Parsnip seeds have been planted today. The traditional time for sowing parsnips is February, but in our vegetable garden the parsnip seeds do better when the soil has warmed up.

Parsnip - Latin name Pastinaca sativa

Variety - Avonresister

Chosen because of good canker resistance , and ideal for small gardens and high density cropping. Growing enough root crops to last the winter is always a problem, so the opportunity to grow more, smaller roots seemed worth taking.

Soil preparation:

• luckily the bed had been covered with polythene to keep the rain off. So the soil was dry.

• sowing depth - 1cm
• distance between seeds - 10cm
• distance between rows - 30cm

• the row was then firmed down with the rake head
• the seed was watered in to firm the row

The vegetable garden needed rain, but when 38mm of heavy rain came in just a few hours last night, the potatoes suffered. The leaves and stems were bashed down by the weight of rain.

Some of the stems have completely snapped off.

The sun came out this afternoon, and the potato plants are beginning to recover. The plants at the end of the row are righting themselves and already standing upright.

Luckily the gardener is not worried by the damage. He says that the potatoes will survive, and benefit from the good rain!

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Broad Bean Latin name Vicia faba

The final sowing of broad beans have emerged into good strong plants.

• 2 varieties of broad bean were sown: Bunyards Exhibition & Masterpiece Green Long Pod
• Depth of sowing: 5cm
• Distance apart within row: 30cm
• Distance between rows: 45cm

This vegetable garden has very fertile soil, and the beans grow vigorously, and larger than the seedsmen predict. Therefore, we plant them further apart than recommended. Also we do not plant in the traditional double rows, for the same reason. But because our beds are quite narrow, and because we do not have double rows, our rows are actually closer together than the seed packet advises.

When to dig new potatoes depends on what size you want them to be and also how large the potatoes are.

Check the size of new potatoes by gently moving the soil away from the side of the potato ridge with your hand. On the side of the ridge between two potato plants, gradually work down until you find a potato.

The new potatoes are at the end of the stolons. The stolons look like white roots, and the tip of each stolon swells to produce a potato.

Take great care because it is easy to knock the potato off the stolon.

If the potatoes are big enough to eat, dig the whole root up! If the potatoes are not big enough, cover them up with soil again and they will keep growing. But be careful not to knock the potato off the tip, as the stolon will not produce another potato. So be very gentle.

There is a balance to be had. If the potatoes are dug too soon, the yield will be low. But new potatoes are expected to be small. Early potatoes will be ready 12 or 13 weeks after planting.

Maincrop potatoes are usually grown for size and quantity. Maximum yield is obtained when the leaves go yellow and die (senesce.) Maincrop varieties are usually ready 22 weeks after planting.

When to dig new potatoes depends on how large you want them to be.

Related articles:

• video to show how to check if potatoes are big enough to dig 

• potato blight
• potato varieties susceptible to blight
• ridging up potatoes
• volunteers
• early or maincrop

Tomato - Latin name ‘Lycopersicon esculentum’

The variety ‘Alicante’ is a cordon type which is best in the greenhouse, but can be grown outside in a sheltered spot.

A very kind neighbour appeared yesterday with 12 healthy, well-grown Alicante tomato plants. When asked the price, he said that they had not gone up - just the same as last year - nothing. The gardening community is full of goodwill!

We are trying some growpots which fit into growbags.

The advantage is that the tomato food is targeted on the roots in the inside pot. The outer pot is used for water, and it makes watering much quicker. Water can be left in the outer reservoir to trickle into the growbag when required.

Three growpots fit into one growbag. The tomatoes are planted so that the compost is the same level as the outer chamber. This leaves room for a pint of water to be added to the top of the pot.

The advantages of the growpot are:

• watering will be easier

• the tomato will be well watered

• tomato food will be used more efficiently

Beetroot, also known as Red Beet (latin name - Beta vulgaris) was planted today:

• variety - Boltardy
• rows 30cm apart (wide enough to get the hoe down)
• depth� 2cm
• seeds 2cm apart in the row

� The seedbed was dry because it had been covered to keep the rain off.

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The corky beetroot ’seed’ in the packet is really a fruit containing several seeds.� So they will need thinning, even though the ’seeds’ have been carefully spaced.

The beetroot seeds were then gently watered in to tighten the soil in the� row.

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Prevention and control of the Cabbage White Butterfly is a concern of all vegetable gardeners. The first Cabbage White Butterfly of the year was spotted in the vegetable garden today.

There are two types of cabbage white:

• the Large White butterfly - Pieris brassicae
• the Small White butterfly - Pieris rapae.

The cabbage white butterflies lay clusters of yellow eggs on the leaves of brassicas (e.g. cabbage, sprouts, cauliflowers, turnips and swedes).

The eggs hatch out into green caterpillars, which eat the leaves so that large holes are seen. They also tunnel into the hearts of the vegetables, spoiling them and causing them to rot. The caterpillars excrete small brown or green granular deposits as they eat the leaves.

Prevention:

• inspect daily & remove any eggs & caterpillars
• cover brassicas with insect proof netting
• avoid planting colourful plants near the brassicas which will attract butterflies
• encourage birds which will eat the caterpillars by putting out bird feed
• wash infected plants with soapy water

The Cabbage White Butterfly requires constant attention , with daily checks to make sure the vegetables are not being eaten by the cabbage white caterpillars.

Potato blight is caused by a fungus, (latin name - Phytophthora infestans), which spreads rapidly in warm, moist conditions.

Dark brown patches and yellowing appear on the leaves, which turn black, before a white bloom develops on the underside as the foliage dies. The white bloom is made up of the fungal spores which are then blown by the wind and spread the infection. The leaves die off, and tuber growth stops. The spores drop onto the tubers in the ground and cause them to go brown and rot. The potatoes, and the whole area, smell rancid and rotten.

Vegetable gardeners should avoid, prevent and delay the onset of blight by:

• using good quality, blight-free potato seed
• growing blight resistant varieties
• aiming for early harvest, before blight becomes a problem
• chitting, to bring harvest forward
• planting as early as possible, to bring harvest early
• mixing varieties, as some are more prone to blight than others
• avoiding sheltered positions, as blight thrives in humid areas
• practising good vegetable garden hygiene - tidy away all waste potato haulm and tubers & burn. Do not leave on the compost heap. All tiny potatoes & damaged tubers must be lifted from the ground, & thoroughly harvested. If not, they will grow the following year (volunteers) and act as a host for blight. All volunteers must be removed as soon as seen
• watching neighbouring potato plots to make sure they have not got blight
• spray with a preventative fungicide every 14 days once the leaves have met in the row
• watch the weather and listen for blight warnings & Beaumont periods

Once blight has been seen:

• remove the leaves and burn them
• lift potatoes as soon as possible - but leave those which actually had blight for 14 days, to avoid spreading the spores onto the tubers and causing them to rot in store.

Potato Blight (Phytophthora infestans) is a devastating fungal disease which can wipe out a potato crop.Â

Some varieties are more susceptible than others.

• Varieties susceptible to potato blight include:

King Edward, Arran Comet, Arran Pilot, Desiree, Epicure, Foremost, Golden Wonder, Home Guard, Kerr’s Pink, Majestic, Maris Bard, Maris Peer, Maris Piper, Nicola, Rocket, Russet Burbank, Sharpe’s Express, and Ulster Chieftain.Â

• Varieties with some resistance to potato blight include:

Cara, Estima, Kondor, Orla, Pentland Dell, Pentland Crown, Romano, Sante, Valor, Mira, Eve Balfour, Axona and Remarka.

Click here for information on controlling potato blight.

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Leggy, spindly vegetable seedlings are weak, more prone to disease and potentially unproductive.

A leggy vegetable plant is an indicator that the plant is not getting enough light.

To avoid these spindly vegetables:

• remove pots from heated propogators as soon as the shoots have emerged from the soil
• turn pots on window sills 90degrees,daily, so that the seedlings do not grow towards the light
• take plants off window sills if they start to elongate
• give seedlings plenty of light, from all sides

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The courgette plant below was left in the propogator too long. The plant is so leggy that it cannot stand up on it’s own. It has a long, weak stem.

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The marrow seedling below has a short, strong stem which is able to support the growing leaves. This is how it should be.

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The marrow plants shown below have been left on the window sill too long. The stems have elongated, and they will start to flop over if they are not removed to a lighter spot soon. The pot has been turned occassionally, but not recently, as shown by the leaves which are reaching towards the window light.

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Young vegetable plants need watching closely. They need plenty of light from all directions. Once a vegetable plant becomes leggy it is too late.