June on the allotment

On the Allotment in June

  By June most indoor sowing will have finished except perhaps for basil which I grow indoors anyway – even in the South of England in good years, I don’t find it does well outdoors. We are, however, still juggling outdoor sowings, transplanting, watering, weeding, taking dealing with many pests and diseases though they have not been as apparent as some previous years. The unbelievably wet year we had in 2012 has had a serious impact on the numbers of some pests 

 – few flea beetles and few white flies on young brassicas. So far [and I’ve got my fingers tightly crossed] I’ve seen no rust on my developing garlic plants which last year almost devastated my crop.

Red ants, as always are causing havoc in my poly-tunnel. I tried using a recommended ant kill spray [not organic] which, affected my breathing most unpleasantly, probably killed a couple of honey bees in my tunnel and didn’t have a huge affect on the ant nest. When I returned a couple of days later the ants had regrouped and were ready to rebuild. I think I will go back to my time consuming and only moderately effective organic Py solution.

I’m hearing reports of huge numbers of small but, maturing slugs in very large numbers and I would have expected this anyway after all the rain but, there fewer than I would have expected though I have been using slug pellets in my poly-tunnels over young plants in pots waiting to be transplanted and outdoors on seed beds and beds with young transplants. Perhaps, although we are, at least, a month late the expected pests won’t be too destructive.

Maintenance around the plot and in green house or poly-tunnel

– keep established plants healthy and pest free – protect from slugs, snails and birds, especially on any newly planted brassicas or seed beds.

ü  By June you should have finished harvesting asparagus although as this year is late we can probably extend our harvesting for a couple of weeks. We should now allow the spears to develop into ferns, watch out for asparagus beetle and remove any beetles or larvae as soon as they are seen. It is important to allow all the spears to grow to maturity from now on, to feed and strengthen the roots for next year’s crops.

ü  Aphids - particularly on broad beans, whitefly [on brassicas], caterpillars can all weaken or eat you precious young plants. Watch out, also, for ants [especially red ants which seem to be more destructive and quicker to bite than their black ant cousins] – while they don’t, in themselves, damage the plants, they encourage aphids and will build their nests under plants undermining them.

ü  Watch for red-spider mite on indoor plants – spray the young plants with water regularly – [red-spider mites like dry conditions]. Regular spraying with SB Plant Invigorator [it is organic] will strengthen the plants and discourage pests. Although keeping the greenhouse or poly-tunnel damp can discourage red-spider mite, it can also encourage the development of botrytis [grey mould] on fruiting plants like tomatoes, aubergines and peppers.

ü  Protect carrots from carrot root fly – environmesh is quite effective although expensive however, it will last for years. Plant fleece is also quite good and cheaper though, discard after use.

-      Earth up main-crop potatoes as they grow.

-      Pinch out the side shoots of cordon tomato plants as they appear[not from bush tomatoes], on plants already growing on in green houses and poly-tunnels. Stake or tie up the plants as they develop to keep them upright.

- Keep the plot tidy - cut grass on paths regularly to prevent weeds and grass from encroaching on your plot and to reduce slugs and snails.

- Weeding – keep seed beds, particularly, free from weeds. Hoeing is useful but take care to not damage young plants [hoeing is not very effective in wet weather as the hoed weeds will often re-root].

- Support your young peas plants as they develop.

- Pinch out the tender top growth of broad beans as soon as the first few rows of pods set at the bottom of the plants to deter black-fly [aphids].

- Protect strawberries from resting on the naked earth or mud – place straw under the plants or plant matting. Blackbirds do love the early ripening strawberries so netting might be necessary.

- Remove the flower heads of rhubarb as soon as they start to appear as they will stop the production of new leaves [also some people prize the rhubarb flowers for flower arrangements – the flowers can attract aphids].

- As soon as they are big enough to handle, thin carrots and parsnips – dispose of carrot thinnings carefully to avoid attracting carrot fly.

- Keep fruit cages tidy and weeded – for particularly vulnerable bushes like redcurrants and gooseberries, ensure the cages are secure although do allow an escape hole for those intrepid birds which find a way in, in case of predators – cats and foxes will force a way in to catch trapped birds.

·         Preparation and planning

- re-dig beds to create a good workable tilth - ready for planting out. As far possible, maintain the plan for good crop rotation you created over the winter – sometimes this does not work out as planned – weather, timing and condition of the soil can prevent implementation of excellent plans. Avoid planting root crops where you have added manure or lime.

- in June you can still sow many seeds outdoors and preparation of the seed beds is important for good germination. [If the ground is too hard in a dry month to create a fine tilth, try watering the ground well, leave for a short time then water again. If this does not break down unyielding ground, create a furrow 4 – 6inches [10 – 15cm] deep and fill this with compost[I use bought-in compost when necessary]. Sow the seeds into this as normal. The seeds and young plants may well need lots of watering in dry weather to ensure germinating and growing on. The addition of the compost should help the quality of the ground for the next crop when dug in

When transplanting brassicas, it is a good idea to add a sprinkling of lime around each plant if you know your soil is too acid. Don’t add manure at the same time as lime but try to dig in good, well-rotted manure earlier in the season when digging the beds.

·         Sowing and planting

-  under cover [in green house or poly-tunnel] Herbs – basil can still be sown to have successional pots of the herb. Tomatoes, peppers, chillies, cucumbers, aubergines can still be transplanted into ground indoors or into large pots.

– outdoors – You can still sow – French beans [some varieties are better sown a bit later. Read the instructions from the seed supplier], runner beans, beetroots [although you may have sown earlier in the season, if you like this crop you can continue to sow for a couple of months:-

-      Beans – French beans and runner beans can be transplanted outdoors;

-    This is still a good time for sowing brassicas outdoors, try 

– Broccoli/calabrese, spring cabbage for next year, winter cauliflower and kale.

- Of course, carrots can be sown until the end of August, if you have suitable conditions although, I have found that I have had more success with earlier sown carrots.

- Courgettes – if you have good, kind conditions, can now be sown outdoors although I have always propagated my seedlings and grown then on indoors to plant out in June. In a good year, with predictably warm forecasts do try for an earlier crop but, I would still prefer to wait.

-    Florence Fennel – a wonderful vegetable whose fresh aniseed flavour is such a wonderful addition to salads – sow from May until July outdoors;

-    Peas can be sown for successional crops until the end of June. Although I have sown some developed for late sowing in late July. While this did extend my harvesting time, the crops were not amazing;

-      Salad crops – lettuce, radishes, rocket, spring onions, can all be sown outdoors.

-   You can still transplant outdoors – aubergines [only in warmer, sheltered areas], French and runner beans, Brassicas – broccoli and calabrese, Brussels sprouts, cabbages, cauliflowers, kale], celery, celeriac, courgettes, outdoor cucumbers, leeks, peppers and chillies[only in warmer, sheltered areas], pumpkins and squashes, outdoor tomatoes.

In all cases, harden the plants off well before planting out and do consider the weather. The young plants should be well watered into their final growing spot and continue to water until the plants have established – if necessary.

·         Harvesting – By now we should be coming to the end of the ‘Lean time’. For some time, the only crops available for harvesting have been asparagus, spring cabbage, lettuce and rhubarb and, of course, my favourite herb, parsley which is wonderful this year. Overwintered cauliflower should be ready now, if it has survived the winter Spinach and Swiss chard should provide a good harvest now – fresh young leaves are excellent in soups, salads, stir-fries, etc.

Early potatoes should now be ready for harvesting – as it has been a ‘late’ year, you may have to wait for a couple of weeks into June for them to be ready.

By the end of the month, globe artichokes should be ready.

Early sowings of peas – if sown under a cloche should start to provide a crop in late now.

Over wintered onions and garlic will now finish its growth – look out for yellowing leaves and some withering. In onions, the leaves will fold over. Lift them and set them on the ground, in dry weather or on a rack, to allow them to dry out before storing in a cool dry place.

Young turnips, sown under cover in early spring should now be available for harvesting.

Rhubarb should now be at its best [don’t forget that the leaves are poisonous].

Soft fruit - redcurrants, blackcurrants and white currants as well as gooseberries, early varieties of raspberry and strawberries should now be ripening. Keep them protected from birds – they do seem to love redcurrants and gooseberries particularly. If you have lots of fruit, make sure you have containers for freezing and lots of jam-pots ready for preserving. If you still have produce in your freezer from last year, now is the time to use it up so that you have space for the new crops.

Planning for winter 2011 - spring 2011/2012

Planning for the Winter

It may seem odd to be thinking and planning for next winter when this growing season is just beginning but, now is the time to make those plans. This is quite a lengthy Blog as there is so much to talk about and, even then, I’m missing out on most of it and most of the advice. But, dealing with the ‘hungry’ months is very important.

I find that, to some extent, I don’t really concentrate so much on what I will eat during the summer months – that comes easy but, on what I am going to eat during the winter and into next spring when we might otherwise have to buy our vegetables and fruit.

This spring I am lucky enough to still have tubs of sweetcorn, peas, apple purée, tomato pulp and chopped herbs in my freezer. I still have pots of jam and pickles and also have a few dried beans – just a few, they really do go quickly for such a significant area of plants. I even have a string of garlic and of chillies and a couple of bunches of onions left - I hope they will keep me going until the new produce is ready. But, planning for the winter isn’t all about what we can store one way or another. I do like to be able to pick fresh vegetables. Although the last two winters have been so bitterly cold that much of my fresh produce did not over-winter well, I was obliged to buy vegetables, how very disappointing.

But, now is the time to plan, sow and plant for that distant lean time. It is a little late for parsnips and much too late for broad beans. For most other crops this month, end of April and May are perfect.

First of all, what do you like to eat? There is no point in filling up your plot with crops you don’t actually like very much and the seeds or young plants cost money.

Brassicas (cauliflowers, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, kale, winter cabbage, cauliflower Romanesco[those delightful acid green swirly caulis – Oh yummy! And they are so easy and actually harvest quite quickly]) – these can of course be bought at every garden centre right now. They look like good strong plants but, consider. A packet of approx. 100 seeds or more costs £2 - £3 and will provide you with almost 100% success. They are easily sown outside now on any well tilled piece of ground, (think 1mtr x 1 mtr) for a packet. Just sprinkle them over the bed, rub them in and water well. Give it a couple of weeks and BINGO! Also the seeds will keep for 2 – 3 years so, don’t sow more than you think you will need.

Today I’ve been planting out young brassica plants – already grown in my poly tunnel. We love them but, of course, so do others, particularly pigeons. If you have a problem with birds eating your plants you will need to deal with it – please don’t look to kill the birds. Like us, they are just trying to live and rear their babies and, what joy they can bring us.

While I was planting my brassicas, I was also trying to raise the pH level of my plot. Many years of no lime being added has resulted in very low pH values. I try to add a little each year (don’t try to rectify in one year if your pH is very low – do check back on an earlier Blog). As I plant the young brassicas, I sprinkle some ground limestone around them. Water it well in and water the young plants as well in this very dry weather. This morning I had to water the ground several times before I planted out.

If your plot is anything like mine I have problems with pigeons (and blackbirds when fruit comes on mainstream) so you will need to think of ways to protect your crops. For me, I use 25mm plastic water piping in 2metre lengths, raised on 3ft( 1 mtr) canes, in rows along the length of the young plant bed. This gives me a cheap framework for netting over the entire bed area. Do seal it down but, leave a reasonable hole so that birds that do find their way in (and they will) can also get out when a predator appears. I am(this year) covering with hard mesh netting- 1cm holes approx.( this is more expensive than the fine net I’ve used previously but, it doesn’t trap birds as easily as the fine netting available – very distressing for them as their feet get caught, making them an easy target for cats, magpies, foxes or just shock – and distressing for us! The harder netting on a raised frame also gives us fairly easy access for watering, weeding etc.

Legumes – beans and peas. While it’s too late for broad beans it is still a bit early for runner beans and French beans. If you are planning to sow peas, now is definitely the time to do it. Think of the crop you want. For a maincrop pea I recommend Hurst Greenshaft – they are sweet, tender and will freeze well. Don’t even think about sowing as the books say – ie, 1 seed every 2 to 3 inches. Sow 1 – 2 packets along a 3-4 metre shallow trench, in other words, ‘loads’. When they germinate you will need to stake them and protect from birds. You can use prunings from fruit trees or other sources but the peas will only climb up frames they sense will support them ( I’m trying to avoid the anthropological phrases here). I’m using 3ft – 1 metre stakes crisscrossed as I see that other allotmenteers are doing this successfully. This year I’ve sown all my pea seed at the same time(mid April) so that I can harvest the optimum crop for freezing. It is still time to sow them this way. I will need to protect them from pigeons which love them, the young shoots and the young peas.

Years ago I kept hens and, believing (and knowing really!) that they would eat slugs and other garden nasties, I released my hens into my vegetable garden. When I came to harvest the peas, the pods were still there but were totally empty. Yes, the hens did like the garden nasties but they also learned that they liked peas and how to harvest them from the pods – oh well! I had lots of excellent brown eggs! Now, pigeons will do the same thing but will also eat the young shots as they develop.

Those fruit/vegetable crops must also be considered – tomatoes, courgettes, squashes, pumpkins, gherkins, cucumbers, peppers, chillies – these can all be grown on our plots. Some of them can be grown successfully outdoors but, others are best in a polytunnel or green house. Don’t even think of buying the plants from garden centres if you have any way at all of propagating them from seed. They are easily propagated in a warm environment. The limiting factor is the amount of light you can offer when they germinate. They really must have good light or they will become too ‘leggy’ to be viable That said, sow now, it’s easy, especially tomatoes (actually when you spread last year’s compost around you are likely to find tomato seedlings all over the place – they are viable – really, and will produce a crop, given time. Tomatoes will produce fruit outside in mild climates – beware of blight and protect your crop from it! Otherwise they are excellent. Courgettes, pumpkins, squashes, gherkins and cucumbers will grow successfully outdoors – make sure there is no risk of frost ( say, mid May) then plant out, more information on storing and harvesting later.

Sweetcorn – what a gem of a crop.  I have grown or tried to grow this crop for the last three years. It is easy to germinate with a moderate amount of heat but, as with other crops, it needs light. Once germinated, move it into your polytunnel or green house where it can grow on in pots until 10cm(4in) high, at least. I have made the mistake, in the past, of giving these plants lots room, when planting out, to grow – well forget it! The plants need to be pollinated by others. Plant out no further than 20cm( 8in), give or take! I have planted a bit further apart and although the plants grew well the cobs didn’t pollinate. This year they will be living in each others’ bedrooms!

I have planted peppers and chillies outdoors but, although the plants grew well enough, the fruit sat for a long time waiting to ripen, by which time the slugs had caused too much damage for the fruit to be useful. I recommend they be grown under cover. If you can’t offer that – except in a long dry hot summer, forget it. In a hot, dry summer 9 (even in England) they might well produce a viable crop outdoors. It is for you to decide.

For those vegetables(fruit) I’ve suggested here, you really must consider planting/sowing now but, consider the climate and likely-hood of frost where you are. Perhaps later by a few weeks would be advisable, especially if you are in more northerly, cooler areas.

Think! – there is nothing wrong with buying your young plants from the garden centre – it is more expensive and they are readily available when it doesn’t necessarily suit your conditions but, keeping in mind the heat and light conditions you can offer these young plants perhaps this is the best option for you.

I’m sure I’ve missed loads of crops and chores needed for the end of April( this is a very busy month – I allocate a whole page on my allotment spreadsheet for April but, keep posted, more later.