Kitchen Gardener Rob Smith says goodbye to veg gluts with planning
Successional sowing, potting up and growing will reap tasty rewards later
When it comes to growing some veg, such as different types of brassicas, it’s easier all round if you sow and grow a few plants every couple of weeks rather than all at the same time. Growing lots of the same plants can cause a glut, which can be difficult to deal with, especially in the height of the season. For this reason,
I sow a few broccoli and cauliflower two to three weeks apart at this time of year as it will extend my harvest and means I don’t have to eat broccoli seven days a week, or fill my freezer with it!
S ome of the cauliflowers I sowed previously are now almost ready to pot on into their own pots in the cold frame; I didn’t sow directly into a seed bed as this year has just been too wet.
I find growing in 9-10cm (4in) pots gives a better plant that can grow well once it’s planted out.
It’s also time to pot up any early tomato, chilli and aubergine plants into their own pots now, too. I use a mix of peat-free organic compost from Melcourt, with some added worm castings and sand – the plants find it easier to grow through this mix.
If you haven't started any tomatoes off yet, don’t worry as there’s still time if you start them soon; in fact, some can be sown up until April. I find it helps to grow smaller-fruited varieties if you’ve left it a little late, this ensures the fruit will still ripen, as opposed to large-fruited varieties, which may not have enough growing time to produce a decent crop.
I’ve already got a few large pots of potatoes started in the greenhouse, but first earlies can now be started in the garden, as long as it’s not waterlogged! Parts of my garden are still too boggy, so I’m starting my tubers off in large pots, then they can either stay in them until it’s time to crop them, or I can carefully transplant them to an open bed (as long as the plants aren't too large). When planting in pots, make sure to only fill with compost a quarter full, then add the tubers and then cover with another quarter of compost; this allows you to add more compost as the plants grow, meaning more tubers from each plant. Make sure to keep fleece handy if frost is forecast – the growing tips will blacken and die back if caught by the cold.
I’m trying to increase the number of globe artichokes I have in the borders as both the birds and I love
them. Once you have a plant, you won’t need to buy another as you can propagate your own by easing the small off shoots from the main plants (including a little of the roots). Then remove most of the large leaves down to where the smaller new leaves are developing.
By removing the leaves, the plants won’t lose too much water and die before they start to grow. Pot the offsets up and keep them under cover and moist; they should start to grow and put roots down, ready to plant out in a few months.