Kitchen Gardener Rob Smith plants more herbs and an early crop of potatoes
At this time of year it really does help having a greenhouse or tunnel to protect plants or germinate seedlings, though a sunny windowsill will allow you to sow a few seeds and you can even start some herbs and veg outside in something as simple as a small cold frame.
I’m a huge fan of herbs in the kitchen garden, not just because we eat so many of them, but because they help keep pests away from veg crops with their strong fragrances – it confuses the insects. For both those reasons I’m propagating more mint and chives to grow in containers dotted around the veg beds; they should help prevent carrot fly and butterflies from damaging my crops. Plus, there’s the added benefit of loads of fresh herbs that can also be dried. To increase your mint plants it’s as simple as whittling a length of root out of the soil around the base of the plant, then chopping into sections 5cm (2in)long, laying them in a tray of damp compost and covering with more compost, then leaving them to root in a cold frame or under cover (there’s no need for a greenhouse). Similarly, chives can be dug up, the rootball chopped into sections so that each has a good bit of root and new shoots, then either replanted or potted up and growing them on; it really is that easy. Plus I add chives to the flower borders and leave them to flower – they’re simply gorgeous!
Sadly, it’s time to harvest my final Brussels sprouts from under their protective netting. I’ll be chopping the tough stalk into sections to add to the compost heap and then removing the covers so that hungry birds can clean the beds of any over-wintered insects, which could cause me problems with my next crop. I’ll also be moving my crop cage to another bed as it’s best to rotate and not grow brassicas in the same bed for another year.
If you’re like me and grow fruit bushes in pots, it’s a good time to check
If you have a greenhouse or a tunnel you can start a few first early potatoes (I’m using ‘Charlotte’) off in containers, if you don’t mind giving them a bit of TLC to keep them going. While the rest of the tubers are in the shed chitting, I’ll plant a few in large containers, which are wrapped in hessian or bubblewrap, and then covered in a double layer of horticultural fleece; this not only allows the plants to start growing, it also means you should have a harvest of tasty new potatoes in late May and June. You grow them in the same way as later-planted tubers, earthing them up as the shoots appear; just remember the fleece is needed to help protect the delicate shoots from any
harsh frosts, which could still make it into the greenhouse.