Greetings!
I had the day off today so have been able to catch up with a lot of jobs, hopefully you can find some time to spend in your garden over this long weekend.
I have recently visited three of your gardens and hope to launch a garden consultancy service soon so as to help you apply the advice that I have to offer.
|
What to do this week
Sow Rainbow or Swiss Chard
Two sowings a year of Rainbow or Swiss Chard will provide a great addition to many meals. You can either sow the seed direct in the soil if you have room or sow some in toilet rolls or other deep modules to plant out later when you have dug up your new potatoes.
Chard is a member of the same family as Beetroot and all of this family germinate better if you soak them briefly first. The easiest way is to put the seed in a tea strainer and run it under the tap for a few minutes. Follow the instructions on the packet for seed depth, it says not to transplant but to sow directly into the soil, but sowing in deep modules to minimise root disturbance seems to work fine.
Pot on Brassica seedlings
If you sowed Brassica seedlings [Nero Kale, Calabrese] a few weeks ago in modules they should now be ready to pot on. I used to sow Brassicas in seed tray or buy plants to plant out, but I have found better results growing them in modules then transferring to 5 inch pots before planting out when I have space in the garden. this was a method that I learnt from one of my favorite gardeners - Carol Klein.
|
What you could be eating now
This week I am eating Mizuna, a few early lettuce leaves, rhubarb, sorrel, parsley, chives, lemon balm and fennel leaves in my salad.
|
Your questions answered
"There are brown marks on the leaves of my potatoes, what is it? Mr MA Sussex
I have been struck by potato blight for the first time this year, it loves wet and warmish conditions. In the past I have used blight resistant potato varieties, but this year I tried a new variety 'Swift' which has caught the fungal disease Potato Blight. The 'organic' treatment for this is to spray with Bordeaux mixture every two weeks.
How can i deal with slugs?, has come up in conversation with several of you this week.
Over the 9 years that I have gardened here in Warnham slug and snail numbers have reduced dramatically. I have done this in several ways: by attracting birds to the garden that will eat slugs, by using coffee grounds [see Issue 1], Growing Success Slug pellets in moderation, crop protection (cut off plastic drinks bottles), beer traps and planting out bigger plants. I also go slug hunting at night with a torch sometimes and dispose of any slugs and snails that I see by putting them in the green waste bin. Read more in this interesting article here
* * * |
