Plant Patch
Some crops are coming to an end
Onions
Onions are now mature and the foliage has started to die down and the skins are going dry. It is important to lift them from the soil and get them dried off in the sun before storing them in a cool dry spot. Any damaged bulbs or bulbs that have tried to flower [ bolters ] should be used first as these will not last in storage. The empty onion bed is an opportunity to sow some perpetual spinach, which will get going before winter and covered with fleece, should provide leaves in the winter and next spring.
Purple Sprouting
In fact there are a lot of beds becoming empty at this time of the year and it is a race to get things growing and established before the days get short and the weather cold. The French beans have finished and the bed is ready for some purple sprouting plants that I have been growing under the hedge. It is a bit late for these but seeing that they do not form a heart I am hoping the plants will flower next spring and of course this is what we eat.
A Late Crop of Carrots?
The new potatoes have all been dug and left behind is a nice crumbly bed ideal for sowing a late crop of carrots to over winter under fleece and provide pulling all winter. What did we do before fleece was invented? I would have thought it too late to sow carrots but a fellow gardener assured me that he is successful most years. That’s another nice thing about this job you’re forever learning.
Salad Leaves?
The salads have been eaten and into this bed will go salad leaves. These mixed leaves[ a la Tesco ] have become very popular and will provide a picking just 4 weeks after sowing. Sowing into a garden bed the weeds come up with the salad and at times I am not too sure what I am eating! Another way is to sow in a plastic trough or grow bag when weeds should not be a problem.
Not Too Early!
The courgette bed I have lined up for the over wintering onions but these should not be planted too early or they will produce soft floppy growth in a mild autumn. Now is also the time to sow spring cabbage which will be planted out in September/ October to over winter and pick next April. Again it is important not to plant too early and go easy on the fertilizer this time of the year. What we want is a short stocky little plant growing slowly over the winter
Phew I feel quite tired ! Who needs the gym?
Plant Patch 15 August 2005