Page 9 - Simply Vegetables Summer 2023

Poor growth on Onions in peat free compost
to frost damage and where I work we lost a number of Pittosporums. On the Hants DA stand they were charging very reasonable prices and the plants were selling like hot cakes with many people buying young vegetable plants to grow on and harvest, hopefully this leads to more vegetable growers which we need to encourage.
Whilst on the subject of vegetable growing, some figures I read recently stated that commercial vegetable growers are reducing the acreage they are sowing
/ planting as it is not profitable to grow the crops owing to the poor prices paid by the supermarkets – all the more reason to grow your own.
Moving onto what is in this magazine I am very pleased to say there are articles from two members who have written for SV in the past, first is Gary Hitchens who has covered wormeries which is an interesting topic and one more of us should try as it
is an excellent way to recycle green waste from the kitchen and the end product is
a very fertile “soil” the worm casts and a fertile liquid that can be used as a plant food.
Peter Glazebrook has returned with a thought-provoking article on judging giant vegetables and makes some interesting comments. It would be nice to hear from other giant vegetable growers especially on how they grow their crops I am sure it would be of interest to us normal growers as to how you achieve the gigantic specimens; we could all learn from it.
Emily Plumb continues her Its Sow Simple series covering using coir compost that she is trying for growing potatoes, it will be interesting to see how she gets on and the results. Emily’s other article is on
utilising cold greenhouse overwinter which is a no brainer and very well worth doing so have a read of her article and if not already doing so give it a go this coming winter.
Just to continue the winter growing theme and convince you to grow more over winter I have done an article on some of the salad plants that can be grown outdoors in most parts of the U.K. but possibly not in cold areas. They are well worth trying to get vegetables when fresh produce in in short supply during the winter and hungry gap period.
Adrian Baggaley has sent in an article on drying vegetables, something that is worth considering as it preserves them for a good while and once dried there are no ongoing costs like electric if using a freezer. You would be surprised how much electricity
a freezer and also fridge will use in a day; I have a smart meter and have been watching it since the price hike last year.
Gerry Edwards has written something slightly different for this issue, the topic of edible hedges which are both sustainable and are part of permaculture growing. If planting a new hedge they are worth a look as they are not taking up any extra space in the garden but will produce some fruit for the kitchen.
Whilst mentioning the kitchen we have a new contributor for this section Joao Esteves from Portugal giving a recipe
on summer courgette and pea risotto, a chance to use all those courgettes you did not know what to do with!
Michael Gordon has a short article on how a group in Eire are growing vegetables in a confined space which may give ideas for members who have small gardens or can only look after a small area. Staying
with Eire I was looking for some information on the internet earlier in the year and
came across an old gardening magazine that was available 100 years ago called
Irish Gardening; it is no longer available although there is a newer magazine with a similar title. I have included an article on growing parsnips which is an interesting read, as you will note it is well before the no-dig era!
Graeme Le Marquand keeps us up to date on what has happened in Jersey especially with their work to encourage children into growing with the Fun Carrot Competition. Maybe more DA.’s should give this or similar ideas a go to get more of the younger generation into growing, not just the children but their parents.
I have continued with the articles on unusual vegetables covering a few more and will do more in the next issue.
I read the following in an advert for permaculture books recently and thought it to be true and a way to encourage others to do their bit as well. If we all do our bit, it will make a difference.
“Every one of us who picks up a seed packet, upcycles a piece of furniture or invests time and energy in a community project is making a difference.
The minute we start to make small
but incremental changes in our lives, we become agents for positive change and the ripples of our influence spread out around us.”
Well I think that is about all for now and I hope you find something of interest in the magazine and that it inspires you to try something different.
Happy Veg Growing!
Simply Vegetables 9