Page 36 - Simply Veg Issue 3 2019

Seasonal jobs
Derek Brooks FNVS
July 2019
You can still sow most of the seeds that
I have mentioned the last two months. Those that I sow in drills where they are
to grow are radish, salad onions, turnips and swedes. When the seeds germinate they are thinned in stages to their final positions. Turnips and swedes won’t grow as big before autumn as if the seeds had been sown in April or May but they will be a usable size. All the other seeds that I am going to mention can be sown outside in drills but there are some that I think are better sown in cell trays in the greenhouse but this is just a personal choice. These are lettuce, rocket, beetroot, kohl rabi, corn salad, spinach and one I haven’t mentioned before, endive. I sow three or four seeds
in each cell and reduce them to one when they germinate. I prefer to sow brassicas
in three inch (7.5 cm.) pots, again three or four seeds in each , reduced to one when they germinate. At this time of the year they are mostly for winter and spring use such as sprouting broccoli, winter and spring cabbages and cauliflowers. I told you the varieties in these notes last year so please refer to those. I explained in detail last month how I grow carrots so please refer to these notes.
Because seeds are sown at different times you may have some that need thinning, either in the ground or in trays. You may also have some sown earlier still that are ready for planting out. Don’t forget, though, that any plants raised in the greenhouse need hardening off before planting. I always pot on brassicas from three inch (7.5 cm ) pots
into 5 inch (12.5 cm.) pots before planting because it helps to combat club root, the plants being larger and have a larger root system when planted. Before planting see that the ground is weeded and rake
in some general fertiliser such as growmore or fish, blood and bone. Also don’t forget to put nets over the brassica bed
to keep off the butterflies as I have described before.
Strawberries can also be planted
this month but I
must repeat what I have said before to obtain them from a reputable supplier because they will be free of virus, a disease to which strawberries are prone.
Calabrese
Apart from sowing and
planting, what else can
we do this month? Plums,
cherries, gooseberries, and
red and white currants can
still be pruned as I described last
month. Also, summer raspberries can
be pruned. After picking the fruit , cut down the canes that have fruited and tie those that haven’t to the wires. Cordon and espalier apple trees can be pruned if you live in the South . Further up North, leave them till next month. Cut 9 inch (23cm.)long side shoots back to the third leaf and lateral side shoots to the first leaf. Also in the fruit garden, put a net over the strawberry bed to keep the birds off if not done before.
Many plants, both veg and flowers will be growing strongly by now and need staking and tying. With most plants that grow tall I put the stakes in before planting but we still need to keep checking that they are securely tied to them. I mentioned “stopping” chrysanths and dahlias in May by pinching off the tops of the plants which causes them to produce side shoots (also called laterals or breaks) which will eventually produce the flowers. These laterals need supporting or they will break off. You can put a separate cane on each lateral if you wish but I just tie a loop of string round them and round the cane. Obviously, the more of these laterals you have , the more flowers you will get but the more there are the smaller will be the flowers. So if you want larger flowers, reduce the number of these laterals. Exhibitors, like myself, reduce the laterals on chrysanths
to two or three per plant. In the case of dahlias the number retained depends on the classification which can be anything from pompoms to giants.
Veg that need staking, apart from runner beans that I have already mentioned are sweet corn, sprouts, peas and French beans.
I grow sweet peas on the cordon system which means just one plant to each cane and reduced to one shoot and this needs tying to the cane at least twice a week. For
Cabbages covered with protective net
36 simplyvegetables