Terry Walton’s cramming in more crops!
I just can’t resist using up every bit of space to grow more tasty veg
We’ve entered the glorious month of May and the hopes of the gardening fraternity soar high. To me, May is the best month in the gardening calendar – spring’s slipping away and summer’s approaching fast. The weather’s getting warmer, the days lengthen and the worries of a last visit from ‘Mr Frost’ recede. The plot almost changes before our eyes, as seeds germinate, breaking up the drab appearance of the soil. The coming days will bring us pleasant sunshine, gentle rain and plenty of hours of sheer enjoyment.
Early May is the time to slow down our sowing regime and take another look at the plan. If you’re like me, the basic plan has been adhered to but a little more space has been used up than expected! Take a look in the greenhouse and see what you still have that hasn’t been planted out on the plot. Check the seed tin, too, for purchases not yet sown. You may be surprised that the amount of ground you have left doesn’t match up to the total. But don’t worry, be like me and rethink your strategy – simply ‘cram’ it in! If the ground has been prepared well and the fertility is high, all these extras should grow!
The onion seeds sown back in December have finally made seedlings big enough to be planted out. They were ‘Mammoth’, ‘Mammoth Red’ and ‘Santero’, and they’ll be safely planted in ground enriched with well- rotted manure. These like a firm soil so I work off my wooden plank to plant them out, and this provides the dual purpose of firming the soil and allowing me to stand on the soil without forming deep holes. These are planted further apart than the onion sets at 12.5cm (5in) apart and, if they perform to type, will make larger, sweeter onions.
With the risk of cold nights receding, I can safely sow courgette and marrow seeds. Both are sown in 7½cm (3in) pots singly in a good compost and covered with 2cm (¾in) of compost. My choice of marrow this year is ‘Badger Cross’, which has a compact nature and won’t roam far from its planting spot. This variety is resistant to virus and produces a good crop of lightly striped marrows.
For courgettes I’ve been given climbing variety ‘Black Forest’. I always grow too many, which take up too much space. I’m hoping to grow them vertically and save ground space for other crops. I’ll sow both in my greenhouse at about 20C (68F) before hardening off and planting out in late May.
With the plot filling up I like to put up my bean canes. It’s the only vegetable on my plot that has its own path so the canes help me work out the space left. These are grown between poles and the canes are tied to a straining wire to support this heavy crop.