As autumn is progressing towards the halfway stage, the growing season is slowing down. March is generally a major harvesting period so the garden will be full of delicious crops to enjoy. The garden will be laden with crops like tomatoes, beans, sweetcorn and beetroot, all ready to be picked, bottled, preserved, and prepared for use over the colder months.
Also as it’s a major harvesting period for both fruit and veges it’s the perfect time to plant more for continuous harvests over the cooler months. Sow lettuce, spinach, spring onions and peas directly into the ground. Carrots, parsnips, beetroot, swedes and turnips can also be sown directly.
Sow a crop of quick maturing radishes. Mix in with the topsoil organic humate – this will assist in speeding up the growing period and the small red globes can be harvested as little as five weeks after sowing. Radishes grow better and develop their best flavour when the temperatures are cooler rather than warmer. Constant watering is important for quick growth, and makes for tastier roots.
Remember that when planting celery keep them well watered. Without moisture, stalks are often small and bitter. Lack of or irregular watering can also lead to a calcium deficiency, which in turn results in ‘blackheart’ where the heart of the plant turns black. To help get any young plants off to a flying start mix in Daves Organic Liquid humate into a watering can (at the rate of 100mls per 10 litres water) and pour liberally over the foliage so the plant is getting a foliar feed plus a soil drench. Even better is to mix in our fish & seaweed fertiliser with the liquid humate and so then the plants are getting all the goodies from the liquid humate plus the fish & seaweed with trace elements – a fantastic combo! Before planting, mix in organic humate and or our wonderful Growth Booster sheep pellets compost into your soil. Doing this will help to eliminate any soil fertility problems you may have.
As main potatoes are dug, replace them with cabbages, cauliflowers, broccoli, kohlrabi and Brussels sprouts. Late summer-early autumn is the perfect time to sow and plant winter vegetables, as the still-warm soil encourages speedy germination.
Happy Gardening, Dave