Keep the vegetable patch filled up
As you pick your vegetables, clear away any weeds, dig in some well rotted manure or compost and apply a balanced fertiliser such as
Westland Growmore.
There is still time to sow late seeds and plant out vegetables for late summer and even next year. Quick maturing vegetable seeds for sowing directly into the soil include beetroot, carrots, radish, spring onions, lettuce, rocket, spinach and swedes.
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Hide AdVegetable plants available now from the garden centre are Savoy cabbage, spring maturing cabbage, autumn cauliflower, celery, parsley, leeks, lettuce Little Gem.
Why not consider growing your own Christmas potatoes? There are a few varieties in the garden centre now and they should be planted as soon as possible in the ground, or in large containers. Seed potatoes should be planted 20-35cm apart and 10-15cm deep, with 50cm between each row. Keep the ground well watered and spray the emerging foliage with a fungicide like Bayer Fruit & Vegetable Disease Control for Potato Blight. If planting in containers, make sure there are good drainage holes.
Use Westland Multipurpose Compost with JI 15cm in the bottom of the container, cover the potatoes with another 15cm of compost once foliage starts to appear and keep covering with more compost until the container is full. Water and spray regularly.
The potatoes should be ready for
harvesting approximately 12 weeks after planting. If growing in containers, these can be moved into a greenhouse for further protection.
Available from mid-August, onion sets and shallots. Plant and these will be ready for harvesting next spring.
Good gardening!
John Shannon
Inver Garden Centre.