GONE with the frosts are our worries for our vulnerable seedlings at night and with summer here the possibilities for our resident green fingered expert, TANYA PEARSON are endless.
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.