Page 18 - Simply Vegetables Winter 2022/23

Specialist mixtures commonly
used for exhibition
Growth and production from these mixes is remarkable, both quality and size are to be proud of.
Last year I had the opportunity to grow both potatoes and carrots from the best special mixes available, produced in 50 litre bags and delivered on a pallet.
How much you are likely to need?
Stump rooted carrots grown in a 3-inch (7.5cm) diameter plugs cored out into sand; 18 inch (45cm) deep will take 3.5 litres of compost before they settle.
Parsnips and Long carrots will need at least 15 litres each to totally fill 6 feet (1.8m) of a 4-inch (10cm) pipe or plug in a sand box.
Potatoes are grown in 20 litre bags!
Work out your order and keep within budget!
Consider mixing your own with these guidelines you are keeping a tight check on your budget.
These formulae are suitable for most root vegetables and offered for all to use, possibly with magic bits missed out!
Potato mix. For each seed potato to be grown for exhibition. Added to a specialist 20 litre peat/peat-free container:
12 oz. Chempak Calcified Seaweed.
16 oz. Vitax Q4. [Perhaps a bit less for the Variety Winston].
of planting and treated to avoid
disease in seedlings.
• Successful and established growers:
May make their superior seed available to you securing provisions of their own strains for the future.
Establishment
Producing seedlings in the greenhouse.
Getting off to an early start, before your tomatoes are planted, the green house is the best nursery for producing seedlings in boxes transferring them into a cloche or frame to harden off.
Specialist growing composts are prepared so that seedlings are less likely to damp-off. Inevitably these soon run out of plant food. The seedlings will stop growing unless they are pricked-out into cells containing a stronger compost and are regularly watered with a dilute liquid fertilizer until they are big enough to be transferred directly into the allotment.
Direct sowing and planting the seed.
Many plants like the seed to be established directly into their final position, make a drill by following a line across the garden.
Give them plenty of room.
• Beans:Likeadrill12inch(30cm)wide
with the seed 2 inches (5cm) deep and 4 inch (10cm) apart.
expertise will have expanded to produce even more and better displays.
Gladioli fit agreeably into an allotment rotation, being grown in straight rows they can be planted to follow a crop of potatoes or other vegetable. Grow in the kind of
soil your onion bed is on and they provide a colourfully gap between the different vegetables.
After reading this article you may find that you have a bit of catching up to do! This timing is not too critical as most of the groundwork can be done next spring.
To begin with: Having affordability
in mind, there are four ways to obtain corms to produce blooms that you will be wonderfully proud of:
• Rescuesomefromyourestablished flower garden.
• Buy a low-cost pack of mixed varieties either on-line or from your local garden centre.
• Re-generate corms from the year’s growth.
• Contact and buy from a specialist grower whose knowledge is generously available and as well as supplying British varieties will have selected stocks from Holland and American, all classified by size, colour and earliness of bloom.
At the moment [October] I am propagating corms chosen from this year’s stock and I have ordered new varieties from a specialist grower. When they are delivered, they will be stored away from the frost in a cool dry place until spring. When they show signs of early shoot development, they will be encouraged to grow in some damp compost.
In the next edition, I will describe the practical steps of summer cultivation and management. Join me in my quest to be more regularly successful in growing this queen of flowers.
“Good luck with your efforts!”
The Chempak and Q4
are finely ground and mixed evenly into the mixture. They will probably contain amply quantities of essential plant foods and trace elements. Nearer harvest further supplements can be sprayed onto the developing haulms.
Carrot mix. This is generally based on a F2S compost [Fine with added sand] which gives a smooth finish to the skins.
There are many reliable outlets often advertised with discounts and special offers for NVS members
• Parsnips: Are grown in rows 2 ft.(60cm) apart, with plants at 12-inch (30cm) intervals into plugs filled by 18 inch (45cm) of fine soil.
• Cabbages and Greens: Prepare 6-inch wide
(15cm) drills at 6 in (15cm) intervals. Sow the seed down the middle of the
drill 6 inches (15cm) apart and 1 inch (2cm) deep. Lift excess plants to prevent overcrowding when they are 4 inches (10cm) high.
You will need to add an extra 4 ounces (110gms) of fine calcified seaweed and 4 ounces (110gms) of Vitax Q4, both finely ground and mixed uniformly.
The extensive choice of seeds
for you to consider
There are no short cuts, good quality seed will produce quality plants.
They are available by:
• Buyingfromestablishedcatalogues:
There are many reliable outlets often advertised with discounts and special offers for NVS members.
• Use top of the range seed for potatoes: Certified for purity and freedom from disease, probably originating from Scotland.
• Specialist providers for serious vegetable growers: They are often supplying seeds coloured for accuracy
• Peas: Establish in rows 12 inch (30cm) wide with plants 6 inch (15cm) apart. They can be successfully
grown when the seeds are planted straight into row, but are they are effectively grown in plugs and planted- out when avoiding mice!
Gladioli
Gladioli blooms are a magnificent spectacle whenever they are displayed, be it at home, a local show or a gift to a friend. They are very useful if entering classes that require
a fruit, vegetable and flower like the master gardener classes; they are a good exhibit that can hold their own against dahlias and Chrysanths and are easier to grow. When you successfully produce flower blooms of great quality the first year’s efforts are most agreeable. Following a simple plan in your first year you can create a splendid result. In following years your knowledge and
18 Simply Vegetables