|
|
ATHOL MCLAGGAN's VEGETABLE GARDENING PAGE
|
|
| One definitely can feel that there is movement in the veggie garden and that the plant sap is starting to rise and responding to the increasing day length. The warm days over the past two weeks have meant that my leaf crops such as coriander, rocket, lettuce and spinach have all responded well and it is rewarding to be able to pick them fresh every day. When sowing seed I always put some of them into a nice clay pot and allow them to grow so that they really fill the pot. I am not a cook but find that when you grow for chefs, although they like the idea of walking around the veggie garden each morning and selecting what they want to cook, they generally are in a rush and so by having these pots in the kitchen and close at hand they simply cut from the pot and use the fresh herbs immediately with out them having to sit in the fridge and wilt. It is amazing how better fresh herbs taste at room temperature and fully turgid rather than slightly wilted and cold!
We still have a good six weeks of possible cold and frosts and so it is that tricky time of planting seeds for the upcoming spring/summer seasons, but keeping them protected from the cold. If you are limited with time at the moment, I would say a priority is preparing soil for potatoes. Dig the soil over well, adding in bone meal, manure and compost and then let it rest for the month of August, ready for planting in early September. Below is a list of vegetables to sow during August.
The following must be planted into pots or into a cold frame so that they can be protected from cold weather. In our house it is called the migration of the pots which get hauled inside at night and outside during the day!
|
|
Back to Athol's Index |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
