Page 42 - Simply Veg 4 2022

Seasonal jobs
October
Last month I mentioned sowing lettuce, radish and corn salad for winter use, and you can still sow them now. They can
all be grown in the greenhouse border when the summer crops have been removed just rake in some extra fertiliser first. They can also be grown outside but protect them with cloches if you have any. Radishes are best sown direct, in drills. Lettuce and corn salad can also be sown this way, but, as I have said before, I prefer to start them off in cell trays. Radishes for winter use are Black Spanish (S, R, Sh, B ), China rose (Sh ), and Mananghong ( D ). For lettuce, the variety most widely available is Vailan winter gem (most suppliers), but there are also Marvel of Four Seasons (Sh, B ), Arctic king (Sh ), and Brighton (D ). Corn salad has varieties Large leaved (D, S ) and Vit (Sh, B ).
You can also sow peas and broad beans for over wintering. They are both hardy,
but I think it is best to protect them with cloches. They can be sown direct, but I think it is better to start them off in small pots. By far the most widely available broad bean for over wintering is Aquadulce Claudia (most suppliers ), but there are also Superaquadulce (D, S, B, F ), Luz de Otono (D, S, M, B,)and De Monica (D, S, M, Sh,
B, F ). For peas, you need a round seeded
Antirrhinum Royal Bride
variety for they are hardier than wrinkled seeded ones. The most popular of these Douce Provence (most suppliers), There is also a new variety called Proval ( S ). Please see the end of these notes for the key to these suppliers.
I don’t sow my sweet peas till spring, but they can be sown now and over wintered if you want early flowers next year. They are hardy but it is best to sow them in pots and over winter them in a cold frame and plant out in March.
One other thing you could sow are herbs on the kitchen windowsill for winter use,
in pots. Parsley, coriander and basil are suitable. Alternatively, you could dig up a few plants from the garden and pot them up.
Onion sets and garlic can still be planted, if not done before. I told you the varieties
of onions to plant now, in August. I wrote more about garlic last month and told you
Spray chrysanths on allotment
the varieties, so I hope you have kept these notes.
If you have spring cabbage, cauliflowers, and broccoli ready for planting you need
to get them in this month while the ground is still reasonably warm. Rhubarb can be planted this month, or existing clumps can be dug up and divided. When re-planting divided clumps, see that each piece you are planting has at least one growing shoot or bud. Prepare the ground by forking in some compost or rotted manure. You can still plant salad crops such as lettuce and corn salad, but I think they would be better planted in the greenhouse border than outside.
You can still plant spring bulbs such as daffodils and narcissi as I said last month. Something else for planting now are spring bedding plants such as wallflowers and sweet Williams. If you haven’t grown any yourself from seed, there will be plenty
in the garden centres. Just rake in some general fertiliser before planting.
If perennials have finished flowering, cut them back to tidy them up. I mentioned dividing perennials last month and this can still be done but do it as soon as you can before the weather gets too cold.
Some annual flowers will keep flowering till next month but for others, the flowering may be over. When they have finished, pull them up and put them on the compost. If you clear the ground, you could plant bulbs or spring bedding as I have mentioned above. Gladioli should have finished now so they need cutting down and the corms dug up and dried to keep them till next year.
The first frost we get will put an end to the dahlias and blacken the foliage. In most years it doesn’t happen till November, but
it could happen before. The foliage needs cutting down to about 6 inches (15 cm) and putting on the compost. The tubers need to be dug up, dried and kept frost free over the
Basket of veg at harvest
42 Simply Vegetables
DEREK BROOKS FNVS