On the Veggie plot

On the Veggie Patch………

This is exciting time of the year on the Veggie Patch when the sowing of a new selection of summer crops can really begin. Vegetables as well as weeds, will really start growing now so be prepared for some serious hoeing around newly sown crops.

Sow outside or under cloches mangetout, broad beans, beetroot, lettuce, parsnips, onions, peas, spinach, radishes. Sow Brussels sprouts, summer cauliflower and cabbage in a seedbed to transplant to final positions in May.
 

Planting Out Your Veg

 

You should now be able to plant out brassicas including, Broccoli and Calabrese, Brussels sprouts, summer cabbage.

If you have started beans in pots, both runner and French, these can go into the outside too. Leeks may well be ready to move to their final position. Ideally they want to be about pencil thickness.

Outdoor tomatoes can go to their final position now, however, when moving plants from greenhouse to outdoors it is a good idea to condition for the move. Take them out in the day and put them back at night for a few days or move from greenhouse to coldframe. This avoids shocking the plant by a sudden and drastic change in climate. Make sure that small side-shoots are pulled off to help increase the yield and when four flower trusses have formed pinch out the growing point just above the highest truss.

   
Potato Sac  

Harvest indoor cucumbers regularly to encourage more fruit to set. Early peas may also be ready for harvesting, as are salad onions, salad leaves, beetroot and radishes. If you have started off crops early under cover, and live in a mild part of the country, you could also be harvesting early crops of courgettes, sweetcorn French and broad beans and carrots. Spring or early summer cabbages and cauliflowers planted out last year will also be ready for cutting. Continue with successional sowings of salad crops


Early potatoes may also be ready to harvest, many are ready when the plants come into flower. Take care when digging them up to insert your fork some distance from the plant – otherwise you may end up with pierced spuds for lunch! Continue to earth up potatoes not yet ready to harvest. Also remember to continue to use your Grow Bags and Planters, we have a good selection on offer this year, including Miracle Gro Organic Gro-Sacs and Gro-Bags and planters from Levington - offering both peat based and peat free compost bags with added nutrients.


Runner beans should also be planted out now and will benefit from well-prepared ground – ensure you have used lots of Pro-Grow Peat Free Soil Conditioner dug into the soils before planting. They need to be planted alongside suitable supports for the shoots to twine around and grow upwards.


Peas not yet ready to harvest will need staking with pea sticks or netting. Peppers can be planted outside now as long as all chance of frost has passed.

     

Keep on top of your soil...

 

Pro-Grow Peat Free Soil conditioner

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Make sure you keep mulching the garden regularly to help water retention – look at our mulches and compost pages to get the very best deals on a wide range of both organic and peat free options.
     

 KEEP WATERING...

As the warmer weather arrives watering is a must do job. Give priority to containers and grow bags as they dry out much more quickly than border soil. If you are growing lots of veggies and fruit you will need to give them some attention too – radishes, tomatoes, early potatoes, beans and peas will all need a good supply of water to produce their best yields. It is always best to water in the evening, directly into compost or soil rather than onto the leaves.

   

  Keeping your lawn looking lovely……
 

 

Pro-Grow’s Peat Free Soil Association Certified Lawn Conditioner.

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ONLY 3 for £12

 

Regularly mow lawns to keep them in shape – removing “little and often” is the key to a good quality sward. Cut the lawn edges with a half-moon edging iron to ensure they are neat and trim and also use this tool to create a “gutter” around the lawn edge to stop grass creeping onto borders. Add grass cuttings to the compost heap in thin layers otherwise you’ll end up with a smelly slime rather than compost! Apply a lawn conditioner at regular intervals such as Pro-Grow’s Peat Free Soil Association Certified Lawn Conditioner. Move garden furniture and other objects regularly to allow grass to recover and prevent yellow patches.