PERFECT SEED SOWING TIME

PERFECT SEED SOWING TIME

Successful germination of seeds on allotments and in the greenhouse can vary according to many different factors. We have been blessed with a long dry spell and a reasonably mild Easter, and just as the soil was getting a bit too dry down came the rains. Perfect timing!!! As this begins to dry out the soil surface, it makes the rough ground a lot easier to break down into a deep tilth. I like to cultivate  the surface a couple of inches deep to create a good crumbly tilth, then rake it level before adding some fertiliser and starting to sow seeds. Rake the fertiliser into the surface before marking out the rows for sowing. We have to provide the best conditions for seed sowing as nowadays seed packets have an absolute minimalistic quantity of seeds in them.

Vegetables

I try to keep to my four year rotation to minimise the impact of pests and diseases which can build up if you grow the same crop on the same patch every year. However difficulties occur with the brassica family. The kale, cabbage, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts all go together as they all suffer the same wide range of pests and diseases, but other vegetables such as radish are treated as salads in the rotation, and turnip and Swedes are root crops in the rotation.

My answer to the problem is to intercrop my radish for spring sowing in between other brassicas before they need the space.

Later on put them between young overwintering spring cabbage and cauliflower.

I now only grow club root resistant varieties of swede such as Gowrie and Marion, so these can safely go with the other root crops. Purple Top Milan and Golden Ball turnip are the odd couple that I put with my root crops as their soil needs are the same as other root crops, i.e. they need fertile soil that was manured for a previous crop such as peas, beans or onions. They are a quick summer catch crop that do not stay in the ground very long and this is the drier season, (sometimes) so minimises the risk of clubroot reinfection. Maybe one day someone will breed clubroot resistance into these summer turnips as well as mustard green manures.

Other vegetable seeds to sow now include parsnips, carrots, beetroot, lettuce, radish, spring onion and peas. Broad beans were sown inside in March and planted out in early April, but French beans and runner beans are a wee bit more tender so don’t rush out to get them in early. Mid to late May is fine as they can grow very quickly in summer. Start them indoors in cellular trays to gain a few weeks, but be very careful with peat free or reduced peat composts. Make sure you only sow seed in bought seed composts otherwise the drainage may not be sufficient for tender seedlings and losses can be high. Last year I lost nearly all my French beans and many other flower seedlings due to poor composts. I now make my own by using some bought in compost mixed with fertile garden soil, plus extra grit for drainage and some rockdust to add some natural minerals. I am getting good results, but make sure you remove worms and any other beasties from the garden soil before you mix it into the compost.

Carrots are a special case because of carrot fly infestations which are just about impossible to avoid on an allotment site. I grow mine in a bed system of three rows six inches apart and cover them early with fleece. It worked just fine till our local allotment cat thought the fleece would make a nice hammock for a catnap, and a handy scratching pole. The carrot foliage pushed through the holes and stopped any carrot flies entering so saving my crop.

Peas are sown in very fertile land in six inch wide rows two inches deep. I space the peas about two inches apart. There is plenty of varieties to choose from, though I tend to stick to my old favourites, Kelvedon Wonder and Hurst Green Shaft.

Flowers

Annuals such as poppies, godetia, cosmos, cornflower, candytuft and Livingston daisies can be sown direct into borders where they are to flower, or they can be started in cellular trays then planted out when big enough.

Wallflower, myosotis and Iceland poppies are treated as biennials to be sown now then lined out in nursery lines till autumn. Transplant them in October to beds and borders where they will flower next spring.

Plant of the week

Cerinthe major Purpurascens commonly known as the honeywort grows to about two feet. It has grey green foliage and blue flowers which are in bloom now and are great for attracting bees and butterflies. Cerinthes can be grown as an annual, biennial or perennial started as seed sown in spring. They prefer well drained fertile soil in full sun. They are great for naturalising as they will grow again from their own seeds.

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SPRING FLOWERING SHRUBS

SPRING FLOWERING SHRUBS

The Easter holidays certainly brought in a change in the weather. While we were moaning about the cool spring in early April, all of a sudden the summer arrived as the cold winds subsided. As the sun came out the garden responded in all its glory as everything seemed to want to flower at the same time. Spring bedding, tulips, daffodils, ground cover candytuft and aubretia, numerous shrubs and trees in flower together made a huge floral display. However there is always a down side.

My Victoria plum tree is putting on a spectacular display covered in a mass of flowers, but screaming out to get pollinated so it can produce a crop. Last year one solitary bee spent several days up my tree and I got a brilliant crop. He never came back this year and none of his mates are around either. The plum is flowering later this year and there are so many plants in full flower that what few bees are around are spoiled for choice and it seems the plum is not their favourite.

Only time will tell if my flowers get pollinated and the huge potential plum harvest materialises.

My berberis darwinii planted below my plum tree is usually favourite for attracting bees, but although it is full of dazzling bright orange flowers I can see no bees on it this year.

I have not seen such a wealth of spring flowers on garden shrubs for a long time.

Usually it is the rhododendrons and azaleas that give us spectacular displays, but this year everything seems to be at its best.

My early rhododendrons have finished flowering, but there are so many varieties around that flowering can continue for very many months. The dwarf evergreen azaleas are only just starting to flower.

Camelias have always been an essential garden shrub. They are attractive all year round with their glossy evergreen leaves then in spring get covered in white, pink or scarlet flowers. Like rhododendrons and azaleas they like acid soils, mulching with leafmold and a well drained but moist soil in a dappled shade location. Some can grow quite tall attaining small tree status so allow them plenty of room, though they can be pruned after flowering to control size.

Magnolias are also putting on a great show this spring. The smaller magnolia stellata can always be relied on to give a great display of pure white flowers, but if you can spare the room the much bigger magnolia soulangeana can create massive impact for a good couple of weeks. The large goblet shaped flowers come in white, pink and purple shades. This plant will grow into a large spreading tree so only plant it if you can spare the room. However it can be pruned to reduce size after flowering, but this will also cut out some of the following years flowers.

Viburnums come in a range of sizes and shapes with the variety tomentosum mariesii and Lanarth having horizontal branches covered in white flowers. Several types such as carlesii, juddii and carlecephalum all have pure white rounded heads of highly scented flowers. They may not be spectacular but the scent makes growing these ones very worthwhile.

Another white flowered tall shrub or small tree is the Amelanchier canadensis also known as the snowy mespilus. The variety Lamarkii has a more upright shape and Obelisk is a columnar form.

While these are all ornamental, Amelanchier alnifolia is the large fruiting type which still has masses of white flowers, but these then produce ample fruit crops to harvest.

One of the best forms of flowering quince is chaenomeles Crimson and Gold with scarlet flowers. The bush produces several large quince fruits which can be used to make jelly, liqueurs and marmalade. The fruit is very high in pectin and vitamin c, but is best used after it has been frosted to make it softer.

My favourite golden flowered shrub in spring is Kerria japonica which gets smothered in small yellow flowers packed along arching branches. It is also very attractive in winter with its bright green stems. It will grow six foot tall but cut out some older shoots each year after flowering.

If you have poor dry soil a perfect choice would be some of the Cistus shrubs with white, pink or scarlet flowers. These only grow a few feet tall but are evergreen, so are great for dry ground cover and smothering out weeds. Other spring flowering shrubs that do well on dry soil is the Senecios as well as all members of the broom and gorse family. The best of these include Cytisus praecox and the dwarf Spanish gorse bush Genista hispanica.

Plant of the week

Aubretia may well be common as muck, and it was always present in everybody’s garden in St. Marys, but it did give a great display flowering together with white candytuft and the golden alyssum saxatile. They were a great ground cover on banks and cascading over walls and wee bits pulled off and given to a neighbour always seemed to grow. They are also a great backdrop to displays of tulips and daffodils. Aubretia comes in a range of warm colours from deep red, pinks and mauves.

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SPRING COLOURS

SPRING COLOURS

This is a perfect time to relax and wander around the garden and allotment on a bright sunny day, enjoying the early growth and flowers on all types of plants. Everything looks very healthy at this time of year. The winter was non existent, but very wet, so I would expect many pests and diseases to put in an appearance quite early. Some plants get weakened if they do not get sufficient cold weather to keep them totally dormant and at rest for a few months. My Robinia frisia did not appreciate this lack of dormancy coupled with the ground being continuously wet. It did not survive and will be dug out after the drift of daffodils flowering around its base has died down.

Spirea has burst into growth with fantastic bronze young shoots making it my plant of the week.

Hostas are now breaking bud and will soon let us know if we have a slug problem this year.

Berberis darwinnii is covered in bright orange flowers, timed to perfection underneath my Victoria plum tree also covered in a mass of white flowers. This combination is guaranteed to attract a couple of bees to start the pollination. My cherry Cherokee and peach Peregrine are close by and all in flower so the bees have got a fair bit of work to do. I have been helping out with some hand pollination of my peach, but the cool spring has delayed everything so peach flowers are not so early that there is a lack of flying insects around.

Flower buds on apples and pears are swelling up so it looks like it could be another good fruit year, providing nature doesn’t have any nasty surprises awaiting us.

Tulips, daffodils and crocus are all still flowering. Red dwarf early tulip Red riding Hood was planted around some Doronicums which are now all in flower together. Adrift of blue grape hyacinths is close by to complete the picture, but the latter can be quite invasive so once it has grown over its allotted space curtail its expansion by removing all the seed heads.

Hanging baskets and tubs all got topped up with a batch of very colourful winter flowering pansies which I just could not resist when visiting my local garden centre.

Down at the allotment

Overwintered cauliflower Aalsmeer is now ready to harvest. Just hope they  last over several weeks. Spring cabbage April suffered in the mild winter and most plants have run up to seed, so ended up on my new compost heap. Heat treated Hytech onion sets arrived at the beginning of April and quickly got planted on a well composted area. Leeks and turnips have also been sown.

Clover and tares green manures sown in March gave a brilliant germination so hopefully they will put on some decent growth before digging in when I need the ground for my courgettes, pumpkins and sweet corn. The latter has just been sown indoors in cellular pots.

Broad beans and sweet peas planted a week ago seem to have established just fine.

Indoor activity

My new greenhouse has now been erected. The old grape vine rods have been tied up and look very happy with new growth buds ready to burst open. Geraniums, summer salads, young summer cabbage and cauliflower plants and newly rooted chrysanthemum cuttings now fill the space.

All geraniums have been potted up into five inch pots, but I like to modify any peat free or reduced peat compost with extra grit for better drainage plus some good garden soil mixed in. Make sure you remove any worms or other beasties before you add it into the mixture. Modern composts have too much shredded bark and other organic matter that does not always suit plant growth. Chrysanthemums will also get potted up in the same mixture once they have made good root growth.

My new greenhouse is unheated so young tomatoes pricked out into small cellular pots remain indoors on a window sill. However they get a wee break on any warm sunny days when I transfer them to the greenhouse up till sunset before they return to the windowsill.

Indoors I was drying off a Christmas cactus, (Zygocactus) which had done me proud by flowering in early December then again at the end of January. They need a dormant period of a few months to rest before they start to grow in early summer. However this fellow is totally confused and is now back into full flower for the third time. He must love our Dundee climate.

 Plant of the week

Spirea japonica gives us a show of colour in summer with its pink flowers, then again in autumn with its autumn colours, but my favourite time is at present in spring when the emerging shoots appear in a range of orange bronze colours. It grows a couple of feet tall, or more if you don’t prune it, but I cut it back every winter to enhance the display of young emerging shoots.

It is very hardy and grows on most soils in sun or shade. Propagate with softwood or hardwood cuttings.

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ALLOTMENT PLANTING AND SOWING

ALLOTMENT PLANTING AND SOWING

The soil has not yet warmed up to allow sowing and planting of all crops on the allotment, but hardy crops such as broad beans are safe to plant. Although we have had very little sunshine or warmth at City Road at least it has been relatively dry so the soil can be firmed up, raked level and measured up and marked out for sowing and planting.

Apart from salads, broad beans are one of the earlier crops to be harvested in summer. I have planted out a double row with plants nine inches apart each way. They go on the rotation section of heavy feeders including other beans and peas, onions, leeks, pumpkins and courgettes. I give the rows a dusting of Growmore fertiliser to get them moving. The taller varieties sometimes need staking, though on our heavier soil they form a strong root system which seems to hold them firm and upright just fine.

Pea Feltham First can also be sown now on well manured and cultivated soil. The peas and beans which follow my cabbage, cauliflowers and sprouts, also benefit from a dressing of lime adding to the soil nearly two years ago in advance of planting the brassicas.

The peas get sown in a flat drill about two inches deep and at least six inches wide spacing the seeds in three rows about two to three inches apart. Although this is not a tall variety it will still need some support once the seeds germinate.

Other vegetables to get sown now include leeks, turnips and parsnip. The leeks get sown thinly in a seed bed row so they can be lifted once they grow to about six inches tall and transplanted.

I will only be sowing a half row of turnips then another half row next month otherwise they are all ready together giving a crop that only lasts less than a couple of months.

Parsnips need a long season of growth on good soil that was manured for a previous crop; otherwise roots are liable to fork instead of giving us one long thick root.

Early salad crops of lettuce, radish, spring onion and beetroot are all growing just nicely in cellular trays on my windowsills. Hopefully by the time this appears in print I will have my new greenhouse erected and full of very happy plants. However these salads are ultimately destined for planting under low polythene tunnels on my allotment. This will make room for my tuberous begonias beginning to sprout at home in a warm room, but would be much happier in my new greenhouse.

Most potatoes will now have been planted, as soil conditions have been perfect although the soil has not yet really warmed up. I chitted my seed potatoes indoors near a windowsill with good light, but in a cool room so the shoots did not get too big.

The first of the rhubarb crop is now ready for pulling, with Timperly Early showing good growth of bright red stems. There is always several shoots ready to produce flowering stems, so cut these off as soon as they are spotted so the plants can conserve their energy into giving us plenty of strong red stems.

In the kitchen

The stored Bramley apples have lasted a long time, but keeping them beyond April is pushing it a bit far. We have enjoyed them for over six months, using them at every opportunity. My favourite is sliced and fried together with my bacon, eggs, tomatoes and mushrooms.

Surplus apples have been brewed into ten demijohns of wine, but there was still one huge box left. Brown rot can quickly spread, so Anna took control of them in the kitchen. After washing and removing any damaged bits, they were peeled and dropped into slightly salted water to stop them going brown. Then washed again to remove salt, cored and sliced before packing into freezer bags of about one pound weight. These will keep us supplied with apples till this years crop is ready next October so we can always enjoy crumbles, pies, stewed apple, and apple Charlottes.

 Plant of the week

Tulip fosteriana Red Emperor. This old variety, (I was planting it in Dawson park in 1960) is still very popular as it is very early, reliable, and has large heads of dazzling scarlet. It is also known as Madame Lefeber and is great alongside daffodils and narcissi planted underneath a forsythia bush as they often all flower together.

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