My Tiny Plot

After getting over my grumpiness and admitting that the season is well and truly over I decided to cheer myself up my watching the ‘October’ episode of A Victorian Kitchen Garden. Harry looked a bit despondent too as he watched the temperature fall and stored his Apples in his (albeit totally fab) fruit store.

Then he turned to sowing. He talked about how at this time of year he would sow some Winter hardy Cauliflower. From that sowing he would be able to create a succession of Cauliflower come early Summer next year. Once the seedlings were strong enough he would pot them up, put one batch in his heated greenhouse, one in his coldframe and the others would go outside to battle the Winter weather.

The different treatment of the seedlings would either bring them on, or knock them back accordingly and therefore create a succession. The added benefit is that by over-wintering them you reduce the risk of them being attacked by pests. By the time the Spring pests arrive your Caulis will be big, strapping plants getting ready for harvest. In theory they should be able to withstand the average attack (in theory).

So, I’m taking Harry’s advice. The first thing to go in my coldframe will be Avalanche, a Winter-hardy variety of Cauliflower.

My Tomatoes are doing well. Despite this last week of almost continual rain they are starting to set fruit. I have eight plants in all, all outdoor. Four of them are in the sunniest bed in the garden and four in the ‘almost’ sunniest bed in the garden.

Last year, all of my Tomatoes were on the south-facing wall. They loved it until the rains came and blight set in. Now the south-facing wall is out of bounds for Tomatoes since blight can hang around in the soil year on year. But that’s okay – I’m over it. We’ll go with the sunniest bed for now.

If the rain continues, then I’ll be putting all my trust in Ferline’s reputed blight resistance – and a strategically-placed sun umbrella to keep the rain off.

Will it work? Who knows? All I know is that with small Tomatoes starting to form, it’s time to start feeding them (with Tomato feed) and crossing my fingers for fresh Tomato pasta come the end of August. How is everyone else’s Toms doing?

This is a photo of one of my Tom Thumb lettuces. For me, Lettuce is the backbone of any kitchen garden. It’s such a versatile crop, and it can make the difference between a lackluster, patchy garden and an oasis of wow-ness (I made that word up, can you tell?).

Firstly, it’s super easy to grow. My goodness, I could launch some seeds from the deck and I’d be picking lettuce in 4 – 6 weeks. Honestly. Secondly, the variety of different shapes, sizes, tastes, and colours of the leaves is astounding. Do you want crunchy or melt in the mouth buttery? Do you want mild or sharp, or bitter? You could easily grow nothing but Lettuce in your garden and not get bored of it, ever.

But thirdly, and this is the reason I get so excited about Lettuce, is that it’s the one plant that will make or break your garden’s design. And for me, after taste, design comes a close second.

I sow some Lettuce as early as I can to ensure I get the longest season possible. All I have is a coldframe so I usually sow some in there to begin with and then move to a prepared seedbed outside once the weather warms up.

I pick a small patch of the garden (only a metre square) and sow lots of different varieties in succession (a few every week). Once the seedlings get to the four or five leaf stage I will transplant them to their final growing position. Above is a photo of my Oakleaf seedbed.

This is where it starts to get exciting. Because if I’ve done it right then I should have lots of different shapes and colours to choose from. So I can start to make pretty rows of contrasting shades which, once they start to heart up, will really start to give mtp that kitchen garden / potager look.

You have to be on your toes though. This is not a sow once and forget it project. No, you need to keep up the supply of seedlings – which means keeping up with the sowing. Because, once you harvest your first Lettuce, that’s it, you’ve ruined the design. But not, (aha!) if you have some seedlings ready to plant into the gap. Or… better still, if you have already planted some seedlings inbetween your larger Lettuce in anticipation of them being harvested. Sneaky!

Once, you’ve got a steady stream of Lettuce coming in, all you have to worry about is eating it. Which is never a problem, I’m sure. One of my favourites is Merveille des Quatre Saisons – so soft and fluffy! What varieties of Lettuce do you grow? Can you suggest any unusual ones that taste amazing?

It’s time to transplant my Tomato seedlings from their nursery tray into individual pots. The seedlings have at least two of their larger, ‘real’ leaves and they are nice and short, green and vigorous.

I’m planting them well below the soil level that they were at in the tray. I’m trying to get them so deep in the pots that the soil almost reaches the lowest leaves (but not quite). This will encourage the plant to send out roots from the stem to make an even more sturdy and healthy plant.

All I need to do now is to fully harden them off and they will be ready to be planted in their final position in the garden.

I totally love growing Tomatoes. There are few other vegetables as satisfying to grow as Tomatoes. Now all I need to do is make sure they don’t get blight, like last year – hmmm…easier said than done.

Here’s my plan of attack (apart from the usual of removing the lower leaves on the plant)

• Plant my seedlings nowhere near where I planted them last year (blight can linger in the soil).
• Plant disease-resistant varieties (I’m going for Ferline).
• I’ll be taking special care not to water on to the leaves.
• I’ll try to control weeds in and around the plants. Weeds serve as hosts for insects and disease.
• Control insect pests (especially aphids) which may transmit disease from plant to plant.
• As soon as I see any sign of blight, that will be the death knell for that plant (harsh but necessary).
• I’m planting them in the sunniest spot in the garden.
• I might try to rig up some kind of removable rain cover (I might).
• I’ll be asking the rain gods for some nice weather this summer – well you can but ask.

If anyone has any more tips for keeping outdoor Tomatoes blight-free, let’s hear it. I need all the help I can get.

Last week I posted a list of what I had sown up to now this year. I mentioned in that post that I was ‘giving my Tomatoes the four-star treament’. James then e-mailed me and asked, ‘in reference to your Tomatoes, what is the four star treatment’? So I thought I’d let you know.

Well, I don’t have a green house so the only way I can grow Tomatoes from seed is to germinate them in a heated propagator on my windowsill. Once they have germinated I take them off the heat and put them in a normal propagator (I don’t prick them out, just lift the whole tray out).

Then I grow them on on the windowsill. However, my windows don’t get that much sunlight and so I move the plants outdoors every morning and bring them in every evening in order to give them enough sunlight. I’ll do this until they are ready to go into individual pots. Then I’ll start to harden them off in the coldframe.

Did I say four-star, that should have been five-star! In short, it’s a lot of work. But it’s the only way I know to get some seedlings of the super-duper blight resistant variety, Ferline (apparently Legend and Fantasio are quite good too). I haven’t seen any shops selling the seedlings. Please let me know if you have because I’m in the market to buy!

I love Spring – everything is so new, green and full of promise. Apart from Christmas it’s my favourite time of year.

The Cabbages that I transplanted a couple of weeks ago are coming on a treat and are ready to be planted out in the garden. I made sure to dig in some lime before I planted them and firmed them in nice and snug – Brassicas like to have their roots tucked in.

I’m a sucker for a neat row and decided to make a little Cabbage patch over near the Peas. At this time of year your plan is starting to take shape and it’s a great time to make those last minute changes to it before your beds start getting filled up. Before you know it you’ll be wondering where on earth you will put that Courgette plant or row of lettuce.

Here at mtp I’ve been busy sowing and planting. Now that the nights are light I find that I can get a lot done in the hour between bath time and when it gets dark. Here’s what’s in already:

• Peas – check
• Potatoes – in, last week
• Radish – sown (two rows)
• Early Carrots – in, one sowing under the cloche, two sowings in the ground
• Parsnip – one outdoor sowing
• Spring Onions – in, but not up yet
• Rocket – in, and up
• Broccoli – sown in coldframe
• Perpetual Spinach – ditto
• Sweet Peas – four varieties sown in coldframe
• Dwarf Sunflowers – sown in coldframe
• Leeks – just pushing up in coldframe
• Lettuce – check, check, check – early sowing in the coldframe, plus outdoor sowings last week
• Broadbeans – 2 inches tall
• Cabbage (summer) – seedlings transplanted
• Onions – check
• Shallots – check
• Garlic – in and growing well
• Tomatoes – Super blight-resistant variety (Ferline) sown, currently getting the 4-star treatment indoors

Currently harvesting:

• Rhubarb
• Kale
• New Zealand Spinach
• Perpetual Spinach
• Herbs
• Tulips

So that’s the view from mtp. Anyone else sowing anything else? I don’t like Beetroot, Sprouts and Celery so that’s why they’re missing from my list, but I’d love to know if anyone is having success with other stuff right now. Always room for one more as they say!

I don’t know what it is with Brassicas but I always sow too many of them. Maybe, I’m just hedging my bets because I tend to lose a lot of plants each year, either to slugs, caterpillars or mealy bugs. Or maybe my hand just slips when I’m sowing, I’m not sure. All I know is that at this time of year I have a lot of transplanting to do.

Today, it was the turn of my Cabbages (Greyhound). I sowed the seed a few months ago in a small propagator and as soon as the seed had germinated I put the whole thing outside. As luck would have it the next day the whole country benefited from a thick layer of snow. But the Cabbages didn’t seem to mind. I must admit, when I saw the lid covered with 5cm of snow, I was…worried.

Now, they’re bursting out of the propagator and need some more space. Hence the move up into larger, individual pots.

I’ll grow them on in pots in the coldframe until they have 5 or 6 leaves and are about 4 inches high. After that I’ll plant them out in their final position. They’d better hurry up and get big because there’s only so much space in the coldframe and it’s running out fast. The joys of Spring!

I recently sowed some Broadbeans. While doing some research I found out a few things that I didn’t know before now. I learned last year that you should soak them overnight before sowing. Which I did.

However, once soaked, previously I would have thrown the lot in the ground. But now I know that some Broadbeans are good, and some, well, not so much. It’s all about looking very carefully at your seeds and finding those tell-tale signs that will tell you if should sow the seed or bin it.

Firstly, if your seed has a black line where the little dimple is (it’s called a hilium apparently) then bin it.

If the hilium looks more like this then sow it.

Lastly, if your seed looks like it has had some critter make it its home, then surely bin it. What’s left should be nice, viable seed that will give you a better chance of germination. Happy Broadbean sowing.

This is the Dead-Easy Guide to Planting Onions Sets – like it says in the title.

Step One:

Apply general fertilizer, rake it, water it, leave it.

Step Two:

Firm it down with a nice little welly shuffle.

Step Three:
How far apart to plant them? – oh about ye far.

Step Four:
Then walk the plank baby.

Easy!

Yey! After a long, long wait it’s time to start chitting Potatoes. The garden centres and seed merchants are selling or delivering seed potatoes as from now so why not get stuck in and start yours off. I headed to the garden centre last weekend to buy mine. I went for Winston (First Earlies or New Potatoes to you and I) because the label said they had good blight resistance. 

I didn’t have any trouble with blight on my Potatoes last year but (as with everyone’s) my Tomatoes were ruined by blight and so I’m taking no chances this year. I’ll be opting for resistant varieties of everything capable of catching even the slightest bit of blight.

I’ve put my seed potatoes under the window in the potting shed – that way they are out of way of frost but have lots of light to enable then to grow nice, short, green sprouts. Make sure to look for the biggest eye and face that one towards the light. What you’re looking for is one healthy, big shoot, the rest can be rubbed off with your finger.

Good luck, chitters!