Page 11 - ALG Issue 3 2022

and will deter cockroaches, and ants where you don’t want them. Chives are great for stopping Japanese beetles, carrot flies, aphids, and mites from making a nuisance on your plot.
• Garlic: This pungent plant is a bug repellent for carrot flies, cabbage worms, slugs and aphids.
JOBS TO DO NOW
• Plant out the remainder of spring brassicas and draw up a little soil around the stem of sprouts and kale to prevent damage from winter winds.
• Clear any spent crops as soon as the last harvest is made, compost all clean and disease-free material.
• Lightly cultivate the vacant soil and either mulch with garden compost, leaf mould or well-rotted manure to prevent weed growth.
• Begin to lift onions for winter storage. Keep harvesting all crops as they mature. Beetroot, kohlrabi and turnips can get woody and tasteless if allowed to get too large.
FANCY AN ALLOTMENT?
With 51% of local authorities reporting between 100-400 people on the waiting list for an allotment at the end of last year, many sites have split larger plots into half or quarters.
Smaller plots suit families or those
with busy lives and can act as a brilliant gateway to allotment life. Drop your local council or allotment association an email to let them know you are happy to take on a smaller plot just in case there is a little corner of greens space going spare!
Allotment and Leisure Gardener 11