Page 24 - Allotment Gardener Issue 2 2024

ON THE
KINGS PLOT
From late November 2023 to early February 2024
By Andrew Tokely, Horticultural Director, Kings Seeds
Surprise are still dormant and are often the last rhubarb to start shooting on our site. I never worry about this as it extends the harvest period well into the summer. If I want a few earlier sticks, my neighbouring plotholder
has one of the earliest varieties on site which started shooting in January, so it won’t be long before a few sticks are ready to pull.
In the glasshouse, I already have onion Globo - pricked out in cell trays - that were sown at Christmas, and are just starting to produce
their first true leaf. I also have some nice leeks growing from leek pips supplied by a friend
that rooted them back in November and sent to me after Christmas to pot on. These already stand about 15cm tall and are a bit thinner than a pencil. These will be ready to plant out in April and should produce some early leeks for early autumn shows.
The first sowings of sweet and chilli peppers have been made in the heated propagator
Well, to say the weather from November to February has been challenging would be an understatement. Here in East Anglia (supposedly the driest part of the country) has never seen so much rain. The ground like many areas of the country has been saturated and best left alone. The many periods of very strong to gale force winds have damaged structures and loosened established plants and blown winter brassicas sideways.
Luckily, before we had the very wet weather in November and December, I managed to dig the majority of the plot. In early February I dug some ground where parsnips and carrots had been harvested. This still leaves some areas where late brassicas were and the nets that covered them need taking down before digging, although the various storms we have had this winter have already had a good go at this. The structure over my sprouting broccoli, curly
kale and Savoy cabbages ripped and some of the poles snapped, so a few emergency repairs were done with a piece of Enviromesh, a few
canes and some cable ties, so the plants within were still offered some protection from any hungry pigeons. Once the crops are harvested the makeshift structure can be removed, the soil turned over and the plot will look tidy once more.
In early February, we had a period of warm weather and some drying winds, so I was able to plant out some Sweet William plants that I had raised in the cold frame. These had been sitting outside, open to the elements all winter and had come to no harm and produced some nice plants. These have been planted under wire cloches, just to give a little protection until established and should stop any rooks or crows that might want to pull them out of the ground.
My own rhubarb plants of Fulton Strawberry
“I always think you are far better to get the ground prepared at this time of year, so you are all ready to get started as soon as the weather and soil conditions allow”
24 | Issue 2 2024 | Allotment Gardener