Page 48 - Simply Vegetables Spring 2022

onions were sown in pots earlier, as they normally are, they also may be ready to plant out. Asparagus can also be planted now, and I described the method last month.
I mentioned sowing tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and aubergines in the greenhouse in February and March. There is still time to sow them if not done before. If they were sown earlier, as most of them are, they will be at different stages of growth, depending on when they were sown. They should be potted on into larger pots when the roots have filled the small ones. If sown in February, they should be ready to be planted in their final positions, either direct in the greenhouse border,
in growbags or large pots. I grow some tomatoes in bottomless pots on top of growbags with circles of plastic cut out to fit the pots, two plants in each bag.
If brassicas (cabbages, cauliflowers
etc.) were sown in March, as I normally
do, in 3-inch (7.5 cm.) pots, they should be growing well now. When the roots have filled these pots they could be planted out but I pot them on into 5 inch (12.5 cm.) pots . I do this to help prevent clubroot because they will be larger plants and the roots have a larger volume of compost to occupy before they reach the soil when planted out.
So much for vegetables so what needs doing with flowers this month? I mentioned sowing annuals in February and March
in seed trays in the greenhouse. When
the seedlings are large enough to handle, they need transferring to other trays. This
is referred to as “pricking out”. Space the seedlings out about 2 inches (5 cm.) apart Use any good potting or multipurpose compost. Leave then in the greenhouse
to grow on then harden them off in cold
May
I said in April that things are getting busy, and they still are there is still plenty of sowing and planting to do now as well. Most of the seeds that I mentioned for sowing in March or April can still be sown now, some directly in the beds and some in cell trays or pots. I wrote about sowing in February and March, so I won’t repeat it again now.
Brassicas planted
Rooted dahlias potted up
frames in May before planting out in late May or June.
In March, I mentioned taking cuttings of Chrysanths and dahlias, but they can still be taken now. You can tell if cuttings are rooted by giving them a gentle tug and by their fresher appearance. When rooted, they need potting into three or three and
a half inch (7.5 or 9 cm.) pots using a good potting or multipurpose compost. If the roots have filled these pots before it is time to plant out (mid-May for Chrysanths and late May or June for dahlias), pot them
into 5-inch (12.5 cm.) pots. Like all other plants raised in greenhouses they need hardening off before planting. If you haven’t got facilities for taking dahlia cuttings, but
Seeds sown earlier in drills will need thinning in stages to their final positions and seeds sown in cell trays or pots thinning to one. I have said this before, but it is worth repeating that most seeds need sowing in small batches to spread the cropping and to avoid gluts. This applies particularly to salad crops such as lettuce and radish and to brassicas such as cabbage and cauliflowers. I have not mentioned annual herbs before, such as
still have the tubers, you can just plant out the tubers. Dahlias won’t stand any frost so plant them deep enough so that the shoots don’t appear above the ground till the danger of frost is passed.
Chrysanths get a disease called white rust which affects the foliage. You need to prevent this by spraying with a fungicide every few weeks from the cutting stage, right through the season.
Another job with flowers is to give roses a feed with a fertiliser specially for roses just sprinkle it round each bush and lightly hoe it in.
parsley, dill and basil, but they can be sown now in trays, pots or cell trays.
If you live in the South of the country, this is the month when you may have seen the last frost and you can start planting tender subjects towards the end of the month. If you live in the North, as I do, it is safer to wait till June. Vegetables that come into this category are runner beans, French beans (dwarf and climbing), marrows, courgettes, pumpkins, squashes, and sweet corn. I
48 Simply Vegetables
Chrysanths just planted
Runner beans for planting