TIPS from our gardening expert JOA GROWER include what you should have dried, what to plant, and how to make leaf mold – mulch fun in the garden.
WELL what a glorious summer we have had, and didn’t it make the vegetable garden flourish! All the onions and garlic should be dried and stored and the potato crop dug up and put in to paper or Hessian sacks. Store all of these in a cool shed or garage and they should last well into the start of next year. You may still have a few tomatoes hanging on your plants. It’s probably best to remove these and place them on a sunny windowsill to finish ripening or maybe make them into green tomato chutney. Harvest all Squashes and Pumpkins this month. They are amazing aren’t they?! All different shapes and sizes. After you have dried them in the late autumn sun, these can also be stored in a cool dark place but do check them regularly to make sure they are not starting to go mouldy. If they are use them up quickly. Okay, now out into the garden and there are probably lots of empty spaces. Rather than leaving them fallow why not sow some green manures? There are lots to chose from Vetches, Clovers and Tares but the one we prefer to use at Growers Organics is Rye grain. It is cheap, easy to get hold of (your local wholefood shop will probably stock it), and easy to use, just broadcast the seed quite thick over the surface and then gently rake it in over the surface. You may need to put up a few bird scares – old CDs or foil trays dangling from bamboo canes always work well. Cut the rye grass down in late winter or early spring and add to the compost bin. The roots can then be dug into the soil. Remember to leave the bed at least a month before sowing any seeds into it. Your time could also be spent tiding up and clearing away pots, trays, canes and odd tools that got left out. I find it much nicer to do this job now it rather than leaving it until the depths of winter. Check all your winter brassicas, some of the taller varieties may need tying up 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 like their roots to be firmly in the soil when they are growing. Late autumn is a great time to collect leaves to make your own leaf mold. This is very easy to do, either make a large wire mesh cage and pile in as many as you can or alternately fill black bin bags with leaves and before you tie up the top add a sprinkling of water, then pierce the bags 3 or 4 times with a garden fork. Store for 18-24 months. It really does turn into the finest rich dark soil improver. l JUST a reminder that Growers Organics nursery in Yealmpton will reopen early February 2019.
Late autumn sowing
NOW is an ideal time to sow broad bean seeds. Pick a suitable variety like Super Aquadulce. You can sow them direct into your soil (but beware that rodents will be starting to get a little bit hungry around this time and bean seeds make a lovely meal for a mouse!) or, as I prefer, sow them in to pots or trays and plant out when 10-20cm tall, or alternatively you can purchase them all ready to go. Onions and garlic can also be sown now and this will give you a slightly earlier, bigger crop. So they’re well worth doing! Use unheated green houses to sow a few winter hardy salad leaves such as Mizuna, Rocket and winter hardy lettuces. Visitors to our nursery: just to let you know we are now closed for the winter and will reopen mid February. Thank you to all our wonderful customers who have supported us this year.