What to sow and grow in March.

These gifted Onion sets went into a plug tray as I didn't have a bed free for onions at the time. They soon sprouted and I had to plant them out pretty sharpish as the roots were pushing the bulbs out of the soil. I'm going to be covering them in fine mesh soon as it's coming up to the time that the 'Allium Leaf Minor' will be about. The fine mesh is great for all Alliums, which include Onions, Garlic and Leeks. I find it's a good idea to plant Carrots in between these crops and that way the mesh can keep off the carrot root fly as well, two pests we seem to have quite a bit of down here in the South of England.

Gardening Naturally is a company I use a lot for all types of veg coverings. Check them out HERE

Indoor seed sowing this month can include Spring Onions, Lettuce, Spinach, early Cabbage, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Kohlrabi, Turnip, Florence Fennel, Beetroot, Parsley and Coriander. All started off on a sunny windowsill. Talking of sunny windowsills, why not grow yourself some Pea shoots.

There's still plenty of time to start your Tomato plants, but you might want to sow your Aubergines, Peppers and Chillies now as they need a longer growing period.

A lot of seed packets say you can sow things like Courgettes, Sweetcorn, Cucumbers and a lot of other summer vegetables this month. If you have the space or a heated greenhouse that's fine, but keep in mind that none of the summer veg will be able to go outside until at least the middle of May when we have our last frost date. That's another ten weeks away and in that time you will probably have to pot up your seedlings and find somewhere warm and sunny to keep them. If you don't have the space then you might want to buy some plug plants from a reputable seed company instead.

The Mighty Worm!

Earthworms are the organic grower's best friends. Soil with worms in it is a healthy soil and provides the perfect conditions for plant roots. Earthworms move through the soil creating burrows. This complex system of tunnels creates pores through which oxygen and water can travel. Different types of earthworms make horizontal and vertical burrows, some of which can be very deep. A soil with plenty of worm burrows won't flash flood.

Worm casts (waste matter) also help to create a fine crumb structure of soil. These casts can contain 5 times more nitrogen, 7 times more phosphorus, and 1000 times more beneficial bacteria than the original soil.

There are 27 species of earthworm in the UK. It’s easiest to divide them into three types :

1. Anecic earthworms. These are the most common in the UK. They are the largest species, often reddish-brown, and they make permanent vertical burrows in the soil.
2. Endogeic earthworms are pale coloured - pink, grey, green or blue - and make horizontal burrows through the soil to move around and to feed. Some can burrow very deeply in the soil.
3. Epigeic earthworms don't make burrows, but live on the surface of the soil – often in leaf litter and in compost. These are the worms you often see in your compost heap.

Look after your worms by digging your soil as little as possible. Give them lots of compost to feast on and don't use chemical weed killers or pesticides.

Below is the inside of my compost bin on a relatively warm day last week. Lots of lovely worms! 🪱🪱🪱

Food security - Why it's even more important.

I don't normally read newspapers let alone buy them, but I was shown this article the other day about fresh veg being rationed in supermarkets. Now whether it's because of Brexit, supermarkets not wanting to pay for higher prices, bad whether in Spain or fuel prices going up, the fact of the matter is, we can't rely on getting everything we want or are used to getting in this day and age. Sad, but true.

As I pointed out to a friend, it wasn't so long ago (I'm showing my age now) that we wouldn't have dreamt of buying tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers in February, not to mention eating strawberries and raspberries at Christmas. We have become so used to the constant availability of a vast array of fruit and vegetables all neatly trimmed and packed in plastic and flown half way round the world. I feel it simply can't go on. If it's not one or all of the reasons above that will disrupt or break our supply chains it will be climate breakdown that is already happening big time in the global South. We are going to have to adapt and be more resilient.

This is why I am so passionate about growing my own vegetables, not just because I know where they've come from, are not wrapped in plastic or covered in chemicals, but because working with the soil is good for my health and wellbeing. And it's not just my own vegetables I'm passionate about. I want to encourage and inspire others to grow their own nutrient dense, organic food. I want folk to learn the skills of sowing seeds, building a compost pile and making home made fertilisers. I'd like to share the joy of picking your first courgette of the season and tasting the first strawberry of the summer. Bliss! This is why I help out at community gardens and offer my time and free advice. I'd like to help build a sense of community. A community of food growers where we can share our seeds and our stories. Where we can offer our help and our knowhow. To build a more secure and healthier food system to take us into the future.

It's so easy to get wrapped up in the doom and gloom of everyday troubles, but I want to look forward to building a more connected and compassionate life that I believe we can do through the growing of our own food together.

And in the words of John Lennon, "You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one"Text Link

Members Questions

Danielle asks, "When can I start harvesting my Rhubarb?"

If you have an established crown of Rhubarb you can start to pick some of the stalks when they are about 10-15 inches long from about April onwards.

If however yours is a newly planted crown, which I think yours is Danielle, it's best to leave it be for a year before you start harvesting so it can get settled into its new home and build up its strength for the following year.

After it has died down in the late autumn, make sure you give it a good covering of organic compost, leaving just the tops of the crowns visible.