Page 47 - Simply Vegetables Autumn 2021

November 2021
Many crops will have finished now including all the annual flowers. Continue removing the plants and put them on the compost provided they are not diseased. Make every effort to clear the vacant ground, unless it is too wet or frozen, forking it over and removing weeds. I don’t put weeds
on the compost as I have enough material without them so they go in the re-cycling bin at home. I have emphasised before the importance of well made compost for enriching the soil and I have told you how I organise my compost bays. I normally have some that is ready for use at this time of year. If you have, spread it on this vacant ground and fork it in or let the worms do it for you.
I think it is too late to sow seeds outside but you can still sow broad beans and peas in pots in the green- house to plant out later. I suggested the varieties last month. You can also still sow herbs on the kitchen windowsill for winter use, as I said last month.
Onion sets and garlic can still be planted and I told you the varieties of these last month.
Rhubarb can still be planted and existing clumps dug up and split and re-planted if needed. Also if you fancy some rhubarb crumble early next year, why not have a go at forcing some.
You dig up a few roots and plant them
in deep boxes or pots then take them into the greenhouse or polytunnel and cover them with an upturned bucket to exclude light. These plants can be planted outside again after but don’t force them again for a few years.
If you are growing chicory to produce chicons, they need to be forced as well. Lift the roots , cut back the foliage and plant them in boxes. You don’t need to force them all at once but plant a few at a time in pots with their tops just showing and put them in a warm place and place a pot or bucket over them to exclude light as for rhubarb.
For the last two months I have mentioned planting spring bulbs such as daffodils and narcissus but now it is time for tulips. They are normally left till November because, if planted too early the new soft growth is prone to a disease called tulip fire.
It is now the beginning of the season for planting bare rooted trees and shrubs including fruit trees and roses. I have written the method of planting before but it is worth repeating for
the benefit of beginners. If you have ordered any from a supplier they will probably arrive this month so I hope you have prepared the ground for them. You can’t, of course, plant them if the ground is frozen or too wet, so in this case just plant them temporary
Sprouts
Turnips and beetroot just harvested
till conditions improve. Dig a hole large enough to take the roots. If you are planting a tree put a stake in first. Fruit trees and roses are grafted onto
a rootstock which determines their eventual height. You can see the joint on the stem where this union has taken place and when planted this should be just above soil level. So put the tree roots in the hole to check
the height and remove more soil if needed. Mix some compost or manure and some bonemeal with the removed soil then re-fill the hole round the roots, treading the soil down as you go but see that the graft union stays at the same level. Finally, secure the tree to the stake.
Simply Vegetables 47