Page 50 - Simply Vegetables Spring 2022

June
I mentioned last month about sowing seeds in small batches for succession, so keep doing so this month, particularly with salad crops such as lettuce, salad onions and radish, direct in the beds in drills or in cell trays in the case of lettuce. Other crops to keep sowing in succession are turnips, swedes, carrots, spinach, rocket, beetroot, endive, kale and kohl rabi. Turnips and swedes are better sown in drills. Carrots can be sown in buckets or drums, as I do, and the others sown in cell trays. Sowings made earlier in drills may need thinning now.
The main problem with growing carrots is carrot fly. They lay their eggs on the soil near the plants and the maggots, when they hatch, burrow into the carrots, making them unusable. Gardening books tell you that carrot flies only fly close to the ground but sometimes, carrots that I have grown
in buckets have been affected, but those in tall drums have not. I think the best solution is a physical barrier to keep the flies away. When I have finished using some of my cold frames in the spring, I take them to the allotment and grow carrots in them, I bore holes filled with fine compost and I cover the frames with fine netting to keep the flies out.
Peas can be sown for a late crop, either direct or in pots. At this time of year, you need to choose an early variety because they crop sooner. These include Kelvedon wonder, Douce Provence, and Early onward, all of which are widely available.
Cabbages and cauliflowers can also
be sown but choose winter varieties for cabbages, there are January king and Tundra, both of which are widely available
and Noelle (D, F). There are also Chinese cabbages of which there are several varieties. For cauliflowers there are Aalsmeer (most suppliers), Triumphant (Sh, B, F.) and Jerome (M, Sh)
Chicory can also be sown some varieties are grown to form chicons which involves keeping the roots in the dark in winter to
blanch them. Other varieties are grown just for their heads, like lettuce that don’t need blanching. For chicons, the most widely available variety is Witloof Zoom (D, B, F.) and for salads, Rossa di Treviso Provence (S).
I said last month that you could plant tender crops if you live in the South, but this is the main month for planting them wherever you live because, hopefully, the risk of frost is passed. This applies to all the tender veg which I listed last month and also half-hardy annual flowers and dahlias. I described the planting last month, the planting distances, and how I grow runner beans on a framework of canes, so please refer to those notes. You can also plant Chrysanths if you didn’t do so last month.
You may also have plants ready for planting from earlier sowings, such as cabbages, cauliflowers, onions, leeks, and salad crops. The main problem growing cabbages is cabbage white butterflies. They lay their eggs on the underside of
the leaves and when the caterpillars hatch, they can skeletonise plants in next to no time. You can go out regularly and look
for the eggs and squash them. The best preventative though, is a physical barrier, as I said for carrot fly. I make a structure
of canes over the bed to support some netting. The netting needs to go to the ground all round the structure so that there are no gaps. There are also cabbage root flies which lay their eggs on the ground
Annuals ready for planting
50 Simply Vegetables