This is the time for planting. Earlier in the year I have been getting the earth ready. I have dug
over the plot and removed the weeds. Now the soil is warming up and the seeds sown indoors
are ready for planting out.
Planning
The first stage is the planning. Every year I have to plan what I will plant in which area. My
vegetables are grown on a small to medium size plot so I try not to grow exactly the same
things in the same places every year. This is the easiest and most organic way to prevent
attacks by diseases and pesky bugs that are species specific. Of course things like slugs will
eat everything so you can't really do much about them by crop rotation. You can't use true
rotation as a farmer does on a small backyard plot. But there is something else that you can do
to confuse pests.
Many bugs locate their target plants by smell or sight. Mixing planting and
screening crops with other types of plant can confuse the bugs - for example planting flowers in
the vegetable plot. In a very small plot it helps crops to resist pests by mixing the plants so
that the flying bugs will get confused. They will fly off and look for a large expanse of the same
crop.
Beans
It is the time when I put up the poles for my stick or runner beans to climb and plant the large
blue veined seeds in the soil which has been well fertilized. The sticks, tied together in rows or
in wigwam shapes need to be orientated so that they are protected from the prevailing wind - if a
summer storm brings down a whole row of beans it can uproot the plants and cause irreparable
damage. Thinking about the direction of the prevailing wind at the stage of planting can avoid
this problem later.
I am also planting dwarf beans this year. These are small bushes and produce a crop that is
thinner than runner beans and can be used whole and raw in salads. They are sometimes called
French beans. The seeds are bean shaped but small and white. These need planting six inches
apart in rows about 18 inches apart either singly or in threes. They like warm conditions so it is
important not to plant too early.
Leeks
I have also planted out the leeks that I started growing in the house on the windowsill in
February. They have a head start on the leeks that I have now sown outside... The secret of
using a vegetable plot successfully is to have the produce maturing over a long period of time
rather than have it all ready for the kitchen at the same time. I have spinach beet planted in
stages so that I should have a continuous supply over the summer and into the autumn and
winter.
Of course I plant all my beans at the same time as these particular vegetables freeze well and
when there are too many to eat I can freeze them for the winter months. The salad leaves are
now starting and in a month or so will be ready to start harvesting.
Zucchinis
I have also planted my outdoor zucchinis (also called courgettes) as the soil is now warmed up.
I have some advanced plants in the glass house that are now getting quite large and these will
be fruiting much earlier than the outdoor ones but again continuity and length of growing season
is important.
Potatoes
The potatoes that I planted at Easter time are now through the soil and I went along the rows
and earthed them up - piling the earth up on to the top of the leaves helps improve the crop and
easy of digging it out eventually. It also protects the crop from getting water logged if there is a
spell of heavy rain as the ditches created by the earthed up rows form natural drainage
channels.
Weeds
As this is the most prolific time of the year for all growing it is also the time when weeds grow
fast. It is important to keep busy with the hoe to dig the little weeds out between the rows of
seeds before they get time to get established.
This is the busiest time of the year in the vegetable garden but what we do now will set us up for
the rest of the year.
