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

April 23, 2010

How to Grow Pea Shoots Card

Filed under: pea&beans — Tags: pea shoots — TopVeg @ 9:21 pm

Farming Friends & TopVeg have collaborated to create a How To Grow Pea Shoots card.

If you would like a pdf of the grow card for How to Grow Peashoots, please complete the contact form asking for the grow card for peashoots and we will email it to you.

Everyone is talking about peashoots at the moment. They are really good value at this time of year when there is a gap in vegetable garden produce. Time from planting peas to harvesting peashoots can be four weeks!

Thank you Sara of Farming Friends for designing this How to Grow Pea ShootsCard.

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April 22, 2010

Is Tayberry Productive in Shade?

Filed under: fruit — Tags: shade, tayberry — TopVeg @ 8:39 am

Frank has contacted TopVeg to see if a Tayberry will be fully productive in a shady position.

The tayberry prefers full sun.

tayberries

However, we have found that it fruits well if it’s position recieves some sun, as the sun goes round during the day, but is then checked by a tree, or building. The sun is high in the sky when the tayberry is in blossom, which increases the chance of the sun reaching the tayberry.

tayberries

If the tayberry is permanently under a tree, in full shade, it will not be very productive.

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April 20, 2010

When to Take Seedlings out of the Propogator

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: propogator, seed, seedling — TopVeg @ 8:41 pm

ben_short has asked ” when should I remove plants from propagator? when the cotyledon have thrown off the seed casing or at the first sign of the plant?”

We put seeds in a propogator because they require a higher temperature to germinate. But once they have germinated, a lower temperature will encourage the seedlings to grow slowly and to develop a strong stem.

seedlings-in-pot

Here is a chart showing the difference between germination & growing 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

Once the seed has germinated, it should be removed from the propogator and placed in a warm, light place. It will need to be protected from cold temperatures for a few weeks.

elongated-seedling

If the seedling is kept in the propogator for a day or more, it will become leggy, with a long, weak stem.

Remove the plant from the propogator at the first sight of the seed leaves.

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April 17, 2010

First UK cherry tree survey

Filed under: fruit — Tags: cherry, survey, tree — TopVeg @ 8:56 pm

The Natural History Museum launched the first UK cherry tree survey this week.

They are asking people to survey cherry trees using a form which can be downloaded from their website. All varieties of cherries are included, from Morello cherries to wild cherries.

cherry-blossom

The National History Museum scientists will use the information collected to produce a map of cherry tree locations & their flowering and fruiting timings. These timings will then be monitored to see if climate change is having a significant effect on the flowering and fruiting seasons of the cherry trees.

Participants in the survey can report on any cherry trees they see, not just their own trees. Cherry trees in parks, on allotments or down by the river, are equally important to the survey team.

To take part in the first UK cherry tree survey go to www.nhm.ac.uk/cherries

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April 15, 2010

Rhubarb Flower

Filed under: fruit — Tags: flower, rhubarb — TopVeg @ 12:06 pm

Rhubarb (Latin name – Rheum rhabarbarum) often sends up flowering shoots at this time of the year.

: rhubarb-flower

If the rhubarb flower is left on the plant, the root will be weakened & the stalks will be weak and thin.

So, the rhubarb flowers should be removed as soon as they are seen.

Hold the flowering-stalk close to the ground
Pull upwards twisting the stalk

rhubarb-patch-March

The tendency to bolting depends on:

variety – Victoria is more prone to flowering than other varieties
maturity – older plants are more likely to flower than younger ones
weather – prolonged high temperatures and drought promote flowering
nutrition – lack of nutrients makes the plant want to seed

To encourage leaf growth and discourage flowering of rhubarb:

* divide the crowns every 4-5 years to keep them young
* water during the harvesting period if in drought conditions
* feed with well rotted manure or fertiliser in early spring and autumn
* do not totally strip the root – always leave 4 or 5 stalks.
* stop pulling stalks after July, to allow the leaves to feed the root
* do not force each crown more than once every two years
* provide an open, sunny site in the vegetable garden

Although the rhubarb flower may add charm to the vegetable garden, it is not good for the production of rhubarb to eat.

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April 13, 2010

Ladybirds eat blackfly

Filed under: pests&diseases — Tags: blackfly, ladybird — TopVeg @ 9:43 pm

Lynsey made the most of the fact that Ladybirds eat blackfly!

Lynsey has had an allotment for one year – and is passionate about growing vegetables.

Lynsey gives her plot great TLC & watches her plants grow. She observes the day to day changes closely – including the arrival and rapid multipication of blackfly on her broad beans.

ladybird-larva-&-blackfly

Next she noticed that the ladybird larvae were eating the blackfly.

LadybirdLarva&Blackfly

So Lynsey cherished the ladybird pupae, and carried any ladybirds she found to her broad beans to help them eat, & so control, the blackfly.

LadybirdPupa

Thank you Lynsey for sending us these fascinating photos showing the ladybird eating blackfly and for allowing us to share them.

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April 12, 2010

Watering newly planted seed

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: seed, water — TopVeg @ 10:02 pm

ben_short on Twitter, has asked TopVeg “any advice on avoiding creating a surface pan when watering a newly planted seed bed?”

This is a very interesting question, which requires a longer answer than the 140 characters allowed on Twitter!

water

1. Give small droplets of water – using a very fine rose on a watering can, or a spray. This will not swill the surface like water from a hose pipe

2. Retain small cloddy bits of soil on the surface, to help keep it open. It is good to have fine soil around the seed to give plenty of soil/seed contact. The seed can then take the water from the soil & start to grow. But the surface of the seedbed should contain little lumps of soil, so that it is not a powder which will soak up water & then dry into a hard sheet or cap.

water-seeds-in

3. When raking the seedbed do not collect up all the small bits and clods to leave totally fine soil. Fine, powdery soil will run together when wetted, & then go solid when it dries out.

rake-seed-bed

4. Do not overwork the soil, leaving a very fine soil on the top. The fine soil will go hard after a wet & a dry. The germinating shoot will not be able to push through this hard cap.

5. On clay/loamy soils, sow seed into moist (not wet) conditions. Before watering the seeds in, let the surface of the soil dry out a little so that the small cloddy particles go hard. Then they will repel water and not melt when wetted.

6. Be careful not to over water and make the soil water- logged. Too much water will fill all the air spaces – pushing all the oxygen out of the soil. It is better to water little & often, maintaining a permanently moist (not wet) soil.

Watering a newly planted seed bed requires lots of attention to detail!

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April 11, 2010

Second Hand Garden Tools

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: tool — TopVeg @ 8:35 pm

Good quality garden tools are expensive, so buying second hand is worth considering. If a tool is well made, of good material, and has been looked after, it will last for years. So a well maintained, quality second-hand tool is probably much more useful than a cheap, new item.

old-tool

This parsnip digger is about one hundred years old, and we still use it!

parsnip-digger

Second hand garden tools can be found:

in charity shops
on recycling network sites
on ebay

Second hand garden tools are worth considering.

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April 8, 2010

Growing Pea Shoots

Filed under: pea&beans — Tags: pea, shoots — TopVeg @ 7:18 am

Growing peas just for shoots is a quick way to grow fresh veg.
Pea shoots are the leaves & stem from the top 2 to 6 inches of a younger pea plant, & include two to four pairs of leaves and immature tendrils. They sometimes have small flower buds amongst them.

Two or three cuts of shoots are taken from each batch of seeds.

pea shoots

How To Grow Pea Shoots:
1. plant in early spring or late summer as peas grow best in cool weather. Young pea plants can withstand a little frost, though frost may damage the flowers and pods. As a winter crop, peas tolerate temperatures down to 28°F (-2°C) in the seedling stage, but top growth may be damaged when the temperature falls below freezing.
2. choose varieties suited for this such as:

3. plant:

1 inch deep
2 – 4 inches between peas (much closer than if growing for actual peas)
in compost or crumbly soil
water to dampen soil
leave in warm spot – windowsill, or outside under cloche

4. clip off the growing points plus one pair of leaves to encourage branching, when plants are 6 to 8 inches tall. These clippings are the first pea shoot harvest.
5. every three to four weeks – clip the top 2 to 6 inches of each plant.
6. keep harvesting until shoots taste bitter, late in the growing season. Three cuts per batch of seed is average.
7. wash and spin dry harvested pea shoots as you would lettuce.

Use pea shoots:

in salads
as a garnish
lightly steamed and eat as a hot vegetable

Pea-shoots are a good source of vitamin K, C and are especially high in vitamin A.
Growing pea shoots is an easy way to produce fresh vegetables full of vitamins.

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April 7, 2010

Rainfall in March 2010 in the TopVeg garden

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: March, rainfall — TopVeg @ 9:25 pm

Rainfall in the TopVeg garden in March 2010 was 26.5ml

January 2010 was 57 ml

February 2010 was 59.5ml

Rainfall in the TopVeg garden in 2009 was 518.75

Month	Rainfall ml
January	32
February	45.5
March	17
April	7
May	41.5
June	13
July	111
August	40
September	11.5
October	63.75
November	69.5
December	67

The annual rainfall in the TopVeg Garden:

Year	Rain ml
2006	631
2007	795
2008	571
2009	519

The rainfall in March 2010 in the TopVeg garden (26.5) was higher than last year (17), what was yours?

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