Page 58 - Simply Vegetables Winter 2020/21

Brussel sprout trafalgar Layered sweet peas Sweet pea Jilly
Westmorland & North Lancashire DA
Hi Everyone, hope you are keeping well and enjoyed your gardening during the summer months. In my own garden brassicas did particularly well, I think they made lots of root during the dry spring and early summer and then relished the rain when it finally came.
Onions too did well in my tunnel, with plenty to last my family and I through the winter months. I also grew a small number of sweet peas on the cordon system, something I haven’t done for about fifteen years. The plants stayed remarkably healthy though they suffered from bud drop during the hot dry period. I didn’t pull them out until
17th October as they were still flowering.
A quick growing crop of caliente mustard green manure was sown as ground was cleared of matured crops. This was chopped up and dug in at flowering. I had plenty of time to keep on top of things without the usual shows and events.
As I write this in late October no doubt many of you will be planning, or have made a start for next year, which hopefully will be better than 2020. As a D.A. we are hoping to hold our A.G.M. which is normally held in December in January or February but it is
by no means certain we will be able to do that. We have provisionally booked speakers
James’ tomatoes for chutney
makes a tasty treat. Last week I lifted my last 30 beetroot, I always store them in spent compost from the potato bags and they keep well until spring. One or two had slug nibbles so they get used right away.
All the carrots will be fine just picked as I need them, with just a covering of old potato
for March and April with John Soulsby to speak on 50 Years of His Gardening Life on Monday 8th March and Dr. Julian Davies
on Developments in Growing Media on Monday 12th April. You may have noticed our change of day to Monday so we will now meet at 7.30pm on the second Monday of each month October to April at the Club Inn, Main St. Endmoor, Kendal, Cumbria LA8 0EU. Covid permitting of course so please check we are going ahead with any meeting before making a journey. Further details; Jim Robinson 015395 61053, jim.robinson45@ hotmail.co.uk
Jim Robinson
James’ beetroot stored in spent compost
Now that the clocks have gone back it›s time to start thinking of next year but before then I need to get the last of the tomatoes picked.
A few were still a bit short of being ripe but will still make a good chutney, not that I know how to make it, but my wife Judy
James’ pepper seeds for next year
mix for protection, so that done it’s all clear for next year. Got my french and broad bean pods to shell for seeds for next year but have taken my pepper seeds and packed them away safely.
James Park
58 Simply Vegetables