Page 49 - Simply Vegetables Spring 2021

need potting on into larger pots and grown on for a few weeks before their final planting. They can be planted in the greenhouse border in which case, it needs forking over and working in some organic matter such
as manure and a general fertiliser. They can also be grown in growbags or large pots. I grow tomatoes in bottomless pots on top of growbags with circles cut out
So much for vegetables so what about flowers? I have emphasized before the importance of flowers in vegetable gardens to attract beneficial insects. Approximately half of my allotment is devoted to flowers. I mentioned last month sowing hardy annual flowers and described the method and they can still be sown now. I also wrote about half hardy annuals. Most of these will have been sown in the greenhouse in February and March. When the seedlings are large enough which will probably be sometime this month they will need pricking out into other trays or boxes spacing them 2 inches (5 cm.) apart. Later this month or next ,when the plants are fully established they will need hardening off in cold frames, as I said earlier then planted out in late May or June.
I also mentioned sowing sweet peas last month and told you that I sow them in
Sprouting broccoli growing well
drinking cups, April is the month I normally sow them.
If you started your Chrysanths into growth earlier in the year, you may already have taken some cuttings. You can tell when they are rooted by giving them a gentle tug. If they have rooted, they need potting into 3 inch (7.5 cm.) pots. Later, they should be potted on into 5 inch (12.5 cm.) pots then hardened off and planted out in mid-May.
If you haven’t taken any cuttings, there is still time. Chrysanths are prone to a disease called white rust so they should be sprayed with a fungicide regularly from an early age as a prevention.
Asters ready for pricking out
I wrote about taking dahlia cuttings last month and they are treated in the same way as Chrysanths and potted up when rooted but they are not as hardy as Chrysanths and are not planted out till June. If you have no facilities for taking dahlia cuttings the tubers can be planted but plant them 6 inches (15cm.) deep so that the shoots don’t show above ground till there is no risk of frost.
Gladioli can also be planted this month, 12 inches (30 cm.) apart and 6 inches (15 cm.) deep.
Winter onions, spring cabbage, broccoli and rhubarb should be ready for harvesting.
Brassicas for planting
May
Another busy month with sowing and planting. Depending on where you live, towards the end of the month you may have had the last frost and you could start planting the tender flowers and vegetables. If you live in one of the colder areas I would wait till June.
There is still plenty of sowing and planting to do and there is still time to sow all the seeds I mentioned last month if you didn’t sow them then. Please refer to those planting notes for the sowing and planting methods.
You can also sow annual herbs such
as parsley, basil and dill. They can be
sown direct or in trays or pots like other annuals. When you sow salad crops such as lettuce, or Brassicas such as cabbages and cauliflowers it is important to sow in small batches, a few at a time to stagger the cropping.
Don’t forget that all plants raised in the greenhouse need hardening off in cold frames before planting. The frame tops should be left closed for a few days, then opened a bit at a time over the next few days and then left off altogether to complete the hardening off.
Onion sets ready for planting
Brassicas (cabbages, cauliflowers and sprouts) are prone to club root disease which distorts the roots and prevents good growth of the plants. Liming the soil helps
to prevent it but this, of course, should have been in winter. However, I do something else which helps to prevent it, I told you before that I sow the seeds in 3 inch (7.5 cm.) pots. When the roots have filled these pots, which is probably some time this month, I pot on the plants into 5 inch (12.5 cm.) pots. This helps by giving the roots more compost to work in before they reach the soil and also the plants are bigger when they are planted out. I do this before the plants go into the cold frame and if you sowed the seeds early
enough they may be ready for this now
and be ready for planting later this month. When the Brassicas are planted, I cover the bed with netting supported on a framework of canes to keep out the cabbage white butterflies, the caterpillars of which can skeletonise the leaves in no time.
Onion sets can still be planted if not
done before and you may have salad plants such as lettuce and beetroot and also onions grown from seed and peas ready for planting if you sowed the seeds earlier in the greenhouse.
There are also the tender vegetables such as runner and French beans, marrows, courgettes, squashes and sweet corn that
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