Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Mark says:
“If you have a plant that resists bolting until long after the others, it's well
worth considering trying to save seed from it, as long as it's a good,
healthy plant that didn't get picked too heavily. The plants you grow from
these seeds will be even more resistant to bolting, and in this way you can
gradually select for characteristics that will help your garden to improve
every year. This process - saving seed or rooting a cutting from a plant
that has different but very useful characteristics - is exactly what gave us
the thornless blackberry.”
Slug patrol
From late April through to the end of May a regular 'slug patrol' will help to keep
the numbers down for the entire year. Take a torch and walk slowly through the
tunnel after dark, picking off any slugs you see. While the numbers will be
higher directly after wet weather, you should soon see a marked difference in the
total you collect.
Sowing plants for the hungry gap
To help you plan for future years, the following is a very brief list of plants suited
to growing for the hungry gap, along with suggested sowing dates. More infor-
mation on each plant can be found in Chapter 8.
Beetroot
Beetroot will happily overwinter in a tunnel from module sowings in July and
August, and can be harvested until it bolts, usually towards the end of March.
The leaves are also very good, but there won't be many of them once the roots
have developed; you can delay bolting by picking them.
Broad beans
Overwintering broad beans sown in October or November will give you a very
early harvest, but don't be tempted to sow them too early. Ideally you want them
to be no more than 30cm high when growth stops for the winter, so that they are
ready to make the most of the light when it returns in the spring. If you don't
manage to sow them in autumn, start some off in modules on a sunny windowsill
from January onwards and plant them as soon as they have a few true leaves. If
you are sowing in modules from the end of February, use a spring-sown variety
as they are faster-growing and usually have more flavour.
Broccoli, sprouting
A traditional outdoor hungry-gap plant, sprouting broccoli spends less time in
the ground in the tunnel than plants grown outside, and the spears are much less
