Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Spring-sown seed won't grow into plants big enough to harvest until mid-June,
so if you can keep some going over winter you will have chard available for over
ten months of the year, and possibly even all year round.
Coriander
Given some protection to see it through any really heavy frosts, coriander sown
in September will be at its best in the hungry gap. Start some replacement plants
on a sunny windowsill in February or March.
Kohlrabi
Autumn plantings will grow extremely slowly through the winter, but will begin
to fatten up in early February. They can be picked at any stage once the bulb
begins to grow, but don't let them get too old or they'll become woody. Sow
indoors in modules every two weeks from February for a continuous harvest
beginning in April.
Lettuce
Early spring sowings will be ready to pick using a 'cut and come again' approach
by early May. Overwintering plants will begin to grow rapidly in March and must
be picked regularly to delay bolting for as long as possible.
Onions, bulbing
Provided you can protect them from slugs, early overwintering ('Japanese')
onions sown during the previous summer can be ripened early by folding the
tops down around the start of May. If this strikes you as too space-hungry a system,
sow a few long rows of spring onions instead.
Onions, spring
Fully hardy, spring onions have two big advantages over their bulbing cousins:
they take up very little room and they stand for a long time without changing
very much. For delicate stems to use in salads in the hungry gap, sow in Sept-
ember; for bigger stems, sow as early as midsummer.
Pak choi
Early February sowings of pak choi will be big enough to harvest from late April
onwards.
Peas
If overwintering ('round' seed) varieties such as 'Douce Provence' are planted in
October of the previous year, they will begin producing in April. For something
even earlier, look for a round-seeded winter 'snow pea' - then you don't even
have to wait for the peas to develop inside the pods before you can eat them.
