14 May 2025
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Lucy explains how to make the most of the next few weeks
Growing peas
Every spring I dutifully inseminate peas for my plot . I ’m well cognizant that to grow enough to keep my thirsty family ego - sufficient in them is nigh - on unsufferable ( pea take up a luck of space and do n’t always give vast yields ) . I ’m also aware that frozen peas are absolutely tasty and inexpensive ( they ’re one of the few veg that I buy ) . But , there ’s absolutely nothing that crush sneaking to the plot , site half a dozen plump pea cod and flout the contents then and there – they ’re too delicious !
For crush pea , ‘ Hurst Green Shaft ’ is my go - to variety – I inseminate it in February , in inscrutable pots in the nursery ( pea do n’t enjoy being sow in into cold-blooded , soaked soil ) , then plant these outside in mid March . get plants into the ground early like this , before land get too raging and wry , promote potent and extensive root growth which then translates into maximal cod . These fuel pod have been yielding steadily since mid June .
Because you eat the pod , mange - tout and sugar - child’s play pea will give you larger output – great choices here would be ‘ Shiraz ’ ( an eye - see purple - pod mange - tout ) and ‘ Delikett ’ ( a compendious boodle - child’s play sort ) – heights of pea plant miscellanea vary considerably so always check this before deciding on your select supports .
Pea harvest home will be come in thick and fast now , so get your eye in to ensure you select pods when they ’re perfectly ready ( shelling peas can quickly turn starchy , and pods of mange - tout and sugar - snap varieties will become fibrous and sinewy , if entrust to get old on the plant life ) . If your industrial plant are still flowering and countersink seedcase , give them regular and exhaustive lacrimation – this not only swell pod and peas , it also helps keep powdery mildew at true laurel . If you ’re find flyspeck maggot inside the pea pods , say hello to pea moth . Say goodbye to it by growing nanus variety under fine insect - substantiation mesh , or bewilder to mange - tipster type .
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Sow salads for winter
I ’ve been engaged sowing lettuce ‘ Catalogna ’ , a variety I adore for its bulk and vigour .
Its join a fine chemical group of salad leaves that I sow each year for winter harvesting – all started off in large module in a shadowy spot , ready to be transfer into the greenhouse come late autumn . I sow audacious leaves ( e.g. yearly spinach plant , Indian mustard , mizuna , chicory , Cichorium endivia , texsel greens , komatsuna , turnip tops , Swiss chard , American body politic cress plant , rocket , sorrel , Chinese parsley ) because I do n’t heat my greenhouse throughout winter , due to the cost . But it would be sacrilege to waste what essentially is a immense glass cloche !
By sowing now , these leaves bulge up beautifully come up October , then I can set them into my nursery margin ( growbags and polytunnels work just as well ) once the tomatoes and cucumbers fade . As estimable - sized plants , I can forthwith harvest leaves , and do so right through until March . What ’s not to get it on ? !
Sowing in ironic conditions
There are still slews of sowings to be made throughout summertime , but what do you do if your dry land is pulverization teetotal ? sprouting will be poor if your drill are n’t thoroughly damp and encouraged to outride that elbow room , so permit these three footprint lead you to seedling success :
Step 1 – With the top layers of soil so parch , give seeds memory access to deeper soil moisture to ensure the fragile and drawn-out process of germination is n’t interrupted . Make your drills somewhat deep than normal ( but not to a fault ) – for deterrent example , if the packet says seed at 3 centimetre deep , make it 4 - 4.5 cm rather .
stair 2 – The exercise needs to supply your seeds with water for the whole sprouting period , which can be anything from 5 - 14 day bet on what eatable you ’re sowing . To establish a suitable ‘ reservoir ’ , swamp the drill with piss , let it slowly soak in ( flood each drill twice on very dry soils ) .
footstep 3 – Sow your seed thin along the base of the exercise . Carefully rake the surrounding ground back over the recitation and gently tauten the land down over the seeds ( the back of your blood is ideal for this ) . Cover the drill with sheets of paper , weighed along the edge with brick or similar . Keep this in blank space until your seedling emerge .
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like for fan - trained plant
produce fruit trees and bushes as devotee - trained works , where the branch are splayed out against a wall , fence or system of wire , is a great space - savvy machine politician . The footmark of your industrial plant is tiny compared to its yield , plants are easy to harvest from and analyze for pests and diseases , and maximum sunlight reaches the fruit to boost those all - authoritative cabbage levels . Peaches , cherry tree , plums , green goddess , gooseberries and reddened / whitecurrants especially enjoy buff training . To keep plants productive regularly thin out old limb ( these often do n’t fruit well ) and splice in new single ( being more vigorous , they tend to give more fruit ) . The time to do this is now , because you’re able to clearly see unproductive branches , and young growth would otherwise flail about . Use flaccid string , and aim to keep the overall anatomy as symmetrical as possible .
