OUR gardening expert JOA GROWER offers advice for many you who have been growing veg for the first time.
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.