Out and About Spring 2021

Out&About lifestyle

What should we be doing now in the garden?

For fertilizer I try and get farmyard manure, spread it on the ground in October/November time, then dig it in, in the spring

the smell is a bit ‘hit and miss’. Towards the end of April I put my runner bean and dwarf bean seed in between newspaper sheets and keep it wet until the beans start to shoot. Once I see a shoot, I transfer them to root trainers or boxes of compost to grow in the greenhouse until the end of May, when they can be transferred outside. Beans should ideally be planted outside when the shoot appears between the two seed leaves. With the changes in climatic conditions, it is possible to put sensitive plants out into the garden earlier, but I always go by the old adage ‘don’t plant out till May is out’ – it only takes one frost to

Fast forward to June It’s a mighty rush to get all those tender plants into the garden. Make sure you water everything in well and the weeding starts. It’s important to keep the weeds to a minimum, not only can they ‘choke’ your plants – but they are taking goodness out of the soil which your plants could be using. For fertilizer I try and get farmyard manure, spread it on the ground in October/November time, then dig it in, in the spring. Homemade compost is also very good, but if you can’t get hold of either of those, use a multi-nutrients pellet fertilizer like Growmore. It is best not to plant root crops – carrots, parsnips – in ground that has had manure or similar put on in the previous October/November. I always leave an area with no manure, where I intend planting this type of crop in the coming season. Happy planting and we’ll catch up again in the summer.

April is a very busy time. If first early potatoes have not yet been planted then they should go in now. I plant mine, depending on soil temperature, around the second or third week of March and cover them in fleece to avoid the young shoots poking through the ground and catching a frost. If you have no fleece, ridge the potatoes up as soon as shoots show and if they push up through the ridging, put more soil on top of them. If there is a risk of frost, you should do this until at least the latter end of May. Small seed can be planted, parsnips, carrots, beetroot etc. It is wise to plant onions between carrot rows to help stop carrot root fly, which is guided by smell. Marigolds can also be used, but they are susceptible to frost. I personally cover my carrot seed in micro mesh tunnels from the day I plant them until after harvesting as it’s a sure way to keep the fly at bay. I find planting something to ‘kill’

destroy a lot of hard work. The same goes for marrows, squashes, courgettes etc.

I don’t bother with the wet paper, but do plant them in the greenhouse in pots ready for planting out. If you

haven’t got a greenhouse a window sill, conservatory or similar is fine, as long as they get plenty of sunlight and

If you are interested in allotments visit Newbury Town Council www.newbury.gov.uk/community- services/allotments

For general information on allotments visit the National

Allotment Society www.nsalg.org.uk

water and cannot get frosted.

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O&A SPRING 2021