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MARCH Vegetable and Fruit Growing Guide

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MARCH Vegetable and Fruit Growing Guide MARCH Vegetable and Fruit Growing Guide March is the month when we are on the threshold of Spring and things start to move in the growing season. The amount of sunlight is beginning to increase and temperatures are slowly increasing day by day. More importantly the longer days are the real trigger to new growth and you will find that with the help of a little protection (cloches etc) you can try some early sowings. They might not all make it but it is still worth a try and you will still have plenty of time to re-sow any misses. SOWING AND PLANTING FRUIT PESTS AND DISEASES Outdoors - Direct in the ground There is still time to finish planting With exception to the occasional Potato, peas (early), broad bean, bare rooted fruit trees and bushes, pigeon, most pests and diseases cabbage (summer), lettuce, especially raspberries and other will be dormant due to the cold Brussels sprout, broccoli, onion cane fruits. You can still prune winter weather. sets, shallot, spinach, beetroot apple and pear trees while they are (early), carrot (early), Swiss chard, still dormant. There is also time to parsnip, spring onion, turnip, prune gooseberries and currants. kohlrabi, garlic. These crops will also benefit from some compost spread around the base as well or some general purpose fertiliser like fish, blood and bone. Trees will appreciate some wood ash spreading under them. Greenhouse / Poly-tunnel Celery, celeriac, French beans, cauliflower. Propagator or Windowsill Tomato, pepper, aubergine, cucumber. GENERAL JOBS Complete any unfinished digging and winter pruning. Clear old leaves off strawberry plants and HARVESTING clean up the ground in between Parsnips and leeks should be dug the plants before giving them a up now - you can freeze them for top dressing of a general fertiliser. future use. You may also have Protect (with fleece) the developing spinach beet, chard, the last of strawberry flowers from frost. When the late Brussels sprouts, winter the weather conditions allow it, cauliflower, kale, swede and purple complete the preparations of seed sprouting. beds for direct seed sowing. Stafford Borough Council | Environmental and Health | 01785 619 000 | www.staffordhealth.co.uk APRIL Vegetable and Fruit Growing Guide By now spring should be well and truly underway, with lengthening days and the soil warming up nicely; but proceed with caution, as there is still the risk of night frosts never too far away. It is always better to hold back and wait a day or so. It isn’t the loss of seedlings or young plants that causes the problem; but the loss of your time that could have been utilised doing other jobs around the allotment garden. Surprisingly, the allotment will eventually catch up and reward your patience. FRUIT Strawberries can be planted out now, it’s best to remove flowers in the first year as you conserve strength for growth and gain larger crops in subsequent years. An easy way to gain strawberry plants is to plant the runners into pots and when rooted cut the runner. The plants don’t last forever so you need to rotate them every three to five years. A good layer of compost around the base of fruit trees will SOWING AND PLANTING PESTS AND DISEASES ensure they have the nutrition to Outdoors - Direct in the ground provide another good crop for you. The gardener’s worst enemy is Potatoes and onion sets, awakening. The evil slugs and succession sowings of beetroot, snails are coming out to eat entire carrot, parsnip, lettuce, spinach, rows of succulent young seedlings spring onion, kohlrabi, radish, overnight so take action now. turnip, pea, swiss chard, broad Check over top and soft fruit for bean. Early sowing of dwarf and the first broods of aphids and take climbing French beans towards the appropriate action; spray the plant end of the month, celeriac. with soapy water (diluted washing up liquid) or squash the flies with Greenhouse / Poly-tunnel your thumb and finger. You can Runner beans, sweetcorn, buy insecticides if you prefer, courgette, pumpkin, squash, including a fatty acid soap to spray outdoor / ridge cucumber. on the plants. Protect any early strawberries with netting to keep Propagator or Windowsill the birds out. Aubergine, celery, outdoor cucumber, tomatoes (if you’ve not GENERAL JOBS already done so). Early sowings of Brussels sprouts HARVESTING will need thinning out this month We’re in the ‘Hungry Gap’ between and the soil for next month’s the last of the winter crops and transplanting of sweetcorn, start of the early crops but there courgettes, marrows, pumpkins are still a few things available, late and outdoor/ridge cucumbers will sprouting and chards for example need preparing. Put up the runner plus you may have some early bean poles and start to support salad crops from the greenhouse the growing peas with brushwood border. Check your stored crops or netting. Prepare seed beds such as potatoes and onions; for outdoor sowing of main crop removing any rotten ones. vegetables next month. Stafford Borough Council | Environmental and Health | 01785 619 000 | www.staffordhealth.co.uk MAY Vegetable and Fruit Growing Guide May can be one of the busiest months on the vegetable plot. The soil is warm and the plants growing well - but watch out for a sneaky late frost and be prepared to protect tender plants with fleece. On the other hand, May is also a month when we can get caught out by mini droughts and heat waves. The biggest threat is to any young plants that have that have recently been transplanted into the open ground. Be sure to keep them well watered and if the young transplants look as if they are flagging give them some shade protection from the heat of the sun or drying winds. FRUIT PESTS AND DISEASES It’s mainly a case of making sure Look out for blackfly on broad that you get the crops rather beans, greenfly on peas, lettuce, than the birds. A fruit cage is cabbage root fly, carrot fly, thrip very effective, but can be costly; damage on brassicas (especially otherwise use netting to keep the when the plants are small). Slugs birds away. Strawberries planted and carrot fly this year will perform better in subsequent years if you remove the flowers so they don’t set fruit SOWING AND PLANTING in the first year but concentrate instead on building their strength Outdoors - Direct in the ground for next. Cabbage (savoy and winter), kale, beetroot, broccoli, calabrese, cauliflower, kohlrabi, peas, turnips, swede. Succession salad crops such as lettuce, rocket, radishes and spring onions. This is your last opportunity to sow peas and parsnips this year. GENERAL JOBS Greenhouse / Poly-tunnel There are two main jobs you need Dwarf bean, climbing bean, to do in May. Firstly weeding. runner bean, sweetcorn, outdoor Hoeing them off as small seedlings cucumber, courgette, marrow, will make the job far easier than pumpkin, squash. waiting for them to grow and send their roots down. Hoeing is best Propagator or Windowsill done on a dry day so that the Leek, celery, celeriac, Brussels weeds do not have a chance to HARVESTING sprouts and French beans sown recover. The other job is to start last month under glass, can now Sprouting broccoli, winter to thin out seedlings of beetroot, be planted out. cauliflowers, kale, spring cabbage, carrots, lettuce, onions, parsnips spinach, rhubarb, spring onions, and turnips. Always water along early sown lettuce, beetroot, radish the row to settle the disturbed and peas. Asparagus may be seedlings back in, once the job starting as well this month - cut is completed. Put up poles for them regularly to maintain a good runner and climbing French beans. supply. Start to remove the side Support peas and broad beans shoots on tomatoes. Use up the before they become too tall. Start last of the leeks. Clear away any to earth up potatoes. If you can old or finished crops and dig over get it, put some straw underneath the soil and prepare the site ready the developing strawberry fruits to for the next crop. keep them off the soil. Stafford Borough Council | Environmental and Health | 01785 619 000 | www.staffordhealth.co.uk JUNE Vegetable and Fruit Growing Guide June, the ’flaming month’ should provide us with plenty of sunshine. We are also moving towards the longest day, June 21st being the summer solstice so there is plenty of daylight to let you get on with things. There is a lot to do in the allotment during this month, but out efforts will be rewarded as we begin to harvest our crops. June is the last month for sowing many crops as we pass the longest day and head downhill. SOWING AND PLANTING Outdoors - Direct in the ground Succession sowing each fortnight of beetroot, carrots, kohlrabi, early peas, lettuce, rocket, turnips, endive, radish, spring onions will give you a constant supply of salads Greenhouse / Poly-tunnel Keep pinching off the side shoots with your tomatoes and keep an PESTS AND DISEASES eye out for pests such as aphids, whitefly, red spider mite. Watch out for blackfly, greenfly and thrips. Carrot fly is a particular Propagator or Windowsill problem between May and Brussels sprouts, broccoli, September. Cabbage root fly on calabrese cabbage, cauliflower, brassicas. Watch out for slugs and celeriac, courgette, cucumber, FRUIT snails. Butterflies are about now as well, and they leave yellow/white French and runner beans, leek, Strawberries and raspberries eggs that will hatch into caterpillars pumpkin, squash, sweetcorn, should be available now. Rhubarb and devastate your plants.. outdoor tomatoes can all be will be coming to the end of it’s planted out into their final position season by the end of the month.
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