Page 43 - Simply Vegetables Spring 2024

Radish Cherry Belle Pak Choi Red Wizard Beetroot Pablo F1
Crops that can be started in modules or pricked out into moules include lettuce, salad leaves, oriental greens, Pak choi, beetroot, spinach, chard,
spring onions, corn salad,
and similar vegetables.
Root crops like carrots,
swede, turnips, and radish
should be sown directly
where they are to grow and
not transplanted.
Making two sowings of dwarf French beans can extend the cropping season to later into the autumn
if you have not already picked enough beans!
With good planning and
sowing you should be able
to get at least two crops a year off the area of ground and by successional sowing
Lettuce ‘Rushmoor’
three is quite possible with quick growing vegetables. If space becomes available and there is not a crop to grow sow the area
above the growing tip which then regrows for the next crop. You should get at least two crops and often three before the plants are removed and the next crop sown.
Any crops that are harvested early in the year like early potatoes, spring cabbage, early peas or broad beans should be cleared ASAP and the soil prepared for the next crop to plant within a day or so. Aim for maximum productivity from the land whatever sized garden or allotment you have try to be self-sufficient in vegetables as it will reduce your carbon footprint and food miles.
Two of the NVS partner companies D.T.Brown and Kings Seeds both have very good sowing and harvesting charts for certain crops in their seed catalogues which show when to sow and harvest but also the most suitable cultivars.
To get maximum use of the soil it needs to be kept fertile by regular application of organic matter
down to green manure or at least apply a mulch of organic matter 5 to 10cm deep to feed and protect the soil ready for the next crop. To get maximum use of the soil it needs to be kept fertile by regular application of organic matter.
One type of crop
that is very suitable for successional sowing is come and cut again lettuce or salad leaves, these are sown directly into the soil
quite thickly allowed to grow to approx. 10 cm tall and then cut with scissors just
Carrots
Chard yellow
Pickling onion ‘Paris Silver Skin’
Simply Vegetables 43