Kitchen Gardener Rob Smith is thinking ahead for next year
It's been a really cracking year for asparagus in my kitchen garden and
I’m hoping to duplicate it next year by giving all my plants a little TLC now. The fronds are around 1.8m (6ft) tall at the minute and, due to their fern-like nature, they act as sails in the wind, therefore it’s time to give them some extra support to stop any summer gales flattening them.
I like to create a criss-cross fence around them out of bamboo canes, pushing them in around 30cm (1ft) to make sure they're sturdy, but hazel or any other branches will also work; I then tie thick string or rope around the structure like a boxing ring, normally where the canes cross as this makes the entire structure stronger. Do the same at the top of the canes and this will give the plants something to blow against in the wind rather than snap them on the lower string/rope.
I find doing this is much better than staking each crown, as the supports snap too easily; it’s better if they can flex and move a little.
While attending to my asparagus I remove as many weeds as I can by hand – the crowns have pretty shallow roots and I don’t want to damage them with a hoe. Follow this up with a good mulch of manure and the plants should crop just as well next year.
I need to make extra space in the raised beds for more Oriental veg and wintercropping lettuce, but I still have a row of scorzonera in one bed from last year because they were tiny when I came to harvest them. When I lifted the roots they were pencil thin and not worth eating, so I decided to leave them in for another year to grow a little more, and you’ll be glad to know it’s worked wonders, with the plants producing nice thick roots. I’ve dug the crop and removed the leaves, but be careful not to break the root as they produce a sticky liquid which can get you in to a real mess, especially when preparing them. A handy hint is to either scald the root and then scrape the skin off, or boil then peel, otherwise you may find yourself in a real tangle in the kitchen!
I’ve been harvesting calendula flowers for a few months now; normally I dry them and use as ‘poor man’s saffron’ in food, but I’ve also heard they can be made
into a healing oil for scrapes or sunburn, as well as being good for itchy eczema. Simply dry the flowers, remove the petals and soak in almond oil for a month before straining, then use as it is or go one step further to mix with beeswax to make an ointment. If you still have winter brassicas to plant out, now's a good time to get them in, and it’s also time to start sowing spring cabbages. These are normally conical in shape, with ‘Advantage' F1 a variety I like to grow. By sowing the seeds now, the seedlings should be big enough to plant out in September or October, as long as you keep
them protected from hungry pigeons and slugs.