Page 42 - Simply Vegetables Winter 2022/23

February
I wrote last month about manuring and preparing the ground for this year’s crops. If you haven’t finished doing
this yet make every effort to finish it
this month. It is rare for me to finish my allotment in January. There is also still time to dig the trenches for runner beans and fill them with compost and similar materials.
When the ground is ready you can still plant fruit trees, bushes, rhubarb, shallots and garlic as I described last month. Apart from planting rhubarb, if you already have some in large clumps they can be divided and re-planted this month. See that each division has a large growing eye (bud) on before re-planting. Prepare the ground the same way as if you were planting new ones.
If you planted shallots in pots, as I do, last month or last December they will need re-potting into larger pots either this month or next when the roots have filled the small pots; using the same growing media.
You can still sow onions and leeks as I described last month if you have a heated greenhouse or propagator. I also mentioned sowing broad beans in pots or modules, but you can risk sowing them direct in the beds covered with cloches. Sow them 9 inches (22.5 cm.) apart 2 inches (5cm.) deep.
Also, if you have a heated greenhouse with a propagator, you can sow tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, aubergines and celery. I prefer to sow cucumbers singly in pots because the seeds are large enough. Sow the others as I described last month for onions and leeks. Celery seed as the smallest of all vegetable seeds so sow these as thinly as you can. Lettuce and beetroot can also be sown the same way,
Sorting canes
but I prefer to sow them in cell trays, just a few seeds in each cell, thinned to one when they germinate. They do not need to go in a propagator, just leave them on the staging or on a shelf.
Most of the half hardy annual flower seeds are sown in March but there are
a few that benefit from an earlier start. These are salvias, petunias, lobelia,
and antirrhinums. There are also some perennials that flower in their first
year if sown early enough. Examples
are penstemons, achillea and dwarf delphiniums. Sow them in seed trays as
I have described before and put them in
a propagator if you have one. I also put a sheet of glass over the trays then a sheet
of newspaper. I have some sheets of glass cut to the right size for the trays. After about
three days you need to keep looking to
see if the seeds have germinated. When they have done so, you need to remove the glass and paper and take the tray out of the propagator because they need more light.
I have written before about the importance of growing flowers in a vegetable garden or allotment to attract beneficial insects. Apart from those I have just mentioned that I grow from seed I also grow spray Chrysanths, dahlias and gladioli on my allotment.
When Chrysanths have finished flowering in the autumn, the roots (now called stools) are boxed up in deep boxes and kept frost free over winter. When the weather warms up in spring they will start growing and you can take cuttings. If you can, though, it is best to give them some warmth to start them growing earlier. I have warming benches in the greenhouse for this purpose and now is the time to give them this extra heat if you can.
Dahlia tubers, when dug up in the autumn are left to dry somewhere frost free over winter. As I said for Chrysanths, it is time to start them into growth if you can give them some bottom heat. Plant them in boxes of compost so that the surface of the tubers are just above the compost. They can be packed quite close together. If you cannot give them extra heat it would be
Garlic planted
Chrysanth stools boxed up
42 Simply Vegetables