Now, it’s never been a bright pink, more green with pink stripes/splashes of pink but this year its totally green and frankly it’s no use to me with a family who point blank refuses to eat green rhubarb.

So off I went on the rhubarb trail trying to find out why this year its green.

The rhubarb I grow is Victoria and comes in all shades from fuchsia pink to green. Some varieties never go pink.

“I never knew that! I thought all rhubarb was pink.. oh what a sheltered life I’ve led.”

Still, it didn’t explain why mine was pink and is now green, though it still tastes the same if not slightly sweeter..

If only I could convince my family that its safe to eat and I’m not trying to poison them.. Lol

Anyway.. after a lot of time spent on google I came across a site that suggested the ph of the soil could be the reason and I should fork wood ash around the crown at the end of the season then next spring my rhubarb will be pink again..  Brilliant!!

Hope it works or it will be there solely for the compost bin

No one else will eat it apart from me!

The variety of sweet potato that I grow (T65) has been bred and selected for our shorter summers, the flesh of the tuber is more creamy in colour than the orange colour tubers bought in supermarkets, and has a much nicer flavour. I bought my slips last year from the organic garden catalogue – yes I know, pricier than using a supermarket tuber but felt it was worth growing one that was bred for our summers and keeping some back for following years rather than getting one off the shelf – then after all the faffing about not having it succeed

(why are slips so expensive ?)

So this year I set about producing slips from last years tubers…

The tubers I kept from last year were stored in a box covered with dry multi purpose compost in my shed and were fine when I got them out in Jan..

Sweet potatoes are grown from shoots or “slips”. Slips are produced by submerging part of a tuber into a jar of water. I started my sweet potatoes off in this way around the end of January leaving them in a bright and warm place.

After a few weeks the tubers will start to produce slips and fine white roots will begin to grow below water level. Keep the jars topped up with water so that they don’t dry out. ( I use tepid water when topping up) When the slips are about 4″  long gently twist them off the tuber and place in a jar of water. There will be no roots attached to the slips at this stage. After a few days in water the slips will produce their own set of roots.

Here they are, before potting into soil looking sorry for themselves-don’t be put off by their appearance. After a couple  of weeks  in potting soil their roots establish and they look much healthier..

When they have a healthy set of roots pot them individually into a small pot filled with soil. (I use root trainers) Leave the tubers in their jars of water, as you twist off the slips more will be produced.

Keep the potted on slips in a warm place. Once they are showing signs of growth start to harden them off gradually.

It is recommended to grow them under black plastic for added warmth.. Find the warmest and sunniest position you have. I read they can be grown vertically up a wigwam or trellis but I allowed mine to trail along the ground. Sweet potatoes like similar growing conditions as potatoes, well drained soil with a little manure mixed  and keep them well watered to swell the tubers. Try to avoid fluctuating water levels otherwise you may get tubers that crack. I planted my sweet potato plants this year approximately one and a half feet apart in April, before the last frost dates for my area but they are covered with enviromesh to protect them. I leave the the mesh insitu until June.. The plants need over a hundred days from planting to harvesting. I lifted mine last year, in September – first week in October.

Be careful when lifting as their skins are delicate and easily damaged, leave in a warm place for a week or two so their skins can cure/harden before storing in a dry cool place…

The vines have a uncanny resemblance to bindweed ( they are a relative) so it may be useful to put a sign up… Lol

Some of my lottie neighbours thought I had put plastic down to kill weeds and kept remarking on the bindweed that had pushed its way through the plastic… Lol. Think they were worried it would invade their plot *smiles*

The first year I grew peas was a total disaster!

I started the seeds off in loo roll inners and everything was going well – nice little healthy plants at home, then the time came to plant them out and it was down hill from there. They slowed down growth wise and the pods were far and few between [ all that effort for a very small meal] The following year I sowed direct [  roughly the same amount of two 5ft rows] and was sick of eating them. I put down the previous years failure to the cardboard loo roll inners and heavy clay soil, even though the bed had copious amounts of compost dug into the bed to break the soil up. I’m convinced the two didn’t give ideal growing conditions – I also had a problem with my squash started off the same way, though in little peat pots [the idea of just plant everything pot as well just doesn't work on my soil]

I grow two types of peas

# dwarf- A early pea, enabling me to cover them until the weather warms up – they don’t need any support..

Followed by a main crop climber ..

Remember to soak peas overnight before sowing!

Early March through to April..

I sow my dwarf peas three to four weeks apart. – I completely ignore the spacing advice on the packet and grow in blocks close together so they support themselves

April

I put up the support for my climbing peas and fork in some bone meal

End of April/May

Depending on the weather I direct sow my climbing peas – delaying if the ground is too wet..

April/ May..

I sow my beans direct around the end of April/May

[runners,  broad, etc. ]

Adding compost and bone meal to the bed in March..

leaving the more tender varieties

[French beans asparagus beans ]

until June…

Aubergines require warmer conditions than tomatoes. If you want to grow them outdoors you will need a sheltered position and protection to get them to fruit. Aubergines need higher temperatures and protection from wind. You will also need to limit the number of fruits on an aubergine by pinching out side shoots

I use John Innes.  No. 2 compost and sow into 3in pots –giving the pots a good soaking before sowing. I don’t water again until the seedlings are well through and only pot on before transfering to my plot when absolutely necessary.

I can get three largish, sometimes four fruits on one plant grown outside in central London and six smallish fruits..

This is basically how I grow my Aubergines

Jan/Feb

Sow seeds indoors into 3in pots in warmth (65 °F) I grow mine on my windowsill, placing the pot into a plastic bag [these in effect are mini greenhouses]

May

If plants get too large before the weather warms up I pot them on into 5 inch pots

June

I plant out onto plot staking and covering with Enviromesh making a frame with some piping – the mesh is usually put in place 2 weeks before to warm up the soil. On open ground like a allotment they need to be sheltered and this tightly woven mesh is ideal. I then start feeding using a high potash feed [comfrey] once first fruit has set

Aubergines can suffer from blossom end rot so I try to keep watering constant as I would my tomatoes. Though I’ve never had that problem so far..

I continue to tie in and pinch out the top when they get around 18in high and the side shoots when I have 4/6 fruits to encourage bushiness and feed approx every 2 weeks with a comfrey feed until the first fruits are ready – My first year this happened in late August (did well that year) or September, depending on our summers. Lol

I grow outdoor tomatoes as I don’t have a greenhouse as yet..

Usually I  sow my tomatoes into 3in pots in March, though this year I thought I would start them off earlier…

March

Seeds are sown into pots using John Innes no.2 compost, then  placed into a plastic bag to keep them warm on my windowsill.[ they should be kept at 10c any lower and they will not  germinate]  I remove the bag when they have their true leaves… This is where they stay until I plant them out onto my plot..

End of May

I put in supports [ I have metal poles that I use, spacing them a foot apart] then fork in compost adding some blood fish bone meal

June

It doesn’t  matter how much I harden them off they still sulk when planted out but they soon recover after a couple of days .

When planting  I water the hole with a watering can full per hole then pop them in tying them loosely to the pole as they grow..

A good tip is to use a upturned plastic bottle with the bottom cut off – push this into the soil next to the plant and water through this or use a small flower pot

Then its just maintenance..

I grow bush tomatoes and ignore the rule of not having to prune or support. I pinch out any side shoots, I get around 7/8  trusses of fruit forming then when the fruit has formed I remove most of the leaves/stems from the ground up leaving only the ones above the trusses of fruit [sort of canopy]I find this helps with ripening with our climate. I feed  every 2/3weeks when they start to form fruit with a liquid comfrey feed..

At the end of the season I harvest all the green tomatoes of reasonable size as these can either be ripened indoors or used in chutney etc.

You can also hang up the vines with fruit on in a frost-free, cool dark place and they will slowly ripen or put them on your windowsill to ripen [works for me]

After two failed attempts of growing parsnips … Both, failing to germinate. I set off on a mission determined by hook or by crook my third attempt would succeed.. I already knew parsnip seeds need to be fresh and not to use any of the previous years. I thought I was doing everything right and was quite miffed. I couldn’t blame the seed, so I blamed the weather.. Then  I came across a post on a gardening forum. [do you chit or not chit parsnip seeds] At first glance I thought I was reading about potatoes – I soon realised it was parsnip they were talking about..

Hm.. Could this be the answer to my prayers ? So off I went to google chitting parsnip seed and came across some photos of seed pre chitting on damp paper towels.

It worked a treat, only a couple didn’t amount to anything…

How I grew my parsnips successfully…

April

Get a plastic sandwich, tupperwear box, put some wet paper towel in the bottom, scatter the seeds on, put another sheet of moist paper towel on top and put the lid on, leave it for a few days, a week or thereabouts; the seeds should have germinated. Then you can carefully sow the pre-chitted seeds when they have sprouted as you would normally taking care not to damage the  roots..

I also found it easier to throw some compost onto the bed before sowing I have heavy clay soil that’s quite lumpy – using a small amount of  compost in lines across my bed was the ideal solution to draw a row with my hand hoe making sowing easier.  I use this method with other root crops too as I find it difficult to get a fine tilth with my clay soil.

[Light Bulb moment.. I've just realised this is a good way of checking if any old seeds will germinate] doh…

Brassicas are not really fussy about soil conditions as long as the soil is not too acidic – with the exception of cauliflower, seen as the hardest to grow.

I add some extra compost around my cauli’s and grow in a little shade as they hate weather that’s too hot. I Apply some lime to the bed a month before planting out and try to plant where my peas/beans had grown the previous year so they get the benefit of the nitrogen, though bad planing on my part means its not always the case. I feed with chicken manure when they are planted out to their final growing position..

1# Never lime and fertilise at the same time.

2# Never grow brassicas in the same bed, rotate each year. I use a 3 year rotation for my brassicas to prevent clubroot..

Growing brassicas

March

I sow my seeds into root trainers around six weeks before planting out. I find these are ideal as they open out like a book, keeping the soil around the roots …

May

lime the bed

June

Planting out.

I use a hand trowel to make a hole;  watering the hole with a full watering can per hole, planting my seedlings up to the the first leaves. I don’t do a merry dance on the soil before planting to firm the soil as I prefer to firm down carefully around the plant with my foot. The water helps to bed the roots and I’ve never had a problem with my sprouts not planted firmly enough..

Then its time to batten down the hatches, covering the bed with a fine netting to keep the pesky cabbage whites off .

# I water and feed my brassicas through the netting!

Cabbage whites are the only problem I have at the plot, using collars at the base of the plants has never been necessary..

Seed	Life in years	Avg days to germination
Broad bean	2	21
French bean	2	14
Runner bean	2	14
Beetroot	5	13
Beet spinach	5	13
Broccoli	5	8
Cabbage	5	8
Carrot	3	16
Cauliflower	5	8
Cucumber	7	9
Kale	4	7
Kohl rabi	4	7
Leek	3	14
Lettuce	4	7
Marrow	6	7
Courgette	6	7
Onion	4	14
Parsley	2	10
Parsnip	1	17
Peas	2	10
Radish	4	6
Spinach	2	11
Summer squash	6	7
Swede	2	8
Sweetcorn	3	9
Tomato	3	7
Turnip	2	8
Winter squash	6	7

So what do you do with that half packet of seeds you have left over?

The  main points are to keep the seeds cool, but not frozen, dark and exclude air. Reseal the little silver foil packets by folding over and then place the seeds in an airtight tin or plastic storage box. Ideally you should keep them in the fridge but anywhere cool will be fine in most households.

Checking Seed Germination Rate….

If you have a left over packet of seeds that you are unsure of check the germination rate for your seeds on kitchen paper …

To germinate,  take a piece of kitchen roll and dampen it. Onto the damp kitchen roll put a number of seeds, 20 is good if you have a lot, and place into a plastic bag or Tupperware type container. Put somewhere dark and warm, an airing cupboard or a closed cupboard in an occupied room.

Check the seeds  to see which have sprouted and if they fail then you haven’t wasted time and effort planting them. The table above gives the average germination time for each seed, so you know how long to wait before declaring a failure. Often they germinate well before the average time, so check frequently.

sowing temperature

Oh and one last thing.

Most gardening books tell you beetroot is unsuitable for transplanting after sowing in pots – not true. I started a few in pots as beetroot is notorious for bad germination- after sowing direct and having a poor success rate. I thought I would give it a try to fill the gaps and it worked out fine
There you have it – How I grow my beets

Pests

Beetroot is relatively free from pests and diseases (apart from birds at the seedling stage) If birds are a problem then cover the bed with netting..

Disease
Symptoms
Mangold Flies (Beet Leaf Miner)
Leaves with light brown blisters. The leaves turn completely brown and fall off. Growth is stunted.
Swift Moth
This is a root problem and may not be clearly seen at first. The plants look unhealthy, and growth is stunted. No obvious leaf damage.
Rust
Slightly raised round spots on the underside of the leaves. The spots are rust coloured (browny-red).
Aphids
Leaves curl and new shoots are distorted