (I know I’ve said it before but if the mud sticks to your boots stay off the soil) or it’s not frozen. Other jobs that need doing are repairs to compost bins or cold frames and of course the greenhouse can always do with a wash inside and out. Try not to leave these things until the spring when you want to start using them again. Maybe now is the time to redesign the veg plot and build some raised beds. It can transform the garden into a much easier space to work in and although the initial outlay can be expensive I have never met anybody who has regretted having them. Make sure your beds are no wider than 4ft (120cm) so that you can easily reach the middle from both sides and don’t make them so long (8ft to 10ft is ideal) that you can’t be bothered to go around them and end up stepping across them. Of course on the rainy days you could have a flick through all the seed companies’ catalogues or websites and plan what you’re going to grow this year. Why not try something new! There are always new varieties that are becoming available in organic seeds. Even if you are not planning on sowing your own seeds this year and are going to be buying vegetable plug plants (of which we believe we have the largest selection in the South West at Growers Organics) Its still nice to look back at the year that’s been and do a new vegetable garden plan ready for next year.

• Growers Organics nursery in Yealmpton is now shut for the winter season. We will re-open mid February 2021, and be back at Totnes Market then too. Looking forward to seeing you all then.

Joa’s A-Z of Organic Gardening
W is for Weeds. Weeds are plants that are just growing in the wrong place, and usually growing very well! Weeds fall into two categories, annuals and perennials. Annuals are plants that grow from seed but only last one season. These weeds should be pulled out or cut to the ground before they flower and eventually set seed which will create more weeds next spring. Perennials on the other hand return every year unless you remove their roots. Simply chopping a dandelion off at ground level will only annoy it and it will return bigger and stronger next time. Weeding can be so satisfying. Always give it the time it deserves.

Y is for Yields. There are several ways to get higher yields from your crops. Enrich your soil with homemade garden compost, manure or bought soil conditioners in late winter or early spring. Feed your plants regularly through out the growing season and keep on top of the weeds. Some plants such as peas and beans give higher yields when they are regularly picked. Those of you who only have very small area to grow your vegetables in could consider growing upwards. Rather than growing plants such as courgettes, squash and brassicas which all take up masses of space, maybe grow things like tomatoes, peppers, peas, mangetout, beans and what about growing potatoes in old compost bags?

Reconnect’s Organic Gardening column is written by Joa Grower of Growers Organics. Visit www.growersorganics.com for the online shop, or call 01752 881180.

The post Taking away the winter blues appeared first on Reconnect Magazine.

WELL we have had a very different year this year what with the pandemic. But for some of you probably one of the best growing years you may have had in a long time and for some of you, your first experience of vegetable growing, so welcome to you.

Now is your last chance to lift any maincrop potatoes that are still in the ground. Store these in hessian or paper sacks, ensuring you don’t keep any damaged ones as they will rot and also cause the rest to rot as well. All autumn leeks should be pulled and used before any hard frosts arrive as they are not as hardy as winter leeks. Squashes and pumpkins should be gathered and stored somewhere dry to be used throughout the winter. Carry on picking any spinach and chards that you may still have, and kale that will also now be ready.

You will now probably have lots of empty spaces. Rather than leaving them empty why not sow some green manures? Green manures play an important role in sustainable annual crops and increase soil fertility. There are lots to chose from Clovers, Vetches and Tares but the one we tend to use at Growers Organics is Rye grain, its cheap, easy to get hold of (your local health food shop will probably stock it), easy to use, just scatter the seed quite thick over the surface and then gently rake approx. 3cm of soil over the seed. You may need to put up a few bird scarers (old CDs or foil trays dangling from bamboo canes works well). Cut the rye grass down to the ground in late winter or early spring and add to the compost bin. The roots can then be dug into the soil. Leave the bed at least a month before sowing any seeds into it. But it will be okay to plant larger things in.

Get planting winter brassicas (cabbages) now before October is out. Firm them in really well as they don’t like to be blown about in the wind. Taller varieties such as brussels sprouts, broccoli and kales may even need a cane to support them. Broad beans can also be sown now direct into the ground or started off in pots or seed trays. These will be ready to harvest in the late spring. The advantage of an Autumn sowing is that the beans will be ready slightly earlier and the tips of the plants are that bit tougher that Blackfly (which they are prone to) tend to leave them alone!

Growers Organics is now closed for the winter, but we will reopen mid February 2021 for a new growing season. A big thank you to all our customers and looking forward to seeing you all again next year.

Joa’s A-Z of Organic Gardening

S is for Soil.
Soil is made up of topsoil, subsoil, clay and bedrock. Topsoil contains earthworms and many essential micro-organisms and as this slowly gets stripped away by constant weeding and harvesting you would be left with lifeless, sticky mess with poor drainage. To stop this from happening we need to add bulky organic material such as well rotted manure, garden or purchased compost and leafmould back in to the soil. In nature leaves, annual weeds and wild animal droppings do this naturally!

T is for Time.
This is something that most people feel they never have enough of. And they would be right! As there is always something to do on the veggie plot and even more so with an organic vegetable garden or allotment. Usually weeding and lots of it (no weed killers for us). Gardening is very time consuming but I think you would agree it can be so very rewarding especially when you return home with all your lovely produce.

The post Protect your soil with green manure appeared first on Reconnect Magazine.

THERE are few things more frustrating than needlessly giving away your money. Here are a few of my money saving suggestions for you to try out in your vegetable garden, and make quite a saving throughout the coming year.

Old compost bags
Great for shovelling horse manure into, tiding the garden, collecting leaves to make leaf mould and when split open and weighted down with bricks or stones makes a great weed suppressant. Remove in 12 months time to find beautiful weed free soil.

Stinging nettles
Soak fresh young stinging nettles in a barrel of water, leave for 10-14 days, strain and water tomatoes, spuds, courgettes and beans – well almost anything really. (The same goes for Comfrey leaves). Oh I ought to just add that you may want to keep your barrel of liquid feed as far away from the house as possible. Cos it sure does stink!

Old feather pillows
They used to recommended that you plant a large dead bird in the ground and then plant your Rhubarb crown on top. Over the years this has become more civilised and an old pillow will do the same trick of slowly releasing nutrients into the soil.

Horse manure
Most stables are only too pleased to get rid of the stuff. The older the better, but if it is really fresh, stack it for 9-12 months. It will be worth the wait as it will have turned it a fantastic soil conditioner.

Wood ash
This can be used in two ways. Firstly as a deterrent for slugs and snails. Sprinkle a good helping around young plants such as courgettes and squashes. Secondly, wood ash is a rich source of potash which, when applied to fruit bushes, will help them ripen and it protects plants from some diseases. The onion patch will also benefit from it. Sprinkle on the surface and rake in.

Garlic
Crush a couple of cloves in water and spray the liquid to kill aphids.

Washing up liquid
It’s not quite as good as traditional soft soap but a very good substitute. Make a mix about three times as strong as you would for doing the dishes and spray bug infested plants. When you’ve finished with the bottle you can cut it into 15mm wide strips and make plant labels out of it.

Food trays and pots
The plastic punnets that mushrooms come in make fab seed trays, but don’t forget as they are smaller than proper seed trays you won’t need to sow the whole packet of seeds. Yogurt pots also make lovely little plant pots. Please remember to make holes in all reused containers for drainage holes.

Plastic bottles
By removing the lid and cutting the base off a 2lt or 5lt water bottle you can make a perfect mini cloche for individual seedlings. Brilliant for keeping your baby plants safe from late frosts.

Bean poles and pea sticks
Winter is a great time to cut hazel sticks from hedge rows. Long straight ones for climbing French beans or Runner beans and short branchy ones for supporting Peas and Mangetouts. Always get permission from the land owner before you start hacking away at someone else’s hedges!

Save your own seed
With some vegetable plants this can be fairly easy. The first thing to check is that the parent plant you are collecting from is not a F1 hybrid as the seeds from this will not come true. Most seed packets or seedling plant packs will say whether they are or not. The easiest seeds to collect are probably beans and peas. Leave some pods on the plants towards the end of your harvest and allow them to dry and go yellow. Once this has happened, pick them and allow them to carry on drying on a window sill or greenhouse bench. When completely dry, store in an envelope until sowing time next year.

Wooden pallets
So many things can be made from these. Probably the most useful one is a compost bin. Four pallets of similar size can either be nailed, screwed or even tied together to create a good sized bin. I have also seen and made myself in the past a very comfy garden bench out of them.

I hope you have enjoyed reading some of my suggestions for things you can do in the vegetable garden for free (or at least for very little money). l Just a reminder that Growers Organics nursery (next to Ben’s Farm Shop in Yealmpton) will reopen mid February 2019 and we shall also be back in the Totnes market square on Fridays from mid February. Happy Growing!

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