"There are no gardening mistakes, only experiments"
Janet Kilburn Phillips
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Fingers crossed for nice early harvests.
Coming out of the hungry gap and getting your first harvest of the year is very satisfying, but what is the hungry gap? It's basically when your winter veg has finished and your summer veg are not long in the ground but a long way off from a harvest. In the UK it's usually somewhere between March and May depending on the weather conditions. There are things you can grow specifically to fill the hungry gap, along with careful planning and storage. A subject for a future post I think.
So what have we got in store for you this month?
- What to sow and grow in June.
- Book recommendations for both newbies and veteran gardeners.ο»Ώ
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- The secret life beneath our feet.
And lastly, Lottie news and members questions.
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What to sow and grow in June.
Well, it's all systems go now that the risk of frost is over. If you haven't already, all of the summer veg can be planted out, things like Courgettes, Cucumbers, Squash, Beans and Sweetcorn. The only thing I wouldn't bother planting is Spinach and Coriander as they will go to seed as soon as the really warm weather starts.
Other things you might consider growing at this time of the year could be Florence Fennel, Kale, Swedes, Turnips, Spring Onions and more Beetroot and Salad Leaves.
If you have a few spaces in your beds, perhaps where something has failed, a good crop to grow to fill those spaces is Dwarf French Beans. Each plant with its single stem will grow into the vacant area and give a good crop of beans and fill those odd spaces here and there.
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If you've ever seen any adverts for hoses, you will have most likely come across a picture like the one above. Someone happily spraying water willy nilly into the air. Well that's all very good for a hose ad, but it's definitely not the way to water your vegetable garden, or any garden for that matter and here's a few very important reasons why.
Water is a precious resource and supplies in the UK are under pressure from the effects of climate change, population increase and the need to protect the environment, such as river levels for wildlife.
In the garden or veg patch water needs to get to where it's needed, which is at the tip of the roots of your plants. Watering at ground level and in the morning, if possible, is the best way to do that. This will allow the surface to dry out during the day so discouraging slugs and snails and mildew diseases on the foliage. Spraying the water all over the leaves or using a sprinkler is just allowing a lot of the water to needlessly evaporate.
And did you know that sprinklers need mains pressure to work and can use as much water in an hour as a family of four people would normally use in two days.
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Oi! Slugs, have a beer on us!πΊ
The one question I get ask about the most these days is, "What can I do about all the slugs and snails I have?" I've talked about many ways in previous posts on how to deal with the slimy creatures, but have not mentioned one tried and trusted method which is, the slug pub.
Well, if you're feeling crafty, here's a great little video on how to make one or several watering holes for your garden or veg patch.
If you're not the crafty type then there are many different slug pubs on the market.
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Lottie News!
It's been all go on the Lottie this past month. Gradually bit by bit, I've been emptying out the green house of all the seedlings, including the Sweetcorn that finally went in the ground. They've got a whole bed to themselves as they like a bit of space, but they will be sharing it with ground loving 'Mashed Potato' Squash and a white Patti-Pan.
The last of the Chard is now finishing, but the the Peas and Broad Beans are cropping nicely. I also had my first bunch of Sweet Peas, which have one of the strongest perfumes I've ever come across in a flower.
My experimental Carrot bench was finished by the Geezer hubby and I've now filled the pots with sandy topsoil and sown a variety of Carrot seeds.
My saved 'Trail of Tears' seedlings were planted up against one of the archways and have already made good headway. And I directly sowed some Dwarf French Beans and some Ambassador and Hurst Green Peas. As soon as the Meteor Peas in the big tubs have finished, I'll be putting in the Sweet Potato slips that have developed lots of lovely roots. In fact it looks like I'll have a few spare slips if anyone is interested? Just email me if you are and it will be first come first served.
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Book reviews
Allotment - Month by month by Alan Buckingham
Very much an allotment bible for the beginner and the more experienced allotmenteer. Loads of info and great photos. Some information is a little outdated, but still a really great resource.
The Regenerative Grower's Guide to Garden Amendments by Nigel Palmer
This book, that I'm still reading, was recommended to me by an American friend of mine. If you are serious about organic gardening then this book is a valuable resource for making your own garden fertilisers and amendments. It's basically saying, healthy soil makes for healthy, nutrient dense vegetables. Isn't that what we all want.
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The secret world beneath our feet. | | |
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"Is this rust on my Garlics?"
The short answer to the question is yes! What can be done about it is not much, unfortunately. Rust is a rampant fungal disease that flourishes when the weather is cool, the sunlight is low and humidity is high.
All that can be done is to try and catch it when it first starts and cut off the affected leaves.
Garlic affected by rust is still edible and unless the infection was severe, you should get a decent sized bulb at harvest time. Thereβs no need to prematurely pick your Garlic crop unless the entire plant is brown and dead. (Like dead dead, not βready and ripeβ dead.)
Although your harvest is going to be much smaller in bulb size having had rust, you can still use the cloves for next years planting. However, it's advised you don't plant them in the same place for at least three years.
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If you have a food gardening question you'd like to ask just pop me an email and I'll see how I can help. I don't proclaim to be an expert, but I will do my best to answer any of your questions.
In the meantime, if you know of anyone who might like to become a FG4A member do feel free to forward them this email and get them to visit the website and sign up, it's free!
Or you can always catch up with what I've been up to on Facebook or instagram.
Keep safe.
Christine x
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33 South Worple Way
London, SW14 8PB United Kingdom
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