Amateur Gardening – 21 May 2019

5 quick

jobs

11 MAY 2019AMATEUR GARDENING 21

NextWeek:Focusonforestgardening,

thinraspberrycanes,tryintercropping,plant

outdoor tomatoes, grow lablab beans.

DIDyouknowthatyoucanaltera

crop’ssizejustbyadjustingyourplanting

distances?Plentyof vegetablesare

beingtransplantednow,sojustponder

thosewordsbeforeyouplant.

Broccoliheadsbiggerthana tennis

ballthisyear?Noproblem!Smaller

caulisneeded,becauselastwinterit

tooka weektogetthroughjustone?

Absolutely!It’salltodowithrootspace

anditsinfluenceoncropcompetition.

Simplyput,a largerrootsystem

equalsa biggercrop,andviceversa.Soil

typealsoplaysa role,withfree-draining,

low-fertilitysandsgivingsmalleryields

thanmoisture-huggingfertileclayplots.

Averagecropspacingsareeasyto

determinewitha quickinternetsearch,

andtheyshouldalsobeprintedonthe

back of your seed packets. Once you

LIFEis busy,thingscropup,sowingdates

getmissed.Butnowadays,gardeners

arelucky,fortherangeof vegetableplug

plantsavailableat thegardencentreis

hugein comparisontoa decadeago.

Puristsouttheremightscoff,believing

thatif a cropcanbesown,youshould

buyseedsanddosolelythat.Butnot

onlydoesthisattitudemakenewbie

growersfeelinadequate,it alsostops

peoplehavingthechancetoenjoy fresh

producefromtheirgarden.

Plugplantsaren’tcheating:they’rean

excellentwaytomakethemostof your

space,duetothespeedfromplantingto

harvest.Whenbuyingthem,justensure

that the roots aren’t congested (which

Save time and choose plug plants

Tweak your veg planting distances

caninhibitgrowth)and

if youpurchaseviamai

order,makesuretogetthempottedup

or into the ground as soon as possible.

LUSH,tropicaltriffid-likeplants,

bananashavecertainlymadetheir

namein ourexoticborders.Butis it

possibletoobtainediblefruitsfrom

them?Yes,if luckis onyourside,and

yougrowthecorrectvarieties.

Mostspecialistexoticnurseries

(oftenbasedin theSouthWest)will

stockEnseteandMusa,thetwo

plantsgivingrisetobananas.While

Ensetemightbearfruitin long,hot

summerswithplentyof moisture,

theirqualityof eatingis poor.Musais

morepromising– butnotif yougrow

themainspeciessold,Musabasjoo,

onaccountof itshardiness.Track

downMusaxparadisiaca, however,

andyou’rein luck.

Thishybridis thecommercial,

ediblebanana.Plantit somewhere

warmandsheltered,prayfora

promisingsummer, and you just

may get a crop!

Training glasshouse tomatoes

1

Cordontomatoesare

generallygrownwith

onemainverticalstem.

Removesideshoots

regularlyonce1-2in

(2½-5cm)tall,snapping

them off gently.

2

Theseloftystems

aregoingtoneed

support!Eithertiethem

ontostrongbamboo

canesorcarefullytwist

themaroundtwinetied

to the greenhouse eaves.

3

If youhappentomiss

a sideshootandit

becomespencil-thick(this

is easilydone),thencut

it off.Watchoutalsofor

competingleadersand

cut these off, too.

Step

by step WHILEmanyoutdoortomsarecompactorbushy,indoorvarietiesare

often lofty cordon types. Here’s how to maintain discipline under glass:

1

Allvegseedlingsraisedunder

coverneedhardeningoffbefore

beingplantedoutside.Placethem

outdoorsinthedayandthenback

insideatnightforaweek.

2

Springcabbagesheartupquickly

inwarmweather.Checkyourcrop

frequently,squeezingthecentres

asaguidetotellyouwhentoharvest.

3

Beforeplantingcucumbersand

melonsintogrowbags,waterthe

bagswellandmovethemintothe

greenhouseforaday.Thisway,

therootswon’tgetchilled.

4

Ifyoupottedupfirstearlypotato

tubershopingforaspeedycrop,

checkthecontainers:thosemelt-in-

the-mouthspudscouldbeready!

5

Summerandautumnraspberrybeds

willbefilledwithcanes.Tokeeprows

incheck,digupwaywardcanesand

pot them up for gardening chums.

Theselettuceplugswillgetgenerous

spacings to develop good-sized hearts

Alamy

Checkaveragespacingsforcaulis,sprouts

and broccoli, and adjust for desired results

Main image: Alamy

Why

not try..?

YoungMusaxparadisiacaplants

Bananas

Justcheckroots

arenÕt congested!

Alamy

havesourcedthem,eitherplantout

slightlywider(orthindirect-sown

cropsoutmore)fora largercrop,or

reducespacingsif you prefer baby

veg-sized harvests.