Page 55 - Simply Veg 3.21

James Park – Westmorland and North Lancashire DA
I’m writing this on bank holiday Monday and it’s a bit wet, but I am quite pleased about that after the dry April we have had. It’s been very pleasant and dry for working outside through the day but the nights have been cold with a lot of frost, I seem to have spent most of my time carrying tomatoes, peppers and dahlias out in a morning into the greenhouse then back into the house again every night to keep the frost off them. Some nights I may have got away with it but you just never know and if you guess wrong that’s a couple of months work in the bin, now my potatoes are starting to pop up but they should be ok if I just earth them up.
One good thing is that Covid restrictions are easing slowly and I have now had both my jabs and it’s been possible to get out and about a bit so mid-April I got down
to see my youngest daughter in Urmston, Manchester and when I
was there I took the chance
to pop round to see fellow
NVS member Geoff Hewitt
(outside of course) but it was
grand to see him and his
wife and have a talk for half
an hour.
Yesterday 2nd May Judy and I went to Cockerham to see our granddaughter Jenny do a parachute jump for charity, I don’t think they have any fear at 20 but throwing yourself out
of an aeroplane at 15000ft does seem a bit extreme to me but it went well and she raised a fair amount of money.
With being at Cockerham just round the corner from Robinson’s Seeds and Plants it was a chance not to be missed so I called round and got some cauliflowers and dwarf
brussels sprouts, I fancy growing the smaller sprouts as the usual varieties seem to get a bit of wind damage so maybe smaller ones will hold up better.
I had a nice chat with Margaret who
said there had been a big upsurge in new growers with an interest in a wider range of vegetables than there had been in the past and a strong emphasis on flavour
The growth in online sales was growing rapidly though it was now proving impossible to send to Northern Ireland and Europe.
She then showed me around a few of
their 4 acres of greenhouses couldn’t go inside them of course because of the strict Covid rules they have to follow, but it was very interesting learning what was proving popular this season and the trends going forward.
It seems to be that there is a trend towards new vegetables especially any
Margaret Robinson
starting to use it in cooking making it known to a wider audience.
That could be something for the NVS to think about as we seem to be have had a bit of a shift to more women joining who perhaps are more adventurous in what they wish to grow and cook.
The leeks down for seed all pests are controlled organically without the need for chemicals by pest predators though the yellow sticky cards are for control of thrips.
The stock tomatoes are starting to produce fruit plenty of varieties to choose from.
And finally, a look at the wood chip heating system that keeps the heat in the greenhouses. The boiler system is made Austria and any repairs/changes to the control system are done via the Internet from Austria.
It is good to see companies using sustainable methods of heating especially greenhouses – Ed
The growth in online sales was growing rapidly though it was now proving impossible to send to Northern Ireland and Europe
with possible extra health benefits. One that I had never heard of was Yacon originally from South America it grows similar to a potatoes though it has a different taste being very sweet flavoured and is thought to have a beneficial effect in the control of diabetes type 2.
Another interesting one was a variety of tomato (the name has slipped my mind) that was extra high in Amino Acid and was beneficial in
helping to have a calming effect, could be just the thing pop in your greenhouse and have a tomato or two after a hard day.
Also one that has had a huge upsurge in popularity is Wasabi not anything I know anything about other I think it can be hot to the taste and some celebrity chefs are
Parachute jump
Robinsons leeks for seed
Robinsons wood chip heating system
Simply Vegetables 55