Page 22 - ALG 1.21

on the...
Kings plot
from September to early December 2020
What a year this has been, and I am
not just talking about the restrictions we have all been living under. At Kings the seed sales and orders from NAS members have gone through the roof, and we thank you all for your continued support and patience in receiving your orders this year. Unfortunately, due to social distancing and limited staff we can have on site, collation and despatch of orders has taken us a little longer than normal for which we apologise. Seed availability is still ok, and as I write we have a few items still to arrive from New Crop in December but will be here well in time for sowing. Hopefully by the time you read this article you will have all received your orders and have your seeds sorted in order and you will be getting ready for sowing once again in 2021.
September harvests were good with many summer crops continuing into
a mild October and only coming to an end when the strong autumn winds arrived followed by deluges of heavy rain. I picked my last runner beans at the end of September and the last of my Outdoor Tomatoes ‘Mountain Magic’ in the first week of October. The rain was welcome after such a dry summer and
helped the autumn crops flourish and add welcome moisture to the soil ready for winter preparation later in the year. My autumn crops are looking good; Brussels Sprouts Brodie and Brendan have plenty of tight buttons to harvest. Sprouting Broccoli are good sized plants and should produce plenty of spears next year. Autumn Cauliflowers and Savoy cabbages will be welcome additions to meals next year. I am already pulling Parsnip Gladiator and they have excellent flavour, even without much frost to date. My Carrot Eskimo sowed in June under enviromesh cloches are a good size and taste so sweet and will be enjoyed at Christmas and well into the new year, pulling them as required from the plot as this variety has good frost tolerance.
One vegetable I haven’t grown for a few years but did this year is Swede Twede. They look superb and will be a good winter standby for stews, casseroles or added to mash. Many gardeners have trouble growing swede of good size, and over the years through trialling different growing methods I have found an easy way to get success and crops to match those sold in the shops. I sow my swedes into modular cell trays in
This nurturing in cells produces far better- quality swedes than if sown direct into the plot
mid-May and grow on under glass, then move to a cold frame before planting out in late June. This nurturing in cells produces far better-quality swedes than if sown direct into the plot. The swedes this year have thrived despite the hot summer and since the autumn rains has put on quite a girth, producing some good size roots to harvest this winter.
October and November have been clean up time, removing old crops, tidying away canes and supports in preparation for winter digging. My compost heaps have been emptied onto the plot and will be repaired or replaced throughout the winter months. In early November I had a large delivery of mushroom compost from our local mushroom farm. As access to my plot is difficult for the big JCB that delivers it, I asked the driver if it was possible to lift and tip two loads over the car park fence next to my plot onto a large tarpaulin sheet to protect the grass paths. This was all moved
22 Allotment and Leisure Gardener