Cultivate your edibles during March
Garden Tips: Direct Sowing and Planting Early Crops
As the weather starts to warm up, it's time to get your hands dirty and prepare your garden for the growing season. Here are some tips for direct sowing and planting early crops like carrots, salad leaves, spring onions, beetroot, and potatoes.
Direct Sowing Outdoors
For root crops that do not transplant well, such as carrots and beetroot, direct sowing is the way to go. Choose cold-hardy varieties and prepare a sunny spot with nutrient-rich soil. Sow the seeds in shallow rows or holes, cover them lightly, and keep the soil consistently moist until seeds germinate. For continuous harvest, sow salad leaves in succession every 2-3 weeks.
Planting Potatoes
Potatoes are planted in a 10-15cm deep trench or in holes about 10cm deep in raised beds. Each seedling is planted in a hole made with a dibber, and the roots are carefully levered out and placed in the hole. Space the potatoes about 30cm apart and have the chits or small shoots facing up. After planting, gently firm the soil around the seedlings without touching the stem. To protect the shoots from frost, either rake loose soil over them if they are trenched or cover them with straw and compost if they're in beds where digging is not done.
Harvesting Rhubarb
Rhubarb stems are currently coming thick and fast and are sweet and perfect for harvesting. To harvest, grip the stem down near the base and give it a firm twist to pull it away from the crown cleanly. Remember to stop harvesting from young rhubarb plants by the summer to give them a chance to recover and strengthen for longer picking next year.
Growing Seedlings
In the greenhouse, tomato seedlings are moved to 9cm pots filled with a mix of peat-free potting compost and John Innes no 3. If a seedling is leggy, it is dropped deep into the hole so that the leaves are close to the surface. After watering, the seedlings are placed on the bench to grow for a few weeks before planting into their final position.
Caring for Rhubarb
Cover the tubers with soil, and in as little as a fortnight, the shoots will emerge and need frost protection. Keep earthing up or covering the potatoes with more material to block the light from the new potatoes.
Preparing Rhubarb for Cooking
Before cooking rhubarb, trim off the thin sheath. If you're growing rhubarb, you're in for a treat as the stems are currently coming thick and fast and are sweet and perfect for harvesting.
By following these tips, you can ensure a bountiful harvest of your favourite crops and enjoy fresh, home-grown produce all season long. Happy gardening!
[1] RHS. (2021). Direct sowing. [online] Available at: https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=110
[2] Garden Organic. (2021). Direct sowing. [online] Available at: https://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/growing-guides/direct-sowing
[3] BBC Gardens. (2021). Direct sowing. [online] Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/howto/growing_vegetables/direct_sowing
[4] The Guardian. (2021). How to sow seeds directly outdoors. [online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/gardening-blog/2017/mar/15/how-to-sow-seeds-directly-outdoors-vegetable-gardening-tips
Gardening in your home-and-garden can be more enjoyable with the right lifestyle choices, such as adopting methods like direct sowing for early crops like carrots, salad leaves, spring onions, beetroot, and potatoes. For instance, carrots and beetroot, which don't transplant well, can be sown directly into raised beds or a sunny spot with nutrient-rich soil according to garden tips. This method ensures a smoother growth process for these root crops.
