No rest on the plot!
It’s a busy new year as I harvest parsnips, force sea kale, sow broad beans and order potatoes
As the new year continues, there are still veggies from last season to harvest, seeds to be started and beds to be prepared for spring, while still experiencing frustrations with pesky pigeons!
With many parsnips being harvested over the last couple of months, it’s time to take more when the soil is workable, allowing me to make a batch of soup and free up space in the bed at the same time. Once the long roots have been harvested, I’ll be adding a good 10cm layer of well-rotted compost to the bed, enriching the soil for the season ahead; however, I won’t be growing root veg in this bed as the manure can cause them to twist and fork.
In the corner of the same bed, I have a sea kale plant that’s happily grown there for years and it’s now time to start producing one of the most overlooked vegetables in the Kitchen Garden. Sea kale can be forced by placing a special forcer over the plant before it starts to grow – it’s like a rhubarb forcer, but shorter and wider, though an old plastic bin or large bucket will work. This causes the plant to produce tender, pale stems which are a real delicacy in spring, and something you can’t buy in the shops. Keep checking under the forcer every few weeks, and you’ll soon see the shoots appearing.
In the greenhouse, I’m sowing a few of the more hardy veg in trays and modules. The protection of the greenhouse means the seedlings will get off to the best start and won’t be damaged by the elements like they would outside. I’m starting a few lettuces in a seed tray; the mix I’m using is from last year’s seeds, and I’m sowing them thicker than usual to account for a lower germination of older seeds, and the fact I may lose a few to the cold weather. The secret to starting any seed at this time of year is to keep the compost just moist, as excess water won’t evaporate as quickly and can cause seeds to rot before they sprout.
Broad beans are also being started in large modules, with one seed per cell. I’m growing a very rare variety this year, called ‘Atawallpa's Fingerprint’, an unusual bean with an almost wood grain, or fingerprint, look
to the seeds. I won’t be eating many as I want to save the seeds to share with gardening friends, but they are grown just like regular broad beans. I’ll leave them on the greenhouse shelf so mice can’t dig and eat them!
One thing I haven’t ordered yet is my seed potatoes; it’s slipped my mind until now. Along with my usual favourite ‘Charlotte’, I’m going to order main crop variety ‘Caledonian Rose’, which I grew this year. Not only did it produce a great crop, but the tubers were large and tasty. I doubt I’ll grow any other types as they’re inexpensive in the shops, and I’d rather use the growing space for something more costly or hard to find. It’s always better to grow what you can’t buy.