Page 55 - Simply Vegetables Autumn 2021

Westmorland and North Lancashire DA
After a slow start and poor germination, I’ve finally had a half decent crop of peas and managed to save seed from good plants for next year.
Cobra climbing beans are cropping well (2nd August) and the runner beans are too. Brassicas in general are doing well. I’m growing these under an enviromesh frame. This not only keeps off butterflies and moths but also protects against root fly. The area I’m growing them in has a patch of club root, so I hoed in 2oz per square yard of Perlka three weeks before planting. I’m growing three club root resistant varieties, Monclano calabrese, Clapton caulies and Crispus sprouts plus some standard varieties, Boris caulies, Trafalgar sprouts, Tweed swede, Kalettes and January King cabbage. All look well so far. The problem I find with winter cabbage particularly January King is they get full of small slugs. To combat this, I planted January King through bottomless buckets. The plan was to draw the cabbage to create a ‘leg’ to make it harder for the slugs to
enter, removing the buckets before the cabbages got too big. Unfortunately, I left it too late and the buckets are still in place so it remains to be seen if it has worked. Most of the local shows have been cancelled again this year but I did get to judge Milnthorpe allotments which included best kept hen pen. It was difficult to pick a winner, but I eventually settled on one that was tidy, well filled with good variety, a seat under fruit trees and a fenced off composting area.
Unfortunately, due to changes at the Club Inn we are not yet able to publish details of our talks for the coming winter season. When we find out more we will publish our programme in future editions of Simply Vegetables, the NVS website and our Westmorland & North.Lancs. D.A. Facebook page.
Meetings held at the Club Inn, Main St. Endmoor, Kendal, Cumbria LA8 0EU. Further details; Jim Robinson 015395 61053 jim.robinson45@hotmail.co.uk
Jim Robinson
Westmorland and North Lancashire DA
These notes usually cover the activities of our local DA but as like everywhere else things are at a standstill on that front and it seems very likely that January will be the earliest that we
will be able to consider any meetings, though with the Club Inn where we meet is undergoing changes to their opening days and hours, so we are in a wait and see mode.
Nevertheless, I am sure things will get sorted and when it becomes clear we will certainly be ready to get going again. One thing Judy and I did was visit the Great Yorkshire Show and we spent most of the day helping Geoff Wilson and Adrian Reid on the NVS stand congratulations to everyone who helped with supplying the veg and staging the display it looked really well and deserved the Gold medal,
on the Tuesday when we were there
it certainly created a lot of interest, the pot leek was probably the star attraction but the whole stand created a lot of questions and let’s hope inspired some people to grow their own and maybe even join the NVS.
On the home front it’s been a steady sort of year in that I have just been enjoying growing for the kitchen and not thinking too much about timing for any shows and as it has turned
out with all the local shows have been cancelled for a second season which is a big disappointment, but quite understandable why the various committees have had to take these decisions.
Every growing season seems to have its ups and downs and this year has been no exception. I have just
about finished lifting most of the overwintering onion sets, they have been very variable in size mainly I suspect because from late February when I planted out the pots, they
were started in I have been plagued with jackdaws constantly pecking
and pulling them out, I was kept busy replanting and firming them back in nevertheless most survived. My march sown seed seem to have been much less trouble although the slugs did make a mess of some in one corner of the plot in another month, they will be ready for lifting and putting into store. I also have 10 large exhibition onions growing in the greenhouse maybe not the biggest around but looking decent sorts.
The potatoes this year have been grown direct in the ground as I didn’t fancy filling bags with compost and seem to be looking healthy enough and the one row of earlies which I grew have been dug up as we have needed them and are now just about finished, I have had to water them quite a lot recently (mid-July ) with temperatures getting close to 30 degrees but it would have been a trickier job getting watering right if they had been in bags.
My tomatoes are starting to crop pretty well now, I grew Mimi again that we got for free last year as I found them a nice variety and being yellow, they along with the red ones (Ferline) I grow make a colourful display I was a lucky to get some Mimi seed as they were not available in catalogues this year. The Ferline I don’t think I will grow again they just seem a bit slow growing and not a heavy cropper, but
they are quite tasty.
The pot leeks have been interesting
to grow although I seem to be lacking some growth compared to other peoples, and I notice one or two have now gone a bit wedge shaped, it must be a problem with my growing as they were from top stock, I am not sure why this is but I might find out one day.
Also my Cucumbers (Socrates) are now just to the top of the greenhouse side and I am starting to train them horizontally so they hang down and grow straighter and away from getting scratched from leaves, but on the downside I have noticed a bit of red spider damage on the leaves , I am treating them with predator mites
but I’m not totally convinced they are winning
With a bit of luck, I will try and get a set to the National at Atcham. If I don’t make it there, I will defiantly be at Newby Hall for the Northern area show helping Jim Robinson with the staging overnight so might see you then. James Park
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