March « 2010 « TopVeg – growing veg,fruit&herbs

March 31, 2010

Leek Variety Bandit F1 hybrid

Filed under: root veg — Tags: leek, variety — TopVeg @ 7:49 pm

The leek variety, Bandit F1 hybrid, has been a great success in the TopVeg garden.

Bandit-leeks-growing

We have been harvesting Bandit leeks since Christmas & they are still providing the kitchen with very tasty vegetables. Bandit survived the very cold, snowy weather and not one plant has bolted.

Leek-Bandit-in-ground

Characteristics of Leek – Bandit F1 Hybrid:

crops : November-April
winter hardy
rarely bolts
rust resistant
dark green leaves
pure white, thick stems
excellent flavour

bandit-cleaned-leek

Recipes for Bandit Leeks:

The leek variety, Bandit F1 hybrid, is exceptional, and well worth growing.

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March 30, 2010

Water Butt Offers

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: butt, water — TopVeg @ 9:10 pm

Yorkshire Water having a campaign to show exactly what they do to ensure people have clean water. Their virtual tour takes you through the whole process, from rain drop to sewer.

They also have some great deals on water butts and composters – click this link for details.

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March 27, 2010

Germination Temperatures for Vegetable Seeds

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: germination, seed, vegetable — TopVeg @ 10:18 am

Germination temperatures for vegetables seeds often differ from the ideal temperature for plant growth. Some vegetable seeds will only germinate when warmer than the best soil growing temperature, so they have to be germinated in a propagator, on the windowsill or under a cloche .

Here is a chart of some ideal temperatures:


	Germination temperature	Growing temperature

Asparagus	77	60-70
Beans – french	75-85	60-65
Beans – runner	75-85	65-75
Broccoli	80	60 – 65
Brussels Sprouts	75 – 80	60 – 65
Cabbage	75 – 85	60 – 65
Carrots	75	60 – 70	Sow Directly into soil
			Does not transplant well.
Cauliflower	80	60 – 70
Celery	70	60 – 70
Leeks	75	75
Lettuce	40 – 60	40 – 60
Onions	65 – 85	65 – 85
Parsnips	65 – 75	65 – 75
Peas	40 – 75	40 – 75	Sow Directly into soil
			or sow in gutter
Potatoes	45
Spinach	50 – 75	60 – 65
Swiss Chard	50 – 85	60 – 65
Turnip	50 – 95	50 – 95


	Germination temperature	Growing temperature

Asparagus	77	60-70
Beans – french	75-85	60-65
Beans – runner	75-85	65-75
Broccoli	80	60 – 65
Brussels Sprouts	75 – 80	60 – 65
Cabbage	75 – 85	60 – 65
Carrots	75	60 – 70	Sow Directly into soil
			Does not transplant well.
Cauliflower	80	60 – 70
Celery	70	60 – 70
Leeks	75	75
Lettuce	40 – 60	40 – 60
Onions	65 – 85	65 – 85
Parsnips	65 – 75	65 – 75
Peas	40 – 75	40 – 75	Sow Directly into soil
			or sow in gutter
Potatoes	45
Spinach	50 – 75	60 – 65
Swiss Chard	50 – 85	60 – 65
Turnip	50 – 95	50 – 95

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March 26, 2010

Soil Temperature

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: soil, temperature — TopVeg @ 10:15 pm

Soil temperature plays an important role in seed germination and plant growth. Many varieties of vegetables prefer a warmer germination temperature than that required for plant growth.

Vegetable gardeners achieve a warmer germination temperature for seeds by either:

starting seeds indoors
or warming the soil up by covering it with glass or plastic for a week or two before sowing, then keep the soil covered once seeds are sown

cloche

Plastic sheets will warm the soil, but different types of plastic does different things:

Clear Plastic – encourages weed germination.
Black Plastic - discourages weeds & is cheaper.
IRT (Infa Red Transmitting) Plastic – discourages weeds & is more expensive.

cover-rolled-back

Measuring Soil Temperature

Any thermometer that will measure temperature at a specific depth can be used to measure soil temperature. Ordinary glass bulb thermometers are adequate, provided they are long enough to allow the temperature to be read whilst the bulb is in the ground at required depth. There are metal sleeves which can be placed round the thermometers to protect them from breaking.

Potatoes will not start to grow until the soil is 45 degrees. If they are planted before the soil has warmed up :

they will not grow
they may rot – particularly in wet soil
they may get small potato disease & just produce tiny tubers

Folk law decrees that the time to plant potatoes is when the Daffodils and Dandelions bloom. These yellow flowers do not open up until the soil has warmed up!

Measuring soil temperature will help decide when to plant vegetables.

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March 24, 2010

How to Grow Parsnips

Filed under: root veg — Tags: parsnip — TopVeg @ 11:28 am

The traditional time for sowing parsnips is February, but parsnip seed can be sown from March to early May. In our vegetable garden the parsnip seeds do better when the soil has warmed up, & canker is not such a problem with late sown parsnips.

Parsnip – Latin name Pastinaca sativa

We grow the parsnip variety – Avonresister because:

good canker resistance. The disease Canker is a big problem for parsnips.
ideal for small gardens
does well in density cropping. Growing enough root crops to last the winter is always a problem, so growing more, smaller roots suits us.

There are 3 main shapes of Parsnip:

bulbous types with rounded shoulders
wedge types which are broad and long
bayonet types which are long and narrow

Click this link for details of some other parsnip varieties.

Soil preparation :

soil is well dug in autumn with a little manure or compost mixed in.
if the soil is dug in the spring, do not add any manure, as fresh manure causes the parsnips to fork. If manure is not added, sprinkle a phoshate/potash fertiliser over the soil when raking out the seedbed.
if possible, prepare the seedbed a few weeks before planning to sow the parsnip seeds, by raking the soil down to make small crumbs. This will create a stale seedbed, encouraging the weeds to grow, so that they can be removed before sowing the seed.

: drilling-parsnip-seeds

: parsnip-seeding

* sowing depth – 1cm
* distance between seeds – 10cm
* distance between rows – 30cm

: firming-seed-row

After sowing:

firmed the row down with the rake head
water the seed in to firm the row

: planting-parsnips

Pull out small weeds as they appear, allowing the parsnip plants to grow without any competition. The stale seed bed system should reduce the number of weeds growing after sowing.

Germination is very slow in parsnips, so it is important to be patient and to keep the row weed-free.

Below is a picture of young parsnips at the 3 true leaf stage.

: 3true-leaves-parsnip1

In the second photo, the two seed leaves can be seen below the three true leaves of the parsnips.

: parsnip-3true-leaves

Thin parsnips to 6 inches apart when the plants are tall enough to handle. Throw away the thinnings, as they will not transplant.

Hoe regularly between the rows to keep the weeds down.

Lift the parsnips when the leaves begin to die back in late autumn, or leave them in the ground and use as required. The flavour improves after the first frost.

digging-parsnip-goodfriday

The last parsnip in the garden was eaten on 13 April.

dug-parsnip

Storing parsnips:

If the parsnips are being harvested, leave them on the surface of the ground to dry before putting them in a cool, dry, dark, frost free place. Do not wash them before storing.

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March 23, 2010

Time to plant herb plants out?

Filed under: herbs — TopVeg @ 5:13 pm

We have had a question to see if it is a safe time to plant some small herbs outside.

parsley-for-cutting

Hello

I live in the Netherlands and since I don’t speak fluent dutch, you helped me out last year with growing potatoes….. This year I have got small plants of rosemarie, sage and parsley (all grown indoors in pots to date and are about 5cm high). We have just come into spring and it is about 13°C (average); is the time right to set the plants outdoors?

rosemary-shrub

We remember from last year that this grower lives in an urban environment, so know that it will be quite sheltered and protected from winds.

sage

This was our reply:

Hello

I think your plants will be OK to plant outside – but cover them in the evening if you expect a frost, because they will be a little bit tender after being inside. Watch them at first, but they should be fine after 3 or 4 weeks.

Good luck!

TopVeg

Click this link for more information about the herb Rosemary, sage, or parsley.

If you would like a pdf of the grow card for How to Grow Rosemary, How to Grow Parsley, or How to Grow Sage please complete the contact form asking for the particular grow card you would like and we will email it to you.

Rosemary, Parsley & Sage are included in the How to Grow Culinary Herbs ebook written by TopVeg & Farming Friends which costs £3.

Click this link to buy a copy of the ebook How to Grow Culinary Herbs. It gives details of time to plant herbs out, growing and uses.

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Lincolnshire Scad Plum

Filed under: Uncategorized, fruit — Tags: plum, variety — TopVeg @ 6:09 am

The Lincolnshire Scad is an old, but rare, variety of plum.

Lincolnshire Scad Plums are:

- small - marble size
- orange on one side and yellow the other
- ripen very late - in November
- sweet

A Lincolnshire Scad plum tree:

- is actually a tall, thornless, bush
- spreads by suckers
- transplants easily
- has oval leaves - 5cm long & 3cm wide

Lincolnshire Scad Plums are traditionally mixed with apples in a Scad & Apple Pie. Does anyone have a photo of Lincolnshire Scad Plums?

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March 22, 2010

Green Bean and Tomato Stew Recipe

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: beans, cook, recipe, runner beans, tomato — TopVeg @ 4:33 am

This recipe for green bean and tomato stew is a novel way of using up a glut of runner beans & tomatoes at the end of the season.

bean-slicer

Ingredients:

2lb runner beans
1lb ripe tomatoes
3 onions
1/2 pint olive oil
1/2 pint hot water
1 tbs sugar
salt & pepper

Method:

string & slice beans
peel & chop tomatoes
peel & grate onions
heat oil in pan
add onions and tomatoes & cook slowly till soft
add beans, sugar, salt, pepper & hot water
simmer till tender
remove pan from heat & stand for 30 minutes before serving
serve warm or cold

This green & tomato stew recipe is good for vegetarians.

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March 21, 2010

How Long Do Apples Keep In Store?

Filed under: fruit — Tags: apple, store — TopVeg @ 10:12 am

How long have your apples been keeping in store this winter? Our Bramley cooking apples have stored well up to now, possibly because we have had a very cold winter.

apple-in-March

This box has been kept on the concrete floor of a north facing porch. I am surprised they did not get frosted. It is almost the end of March, we are getting a few rots, but the majority of apples are in perfect condition.

apple-storage-box

It is important to check the box regularly and to pull out any apples showing signs of deterioration. We put them on the bird table.

bird-feeder

These apples have not been checked for a few weeks – and the rots have progressed in some apples:

rotten-apple

rotting-apple

The main causes of apple problems are:

bruises – always handle apples gently – never drop them into the box
contact with disease (bad bits) on another apple – remove any apple with brown spots

The length of time apples will store depends on variety. Our Bramley cooking apples have kept for 6 months, but we are starting to cook & freeze some now, as the apples will go off as the temperature rises in spring.

How long have your apples kept in store?

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March 18, 2010

Cutting Seed Potatoes

Filed under: potato — Tags: cut, potato, seed — TopVeg @ 9:17 am

Cutting seed potatoes is a way to increase the number of potato plants grown from one seed & is used when the seed of a particular variety is scarce or very expensive.

Large seed potatoes may be cut into several pieces, as long as each piece contains at least one eye. The ideal seed potato is the size of a hen’s egg.
The eye of the potato is a leaf scar with a depressed lateral bud. This bud will grow into the shoot, which appears above ground, and also produces the new tubers below ground. When the eye first starts to grow the new shoot is called a chit.

How to Divide, Cut or Split Seed Potatoes:

divide potatoes a day or two before planting, so they have time to heal
use a clean knife, to prevent spreading disease from one potato to another
cut when sprouts/chits are 1/4″ long pieces should be about the size of a small egg.
cut pieces should be block shaped, with at least one eye or sprout, but two are preferred. Thin slices of potato are no good.
cut lengthwise, across the top, to divide the chits that usually group there.

potato-chit-day20

part of the center core of the potato should be in each piece.
cover the cut potatoes with powdered limestone, to dry the cut up. Or sprinkle with flowers of sulphur, to stop any disease entering the cuts.
let the potatoes “heal” by storing them at 65-70 degrees with fairly high humidity. The humidity is important to stop the potatoes dehydrating. The cut surface will develop a protective coat that can help prevent seed decay. Covering the box with clear plastic film will also stop dehydration.

There are pros and cons to cutting seed potatoes into several pieces before they are planted.
The advantages of splitting seed potatoes are:

large seed potatoes are utilised to the full
less tubers are produced per seed, so each tuber harvested is bigger
apical dominance is broken, releasing more eyes to sprout
expensive seed potatoes go further in the vegetable garden
saves buying another packet, if just need one more seed to finish the row

Disadvantages of dividing seed potatoes are:

bacteria & pathogens may be spread between the potatoes on the cutting knife.
Large seed potatoes may be divided up into several pieces, as long as each piece contains at least one eye, to achieve the ideal seed potato size, equivalent toa hen’s egg.

Larger seed potatoes: