Vegetable Gardening 

Polytunnel

Vegetable gardening is becoming very popular with the current trend towards eating wholesome organic food. Most vegetables are quite easy to grow on a fertile free-draining soil if a regular maintenance programme is practised.

Feeding and fertilising

At last everything seems to be getting away in the vegetable garden. The dull, wet conditions this year certainly checked many plants, especially those that were planted out from the protection of frame or greenhouse.

As they start to grow strongly, feed vegetables like celery and celeriac in order to bring a bit of colour back to the leaves and encourage vigorous development. Leeks have also suffered and will benefit from a mild liquid feed now that they are becoming established.

Courgettes, marrows and ridge cucumbers have received setbacks to, some of the older leaves having become brown and crisp at the edges. Do not be too concerned about this. Providing that the centre of the plant is fresh and green they will grow away.

With courgettes and marrows, make sure that fertilisation takes place. To be certain, remove a male flower that is heavy with pollen and thrust it into a waiting female flower. These are easy to distinguish as the female blossoms have tiny embryo fruits behind them.

On the other hand cucumbers must not be allowed to pollinate. The moment male flowers are spotted remove them. Fertilisation of embryo cucumbers results in very bitter misshapen fruits.

Cultivating

Cultivate carefully between sweet corn plants and as they develop earth them up gently. Sweet corn produces strong supporting buttress roots which benefit from this, although any earthing up should not compare with that undertaken for potatoes. For sweet corn it gives the plants stability, for potatoes the crop size is greatly increased.

The idea of earthing up potatoes is to cover the maximum amount of stem without restricting growth. Potato tubers are developments from the stem rather than the root, so the more stem that is buried the heavier the crop. Earthing up also prevents the tubers from turning green and becoming unpalatable. Towards the middle of the month the first early potatoes should be ready for harvesting. As soon as they have been removed prepare the ground for planting out spring cabbage.

Seed sowing

Sow seeds of varieties of spring cabbage like April and Flower of Spring for transplanting in their final positions towards the end of July. If you fancy spring greens rather than cabbages sow Collards now but it is essential to thin the plants rather than transplanting them.

There is still time to make a late sowing of round-seeded peas and dwarf French beans. The peas will be ready during late August and early September if you use an early variety like Feltham First, while the beans will provide continuity of cropping until the first sharp frost. For the beans, choose a stringless variety like Sprite.

Chinese cabbage must also be sown now. Unlike traditional cabbage varieties, these must not be transplanted, but sown directly into the rows in which they are to mature, the seedlings being thinned to their final positions. Sampan is a good variety.

This also applies to many of the other Chinese vegetables that have recently become available, interesting varieties like Pak Choi and Tsai Shimi. All are quick maturing and run into flower and seed if sown much before July or are transplanted after germination. Slugs seem to enjoy these succulent vegetables and so protective measures should be taken.

Greenhouse shading

It is vitally important to ensure that the greenhouse is adequately shaded. Un-shaded conditions can lead to foliage scorching as well as all manner of disfiguring disorders, especially amongst tomato and cucumber plants.

Signs of heat damage with tomatoes include pinched, somewhat spidery growths from twisted growing points and leaves with fawn coloured blotches irregularly distributed across them, often accompanied by brown edges which are brittle and crumble when touched.

Scald-like effects upon the developing fruits of tomatoes also result from a lack of shading. Remember that tomatoes in their natural habitat grow beneath a leafy canopy and while requiring a warm temperature do not enjoy intense sunlight.

Cucumbers and melons are even more susceptible, benefiting from a high temperature and humidity, but not liking bright sunshine. Heavier shading than that normally recommended for tomatoes and other greenhouse plants is desirable for cucumbers and melons.

Watering is an obvious task for all crops, but not all gardeners are aware of how much is needed to ensure unchecked growth. Always water pot plants from the top and watch for it to seep out of the drainage holes of the pot. Regular watering, which creates a constant dampness of the compost is much to be preferred to thorough soakings and periods of drought.