19.10.2011
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The Potager - it's still full of goodness to harvest and sow!
Planting is not over yet and there are so many apple events to attend and the Squash season is well and truly underway.
The squash colours are amazing and I have also noticed that people have become a tad more adventurous and started growing different varieties from the usual Butternut Squash. Red Onion, Turk's Turban and Green Kabacha have become more prolific - stunning shapes and colours as well as tastes ranging from sweet to more earthy rooty flavours.
Still lots to do in the Potager and as we finalise our new Potager layout at our house, I am getting more and more excited by the day as it is taking shape. I am so excited. But I must hurry as I want to plant out my Asparagus crowns - first I need to build the raised bed!
Known as the harvest month, October is a bounty of vegetable goodness, along with fruit and pears. But you can still
So what can you still sow?
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- Onion sets: Bred for hardiness, usually form Japanese cultivars, these must be planted out in a well-drained soil otherwise they will rot. Space at 20cms apart - give them plenty of room and don't forget to mark what and where they are!
- Peas: You can sow these little guys as long as you protect them through the winter. So a cloche is needed unless you can place them in a greenhouse (dwarf variety is better, otherwise might grow a tad tall!). Outside you will need a sheltered side, they hate windy conditions. "Meteor" and "Feltham First" are reliable peas.
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- Broad Beans : I like "Aquadulce" for this month, hardy and a good all rounder. Space out at 15cms from each other. Don't forget to ensure your soil is not water logged. You can harvest in May next year. Just leave them and forget them!
- Cabbages: sowing now will ensure you will reap a harvest in June and July. Cabbages are great fillers for the in-between time for Spring and Summer next year. So Spring Cabbages as they are known, are usually conical in shape and a tad smaller than the summer varieties. "Durham Early" is good.
- Lettuces: hardy lettuces will keep cropping as long as you keep sowing. You might need cloches if the weather gets fierce but if growing in the glass house,
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- Asparagus: crowns are being sold now. I wouldn't try growing from seed, too complicated and often does not take. So crowns are great. Don't forget they are perennials so grow them somewhere you are happy to leave them year in year out.
- Cauliflowers: hardy varieties are great and again as there are fewer pests easier to grow through the winter for a harvest next year in Spring!
- Endives: hardy leaf salad. Love love love them! I have tried the cut and come again method but for me it does not work, try it though, your soil might be richer than mine. And in any case I like the fully mature plants to use in salads or cook whole with ham and cheese encased in fluffy pastry! Yum!
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