Monday 18 March 2024

Two New Cabbages from D.T.Brown

D.T.Brown have very kindly sent me two new varieties of Cabbage that they have added to their catalogue for 2024 these are Marquis F1 and Tourmline F1.

Cabbage Marquis F1 - £2.99 for approximately 30 seeds 

Versatile pointed heads which can be harvested as greens or mature heads. Hold well in the ground and stores well once cut.

SOW INDOORS February-April, thinly in trays of compost, 1.5cm/half-in deep. Transplant when plants are about 10cm/4in tall, spacing of 30cm/1ft. 

SOW OUTDOORS March-June. Transplant at 2-4 leaf stage to final growing position. Firm in well. Keep moist.

HARVEST June - October 


Cabbage Tourmaline F1 - £2.99 for approximately 50 Seeds 

Attractive savoyed leaves with excellent flavour and winter hardiness. Forms large dense heads with resistance to black rot.

SOW INDOORS February-April, thinly in trays of compost, 1.5cm/half-in deep. Transplant when plants are about 10cm/4in tall, spacing of 60cm/2ft. 

SOW OUTDOORS April-June. Transplant at 2-4 leaf stage to final growing position. Firm in well. Keep moist.

HARVEST December - March 

 

Sunday 17 March 2024

Kyuri / Japanese Cucumber

Japanese Cucumber (Kyuri) Slighter, more slender and with a more delicate skin than European varieties. Kyuri are a sweeter alternative with crisp cool, succulent flesh. Delicious freshly picked and in salads.

Plant seeds on their sides, inside from January or outside in a sunny spot from late May Intolerant of frost. Warm weather required for strong growth. Water soil not leaves to deter fungal infections 

Cucumbers can be found easily and at a cheap price in supermarkets in the summer season in Japan. However, they can also be seen year round because of vinyl greenhouse cultivation. The Japanese cucumber is about 20 cm./8 in. long, about 3 cm./1 1/4in. in diameter and weighs around 100 g/3 1/2 oz.

The skin is thin and it has few seeds. It is low calorie and good for health. Its high moisture content of 95% is suitable for summer because it cools the body. Cucumbers are mostly eaten raw, such as in salads and as tsukemono (Japanese pickles).

Cucumber originated in India before the 10th century. It is a popular and widely consumed vegetable now in Japan. Cucumber pickles (kyuri no tsukemono) can be obtained easily at supermarkets and speciality pickle shops in Japan.

Saturday 16 March 2024

Suttons - New Sweet Peppers

Suttons have very kindly sent me two packs of sweet peppers that they have added to their catalogue for 2024 to trial Pillar Sweet Trio F1 and Spiralus

Sweet Pepper ‘Pillar Sweet Trio' bears deliciously sweet, mini peppers in red, orange and yellow. Cost £3.49 for a pack containing an average of 6 seeds 

These revolutionary plants are not only the perfect size for a windowsill, greenhouse staging or sunny patio, they also produce their fruit by the central stem, meaning the plants don't bend or fall, and won't be damaged by a blind or curtain if grown on a windowsill.

 Thick, crunchy flesh on single-serving-sized fruit that is great for salads, snacking and stir-fries. More drought resistant than other varieties. Height 40cm (16in). Spread: 30cm (12in).

Sowing Information

Sow sweet pepper seeds on the surface of a good, free-draining, damp, seed sowing mix and cover with a fine sprinkling of compost or vermiculite. Place seed trays in a propagator at a temperature of 18-25C (64-77F) until after germination, which takes 7-10 days. Do not exclude light as this helps germination.

When seedlings are large enough to handle, transplant into individual 7.5cm (3") pots of compost and grow on in cooler conditions. When plants are well grown and all risk of frost has passed, transplant them into grow bags and containers, or plant them in well prepared beds of fertile, moist, well drained soil. 

Peppers may be grown undercover in a greenhouse or polytunnel, or grown outdoors in a sheltered position in full sun. When growing peppers outdoors, gradually acclimatise them to outdoor conditions over a period of 7 to 10 days prior to transplanting them. 

Space sweet pepper plants at a distance of 45cm (18") apart.


Sweet Pepper ‘Spiralus’ is an early variety with long ram's horn fruits that have an average length of 20-25cm. packs cost £2.99 for an average of 15 seeds 

The fruits start a very pale green and gradually turn red. Healthy and high-yielding, use ‘Spiralus’ fresh in salads or try it roasted in the oven or charred on the BBQ. 

It’s also great for pickling whole as the flesh stays nice and crunchy after processing. Suitable to be grown in a greenhouse, tunnel or sunny/sheltered spot outside. This reasonably tall variety may require support as the fruit begin to ripen. 

Height: 70cm (28in). Spread: 40cm (16in).

Sowing Information

Sow sweet pepper seeds on the surface of a good, free-draining, damp, seed sowing mix and cover with a fine sprinkling of compost or vermiculite. Place seed trays in a propagator at a temperature of 18-25C (64-77F) until after germination, which takes 7-10 days. Do not exclude light as this helps germination.

When seedlings are large enough to handle, transplant into individual 7.5cm (3") pots of compost and grow on in cooler conditions. When plants are well grown and all risk of frost has passed, transplant them into grow bags and containers, or plant them in well prepared beds of fertile, moist, well drained soil. 

Peppers may be grown undercover in a greenhouse or polytunnel, or grown outdoors in a sheltered position in full sun. When growing peppers outdoors, gradually acclimatise them to outdoor conditions over a period of 7 to 10 days prior to transplanting them. 

Space sweet pepper plants at a distance of 45cm (18") apart.

Friday 15 March 2024

Dobies - Cauliflower Fioretto



Dobies have sent me a pack of a delicious alternative to standard cauliflower, that is more tender, sweeter and nuttier that has been added to their catalogue for 2024 called Cauliflower 'Fioretto 75' that cost £3.99 for a pack with an average contents of 10 seeds.

Instead of forming a dense head, this stick-type cauliflower develops lots of small florets on long, thin stems. The tender, crisp florets make a versatile ingredient. ‘Fioretto 75’ can be eaten raw in salads, gently steamed, roasted, pickled or stir-fried. 

It makes a lovely accompaniment to purple sprouting broccoli. This fast-growing, hybrid variety works well in small spaces, is more heat-tolerant than traditional cauliflower and only takes around 60-65 days to mature. Sweet and succulent, even fussy kids will enjoy Cauliflower 'Fioretto 75'. 

Height: 45cm (18in). Spread: 60cm (24in).


Again the sowing instructions on the pack do not tie up with the graphic from the web site (above) The pack says Sow May to June, and Harvest is August to November !!!! One has to ask does the web master actually look at the packs of seeds before he puts the web pages together? 

Sowing Instructions & Aftercare Instructions also missing from the web site

Sowing Instructions 

Direct sow outdoors into a well-prepared seedbed for transplanting to their final positions later on. Sow at a depth of 1cm (1/2") at a distance of 30cm (12") between rows.

Plants can be transplanted to their final positions approximately 5 weeks from sowing. Alternatively, sow indoors at a depth of 1cm (1/2") in trays of free-draining, seed compost. Place in a propagator or sealed container inside a plastic bag at a temperature of 21C (70F)

Germination takes 4 - 7 days 

Aftercare Instructions 

Transplant seedlings into 7.5cm (3") pots and grow plants on in cooler conditions until the risk of frost has passed and plants are large enough to be transplanted outside at 60cm (24") spacings.  

Thursday 14 March 2024

In My Seed Box For 2024 - Celery

  

Celery was the one vegetable that I have tried to grow in the past but have never had a great deal of success with until I got some Tango Celery Postiplugs from Suttons in 2022. There were 18 Postiplugs when I used them in 2022 but they all went in at the same time, I just harvested from the tallest to the shortest. 

In 2023 I was planning to grow them from seeds but, the cancer and mobility issues meant that it didn't happen, so the plan at the moment is to grow them from seed in 2024

I will not try them in pots in the greenhouse as I have in the past but in the square foot gardening beds again on plot 1 as they have really been such a success in 2022.

New to Suttons for 2023 was the Tango F1 Hybrid Seeds in 2023 they were £3.49 for 40 seeds.  

The web site says sow in March and April, but I think these need to be sown in mid- February and brought on before planting out after the danger of frost has passed.  I'm planning on sowing 7 seeds in Mid-Feb, 7 seeds in Mid-March and another 6 in Mid-April so I can do some successive sowing and harvesting during 2024. The first 7 plants will go out under a cloche.

The harvest period is between August to the end of October or the first frost.   

The average life expectancy for Celery Seed is 8 to 12 years, and 40 seeds should hopefully last me for 2024 and 2025, as I aim to use 20 seeds a year.  This makes the cost of growing your own celery 8.7p per plant. 

Price of Celery in 2023 was, Sainsbury 43p, Waitrose Green Celery Essential 79p Sainsbury Organic £1 and Tesco organic £1 and that's why we allotment holders and gardeners have a bash at growing a vast range of vegetables each year. 

It's a challenge, they taste better than shop bought, and they save us money, at least during the harvest period.  

Wednesday 13 March 2024

Birthday Gifts

 


A nice collection of gifts from my sister in law for my birthday this year. I especially like the Cell Tray Tamper, I was going to make one, now I don't have too.

I can't help it but Burgon & Ball always reminds me of Borgin & Burks from Harry Potter.  

Tuesday 12 March 2024

Who Says Raspberries Don’t Grow On Trees!

Who says raspberries don’t grow on trees! 

Dobies have very kindly sent me a Rubus 'Hararasp' (Raspberry Tree)

They come in a selection of numbers and size at the time of this post the prices are 

1 x 9cm Potted Plant £13.99

2 x 9cm Potted Plants £19.99

1 x 5 litre Potted Plant £34.99

1 x 5 litre Potted Plant (Standard) £39.99

2 x 5 Litre Potted Plants £59.99

This miraculous space-saving raspberry tree has been developed by an ingenious breeder from Japan named Toshikhiko Hara. His groundbreaking new raspberry develops thick overwintering stems which are trained to form upright ‘trees’ with a strong, central trunk supporting a crown of fruiting branches.

Instead of rows of sprawling raspberry canes which need space, support and tying in, you can now enjoy this neat ‘Hararasp' raspberry. With its small footprint, it can easily be accommodated in a sunny spot where it will make both an attractive and edible feature. From April to May it is covered in white blossom followed in May and June by an abundance of tasty fruit which is easily reached for harvesting.

The fruit is unusually attractive, as unlike the dull fruit of other raspberries, ‘Hararasp’ bears especially glossy and shiny berries. ‘Hararasp’ is also a disease-resistant Florican-type, with excellent tolerance to heat and drought plus early fruit ripening and a long harvest period. Maximum height: 175cm (69in). Maximum spread:100cm (40in).

Pruning advice: You can prune this plant to be like a summer raspberry if prefered. By cutting the branches you can reshape the plant to suit your prefered shape and growth. Without pruning this plant will naturally form a small tree-like shrub which will bear fruit year on year. An easy to care for raspberry variant.


My Rubus 'Hararasp' (Raspberry Tree). Arrived on Saturday and came well packed. The green stick had a bearing plate on the end to stop the 9cm plot from floating up and down the cardboard box during mishandling by the couriers.  

The plant and pot were well wrapped and I suspect it would have survived even it it has been stood upside down.


I transplanted the plant as soon as possible and gave it a drink. 


The following morning it's looking a happy little plant, and I cant waif for it to grow and provide fruit. This Raspberry Tree may not make it to the allotment It may stay in the back garden, as I have five different varieties of Raspberries on the plot.  

Monday 11 March 2024

Rain Rain Go Away .....

 

After the wettest February on record, and with many allotment holders posting photographs of their flooded and muddy plots, so far it's not looking as if there is going to be any respite from the rain quite yet. 

So many of us plot holders would normally be sowing early vegetables under cloches or cover. We just have to bide our time, vegetables have a habit of catching up if sown a little later 

Top 10 tips for getting your seeds off to a good start

March is a big seed sowing month depending on the weather. The soil should start to warm up a little bit, but don’t jump ahead of yourself. It’s always good to watch what is going on outside. If the weeds in your beds are sprouting, it might be a good time to start sowing vegetables out there as well.

Outdoors: Root crops including beetroot (early varieties), carrots, turnips and leafy vegetables like chard, spinach etc. can be sown outside depending on the weather and according to more specific growing suggestions of individual varieties. It’s also a good time to sow radishes, spring onions, peas, broad beans and more.

Under cover: Beetroot, Brussels sprouts, kohlrabi, cauliflower, summer cabbages, onions, lettuce, celery and celeriac. Tomatoes, chillies, peppers and aubergines can still be sown until mid March for undercover cropping.

Here are a few top tips that Vital Seeds have picked up over their years of growing...

1.   Sow lots of seeds into a seed tray and then prick them out into pots or modules once they have germinated to maximize precious space on heat mats or windowsills.

2.   If you use module trays or soil blocks you can multi-sow seeds of many crops which also saves space - suitable crops include: onions, beetroot, mizuna, turnips, leeks.

3.   If propagating on a windowsill, the light only comes from one direction so the seedlings need to be regularly turned - you can also use a piece of tin foil backed on cardboard as a mirror to put behind the seeds to balance out the light.

4.   Indoors there is no wind so plant stems tend to be weak. You can strengthen them by using a desk fan to blow on them for an hour a day, or stroke them whenever you walk past them (sounds strange but really does work!)

5.   If you are sowing seeds directly outside in drills then mix in some radish seeds with slower-germinating seeds so that you can easily see where your rows are and can weed more effectively (the radishes will pop up really quickly).

6.   Another tip for sowing in drills is to sow a few extra seeds at the end of the row so that you can transplant them into any gaps later NB. THIS WILL NOT WORK WITH CARROTS OR PARSNIPS as they cannot have their delicate tap-root disturbed

7.   Use clean pots and trays and fresh seed compost to give your seeds the best start.

8.   Always label your pots and trays. It's too easy to forget what you've sown where!

9.   Keep your seeds moist, but not wet.

10.   Cover your seeds with a clear plastic lid or second hand bubble wrap to hold in the moisture once sown. When the seedlings emerge, take it off to ensure they have enough space to grow up and for better ventilation.

Sunday 10 March 2024

Cabbages Move Out...

I had to make the decision today to move the Cabbages off the window cill and put them out in the Space Saver Greenhouse. It's 9pm and its still 7C outside and Between 8.4 and 8.9C in the unheated Space Saver Greenhouse.

I'm hoping to see a few more seeds germinate in the next few days.


My daughter Kelly picked these up for me from ALDI whilst she was in there this weekend.

Raising My SFG Beds

 

Once I'm mobile again, I'm looking to raise the square foot gardening beds that I put in a couple of years ago. 

The photo above is before the potting shed went in, and I've marked in showing another two layers of timber joist to raise the beds up to make it easier for me to get at, as I now have mobility issues following 2023 which was my annus horribilis.

I will be removing the Mels Mix that went into these beds and getting back down to where the cardboard was laid down, not that I'm expecting to actually find any cardboard, then I will be filling with the hedge cuttings and perhaps some of the plum tree that needs some serious pollarding, if not removing as I never get any plums from it. 

I will also put in a layer or two of woodchip, perhaps from some paths that need refreshing as we are supposed to be receiving good path quality wood chip shortly. Then put the modified Mels mix back on top and hopefully fill the new raised beds to the top.

Saturday 9 March 2024

Dobies - Tagetes Dropshot


Dobies have sent me a pack of Tagetes Dropshot to trial that sells for £2.99 for a pack with an average content of 15 seeds.

The sweet, aniseed flavour of this unusual annual herb will appeal to liquorice-lovers! A member of the marigold family, Tagetes ‘Dropshot’ has insignificant flowers but wonderful feathery foliage with a sweet anise flavour. 

‘Dropshot’ adds an extra flavour dimension to dishes and is gaining popularity with top chefs as a versatile ingredient for teas, desserts, drinks, main dishes and salads. It can also be treated as a substitute for French tarragon, but is much easier to grow. It forms low, cushion-like mounds that are perfect for pots or border edges. 

Height and spread: 15-25cm (6-10in). 

Friday 8 March 2024

Seeds From Out Of The Blue

 


These came in the post today, I had completely forgot about them.  

Vegetables Top Row: Dwarf French Bean 'Faraday', Cucumber 'Peticue' and Tomato 'Tumbling Tom Red'

Flowers Bottom Row: Tagetes 'Tiger Eyes', Coreopsis 'Early Sunrise' and Amaranthus Paniculatus 'Foxtail'  

They are Free to Gardening Which? subscribers, and followers on Facebook. Gardening Which?  give away seeds each year and you are invited to report the results of growing them. You have to sign up in December or thereabouts and I had completely forgot I had. 

They brought a smile to my face and now I'm going to have to add them to my seed boxes and my sowing and planting schedule.

Growing Brassicas From Seed

The last few years I've had some true successes and some failures growing brassicas. This year I'm hoping to avoid the seedings dying due to excessive heat if possible and I have sown my first batch already and some varieties have germinated much faster that others and have grown leggy on the window cill very fast that I have no choice but to get them out into the Space Saver Greenhouse, for more daylight.

I need to keep an eye on the temperatures in the space saver greenhouse as a few days ago on the 4th of March I recorded these notes:- 


Notes from the 4th March 

10:00 am Its crazy 7C outside at the moment but between 33.3 - 37.7C in the Space Saver Greenhouse because of the sun on it. I may have to go and put the debris netting down to give it a little shade, as my spuds are chitting out there.

11:27am and the greenhouse is now going into shade and the temperatures have dropped to 26.9 & 30C outside is now 8C

3:00pm and the sun has long since gone as there is now cloud cover and the temperatures in the space saver are 16-1 - 16.2C Its quite amazing how a little sun ramps up the temperatures. I have a wi-fi set up so I can monitor the temperatures so that in the summer I can shade or open the door to keep the temperatures inside to a nice level. Outside temperature 7C

5:00pm Temperatures now down to 11.9 & 12.4C inside the Space Saver Greenhouse and still 7C outside. I've just resent Max and Min to see how low it goes tonight as it's due to go down to 4 - 5C over night. 

I will be sowing more in a couple of weeks time as we get nearer to the last frost date so they can be planted out in the allotment at the appropriate time. 




Thursday 7 March 2024

Finding An Allotment


The question that comes up on a regular basis on Allotment Facebook groups relate to waiting lists or people asking advice on how to find an allotment site and plot near to where they live.

 As with many article produced on manvslug.uk, I’ve produced this so that I can offer advice very simply by linking to this article when I see the question ask on a forum yet again.

The first thing to do is to check with your local town, parish, borough council or local authority. These days you don’t get to talk to a human with a brain, it’s normally a call centre who will pass on your request, and you might if you are lucky get a return call and an answer in two to three days.

These days, as with everything else in life, the message while you are waiting will inform you that you can find the information on line somewhere and tell you where to look.

The other way to find out where to look if you’re not sure who is responsible for allotments near to where you live is to visit Apply for an allotment - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

 

Enter your post code into the field (I entered mine) , hit the find button and then you will be presented with a screen similar to this on for your area showing who they have matched your post code with. 

 Click on the Go to......hyperlink button and you will get to the information you are after


Above is an example using my post code to establish who the local authority is.

If you know who is responsible for allotment in your area in my case London Borough of Sutton, visited their web site and done a search for “allotments” you will find a page similar to the one above.

Which ever way you got to the web page, you should find information about how many sites there are in your area, a map showing where they are located. Information about the rents charged, an application form or directions where to download an application from.

Lots of Local Authorities have now out sourced the management of their allotments and the contact details should be given. In some areas they have encouraged committees and plot holders to become self managed and you may have to contact the committee on a plot directly. 

Regarding waiting lists, the council or the managing agents may or may not be able to tell you what the current waiting list is. In the London Borough of Sutton the council have not got the time or resources to publish this information and to be truthful its only ever a snap shot in time. 

I volunteered to collate and publish the information on behalf of Sutton Council and their agents idverde and below is an example:-

Things to consider when selecting an allotment is the number of plots and how many people there are on the waiting list. 

For example Pylbrook Triangle only has two plots and has 9 people waiting for a plot to become free, whereas Duke Street has 23 plots and only one person on the waiting list. It's not rocket science to work out which waiting list is going to move faster.

Another thing to consider is that in the London Borough of Sutton one plot holder could put their name down for 3 allotments and until recently when the software was re written if they got a plot on one of their choices their names were not removed from the other two until they got to the top of the list were offered and then informed the managing company that they already have a plot on another site. 

The number or people wanting an allotment dramatically increased during the pandemic as it was considered a safe place you could go and people had a lot of time on their hands. During that year our waiting list went up by a factor of 4. Many of these people as they get to the top of the waiting list and are offered to view, no longer want a plot. So don't be discouraged if the waiting lists look large. 

Thankfully in Sutton now the allotment software has been updated and idverde who run Suttons and Merton's allotment has an allotment officer who is on the ball and the amount of vacant plots have dramatically reduced and the turnaround from becoming vacant to being re let is a couple of months not years as it once was.  

If your council or local authority has an extremely long waiting list look for other allotment options in the area. Organisations such as the Church of England and National Trust sometimes provide allotments, as do private landlords, so find your local allotment society or gardening community group to find out what else is available in your area.

Another way of locating allotment is to use The National Allotment Society - Allotment name Sourcing Tool 

Select the Accept Button 


The default area is Birmingham for some reason but use your wheel on your mouse to zoom out and then click and drag to where in the country you want to look at. 


I zoomed out and then click and dragged until I could see the area of country I was interested in then 


Zoomed in closer to see a reduced area of interest 

Until finally zooming into the two allotment sites I have had plots on, Unfortunately at the moment this GIS (graphical Information System) only has the name of the allotment and no other details about who is responsible for it. It does however help you locate allotment plots around you. 



If you deselect the Allotment Polygons radio button and select Missing Allotments you will find red dots that indicate the the Ordinance Survey know there is an allotment site there but don't know what it's called. Thus it will be up to you to investigate and find out what its called and who runs it 


Rent an allotment privately - https://www.app.allotme.co.uk/

If you can't find a plot in your area another option is to find a spare garden locally. 

AllotMe is a garden rental service hailed as the 'AirBnB of gardens' that lets people with large gardens rent out sections as allotments, although the service is still quite new so it may be a struggle to find something in your area. 

If going down this route read any terms and conditions carefully – you don't want to put in months of hard work only to be evicted before you even get the chance to enjoy your product. The prices range from FREE to amounts of money per month that would just not make it viable. 






Wednesday 6 March 2024

Dobies - Marksman Spring Onions

Dobies have sent me a pack of Marksman Spring Onions that they have added to their catalogue this year.  

Average 150 seeds Packed year end 2024 Sow by year end 2026 £2.49

A British bred, quality salad onion. Onion ‘Marksman’ has upright, dark green foliage, excellent taste and peels very well. 

Producing straight, pencil-like stems with a mild taste which are perfect to enjoy raw. A vigorous root system results in strong, upright leaves and increased resistance to downy mildew and other diseases.  

Height 30cm (12in). Spread: 10cm (4in).