Page 46 - Simply Vegetables Summer 2022

September
You can still sow winter and spring cabbages, cauliflowers, lettuce, radish, and corn salad. I mentioned the varieties to sow at this time of the year in July
and August. You can still sow hardy annual flowers and green manure as I suggested last month.
You may have plants ready for planting from earlier sowings, such as cabbages, cauliflowers, and broccoli. Onion sets can also be planted for spring use if not done before. I told you the varieties of these last month.
There are varieties of garlic for planting in spring and some for planting in the autumn. These can be planted now or in October or November. Elephant garlic is in practically every catalogue. Both Dobies and Suttons have Messidrome, Germidour, Carcasonne Wight, Edenrose and Caulk Wight. The
last variety is also stocked by Browns and Fothergills. Carcasonne Wight is also in
the catalogues of Marshalls and Browns. Garlic varieties are classified as either “softneck” or “hardneck”. Hardneck varieties are hardier and more suitable for Northern gardens. All the varieties mentioned above are hardneck apart from Messidrome and Germidour.
Cactus dahlia Hillcrest Candy
for different crops. Tomatoes in pots or growbags need feeding once a week and keep on removing side shoots on cordon grown plants. Also, make sure you keep
out the tops. You do not want them to keep growing and producing tomatoes that
will not ripen. It is more important that the plants give their energy to ripen tomatoes already produced. Also, the shading that was applied earlier can now be removed.
It is a good idea to tidy up the strawberry bed by removing dying leaves and any rubbish that has collected among the plants.
If you wish to plant any new fruit trees or bushes, there are always plenty in garden centres, in pots. These can be planted any time. However, you get a better choice
of varieties by ordering from specialist suppliers. They will arrive by post and
will be bare rooted. These can only be planted during the dormant season, from November onwards. The reason I am telling you about them now is that it is the time
to be ordering them. So, send for some catalogues or look online for them. You will have time to prepare the ground for them over the next couple of months. Fork it
It is also time to plant
spring bulbs. Tulips are
normally left till November
to prevent a disease called
“tulip fire”, but daffodils,
narcissi, crocuses, and
others are planted this
month. They look better
planted in drifts or clumps
of several bulbs rather than singly. There should be plenty of choice of varieties in shops and garden centres.
Many of the jobs to do now are continuing to do what I suggested last month. For example, carry on giving veg and flowers such as Chrysanths, dahlias and gladioli supplementary feeds every few weeks. I wrote about it last month, explaining different types of fertilisers
up with the watering on
all plants when they need doing, dead heading and making sure all plants are securely tied to their canes. Another job I mentioned last month was blanching leeks and celery. The length of the blanching material
is increased as the plants
grow. They may have finished growing by now but if they haven’t, you need to continue the blanching.
Summer raspberries can still be pruned as I described in July, and blackberries and loganberries. Just cut down the canes that have fruited and tie in the others.
Now for a few jobs that I didn’t mention last month. When tomato plants have reached the top of the greenhouse, pinch
It is also time to plant spring bulbs
Climbing French beans Rob Roy (Robinsons)
Spray chrysanths on allotment
46 Simply Vegetables