Summer’s on the way, so Terry Walton sows his winter swede
Tasty variety ‘Invitation’ will stand whatever the winter throws at it!
It’s no wonder the most talked about topic of conversation on this island of ours is the weather. Our climate must be the most varied anywhere and can range from the depths of winter to the blaze of summer in less than a week! Previously shivering plants have been flopping in the afternoon sun. It’s scant wonder they’re confused about what season it is!
The other factor that’s affecting them is that the ground has been very dry. It was weeks ago that the last decent rainfall fell on my hillside. Since then, I’ve been teased by squally showers which barely wet the ground. As the plot fills with new sowings there’s the daily routine of watering to keep them progressing. These young plants have to develop a deep root system before they’re well established.
Despite the difficulties out on the plot, sowing in the greenhouse continues. It’s the turn of the swede, the last of my mainstay winter crops to be sown. I’m using the variety ‘ Invitation’, which is a club root-resistant type. It also has a high resistance to powdery mildew. Despite all its good properties, it’s also tasty and stands whatever the winter throws at it!
I don’t sow my swedes directly in the soil as they get decimated by the flea beetle. Mine are sown in 24-compartment seed trays filled with good seed compost. Two to three seeds are sown in each compartment and lightly covered with compost. I water and place a piece of glass over the tray and within a week seedlings are emerging. These are thinned at true leaf stage and extra seedlings can be given to fellow allotmenteers to transplant. They can be planted out when they’ve made decentsized plants and grow away unhindered.
My ‘slowcoach’ peppers are at last big enough to be planted into their final large pots. I grow my peppers on an Octagrow, which holds eight large pots and sits on a reservoir of water. These pots have a few inches of well-rotted manure at the base and the pot’s filled with good growing compost, to which is added a handful of blood, fish and bone. These are grown up on some staging at the back of the greenhouse, where it’s warmest and, hopefully, most sunny.
Despite the cool periods, my lettuces, ‘All the Year Round’, have been growing happily under a cloche. These have been watered regularly and twice a week given a feed of seaweed extract. All this care has paid off and they’re ready to harvest. At last the ‘hunger gap’ is closing!