Page 46 - Simply Vegetables Spring 2024

May 2024
If you live in a mild part of the country, by the end of the month you will probably have seen the last of the frost. This means that you will be able to start planting the tender veg crops such as runner beans, marrows, courgettes, squashes and sweet corn, half hardy annual flowers and dahlias. If you are not sure or if you live in a cold part of the country, you are better waiting till June,
If you have any tender plants in pots ready for planting but you don’t think it is worth the risk, you could pot them into larger pots then plant them out in June.
If you are planting anything, make sure you have prepared the ground properly by getting rid of weeds and raking in some general fertiliser such as Growmore or fish, blood and bone and don’t forget that any plants raised in greenhouses need hardening off before planting.
If you are planting anything that needs staking, put the canes in first. The length
of the canes and the distance apart that you put them depends, of course, on the eventual height of the plants. Annuals
need canes from 2 feet (60cm) to 4 feet
(1.2 metres) and be placed anything from
9 inches (22.5cm) and 18 inches (45cm) apart. Taller plants like dahlias need 4 feet (1.2 metres) or 5 feet (1.5 metres) canes and up to 2 feet (60cm) apart.
There are dwarf varieties of runner beans, but tall varieties need 8 foot (2.4 metre) canes. You can arrange them in
a ring and tied together at the top like
a wigwam. I grow mine in two parallel rows about a metre apart with the canes
9 inches (22.5cm) apart. The canes are tied to horizontal canes along the top with shorter canes along the top between the rows and diagonal canes between the rows to support the structure. I grow sweet peas on the same structure of canes as the runner beans. If you have grown them
Brassica bed covered with net
in pots, they can be planted now because they are hardy. I also grow climbing French beans on a similar structure but the canes don’t need to be quite as long.
small pots and potting them on into larger pots. They can now be planted out. I think the main problem with growing them are cabbage white butterflies, the caterpillars of
Chrysanths can be planted this month because they are not tender like the other plants I have mentioned. They can be planted between other plants in mixed borders but I think they are better in a bed of their own. They need 4 feet (1.2 metre) or 5 feet (1.5 metre) canes spaced 18 inches (45cm) apart.
If you are planting anything, make sure you have prepared the ground properly by getting rid of weeds and raking in some general fertiliser
which can strip the leaves in no time. I think the best preventative is a physical barrier to keep the butterflies off the plants.
I put a net over the bed supported by a framework of canes.
Also for the last two months I have mentioned planting onion sets they can still be planted now if not done before. I always plant mine in pots in March to give them a head start and plant the out in April. If you planted yours in pots, you can still
I have horizontal wires
across the bed fixed to T
posts to which the canes
are fixed with V clips, but
they can be tied on. I tie
the labels to the top of the canes.
Still on flowers, gladioli can still be planted as I described last month.
For the last two months I mentioned sowing cabbages and cauliflowers in
plant them this month. If not, you can plant the sets directly in the bed. Plant them with their tops just showing above the soil about 6 to 9 inches apart(15 to 22.5cm).
If you have grown onions and leeks from
Pricking out annuals
Chrysanths ready for planting
46 Simply Vegetables