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How to get an early start to reach the top of the crops
IF you’re an old hand at ‘grow your own’ or were inspired to grow some of your own fruit and veg during the pandemic, an early harvest is always welcome. But only try crops that are likely to succeed.
Writing this towards the end of January, my garden soil temperature was a measly 3C.
It will slowly warm up, but only overwintering plants could survive, never mind thrive, in such cold ground. So we have to warm the soil for new plantings.
I admit that I used to be so desperate to get going in the garden, that I tried bringing on broad beans and sugar peas in the greenhouse in January for planting out in late February/early March.
But the weak sun ensured the poor seedlings grew very slowly. A second sowing a month later was much better. I got more good plants and the crop was ready for harvesting at much the same time as the first one.
I had learned the hard way that plants only perform well when allowed to grow steadily and when conditions are right.
They never recover if checked through too little or scorching light, fluctuating temperatures and over or under watering.
So, be patient for another 2-3 weeks. Put pea and bean seed in a saucer of water for 24 hours and cover with damp kitchen towel.
Then sow in biodegradable pots, using home-made compost or peatfree multi purpose compost and bring on in a greenhouse or on a windowsill till the plants are large enough for planting.
Prepare plants for the outdoors by ‘hardening off’. This means taking seedlings outdoors during the day and bringing back in at night for 7-10 days.
Spinach and Swiss chard are also worth trying in a couple of weeks. You could direct sow in the open ground in March but, again, you’ll get speedier results by sowing in moist compost indoors.
Because each ‘seed’ is actually a capsule containing several seeds, sow very thinly, either in a seed tray or a pot as I do. Lettuce, oriental greens, rocket and the like can also be treated this way for planting out under cloches.
Small root crops, such as white turnips, beetroot and fast-growing little carrots like Paris Market, need to be direct sown in warm open ground.
Even broad beans, the toughest plants I’ve mentioned here, need a soil temperature of at least 5C, so use a cloche to first warm the soil. Although I don’t recommend digging over a bed, loosen the top layer of soil to aerate the ground, allowing it to warm up more quickly.
I find a cultivator acts almost like a rake, but a rake would be fine.
Then cover the bed with a cloche made from heavy duty clear polythene or clear plastic sheeting. We have no realistic alternatives to plastic for this, I’m afraid. There are plenty choices of size, shape and price online, ranging from the very
simple to more elaborate.
If the cost of quite small cloches horrifies you, why not make your own? Buy a roll of clear plastic, wide enough to be at least 30cm above the ground.
Buy square or semi-circular hoops and build the size of cloche you want.
The cover must not lie on the ground as we need air to warm the soil inside the cloche and the further off the ground it is, the more effective the cloche will be. Fleece protects plants against wind and pests, but does nothing for temperature.
Leave the cloche in place for 2-3 weeks and hoe off any weed flush. During sunny weather, pull aside the plastic to prevent overheating.