July jobs on the allotment

• During this hot and humid month, you turn your back and a dozen new weeds have appeared. 
• Many grasses and weedy flowers shed their seeds at this time of year so it is even more important to stop them in their tracks or you will end up with more in the long term. 
• Dig weeds out or, for tougher visitors, carefully paint on a systemic weed killer to prevent damaging the soil or neighbouring plants. 
• Bindweed can be grown up canes and treated safely away from beds and vegetables. 
• Keep all salad crops well watered in hot weather. 

• Be on the lookout for potato blight (see right), as July/August are the months that it thrives in.
• The amount of seeds for sowing this month to crop this year is starting to drop off, amongst the more popular vegetables are: Broad Beans, Dwarf Beans, Mung Beans, Beetroot, Spring Cabbage, Carrots (for continuation).
• Sow seed for next years crops: Cauliflowers, Chicory, Coriander (Cilantro), Endive, Kohl Rabi, Lettuce for continuation and winter lettuce, Pak Choi, Peas, Radicchio, Radish, Turnips.
• Harvest early Bush and Runner Beans, Beetroot, Broccoli, Cabbage, Carrots, Celeriac, Celery, Coriander, Cucumber, Endive, Kale, Lettuce, Spring Onions, Bulb Onions, Peppers, Rhubarb, Rocket, Spinach, Strawberry, Swiss Chard, Tomato. 
• July is the month that the fruit garden comes into its own, plants laden with ripening fruit and many a tasty berry being harvested. 
• July may have heavy rain showers - but don't rely on these to water your fruit garden. 
• Thinning fruit trees is the best way to obtain larger, and better quality fruit. When thinning remove any damaged or poor quality fruit and then remove the remaining fruit so there is at least 5 cm between each fruit. 
• Remove any excessive growth on fruit trees. 
• Espalier and dwarf trees will need training and protection from predators. 
• In dry weather water fruit trees and apply mulch around the roots.
• In between the rain showers don’t forget to make time for weekly inspections as things can get out of balance very quickly at this time of year.
• If you are going on holiday this month, remember to ask someone to keep harvesting your fruit and vegetables, either for themselves or your freezer.

Black-fly wins battle of broad beans

The black-fly on the broad beans has got out of control, and now the priority is to protect the French beans just 3 metres (10ft) away; so we will have to cut them down as soon as possible, leaving the roots in the ground to protect the nitrogen they have fixed there during their vigorous growing period from spring.

We have harvested eight full baskets of beans and made sure that the immediate family got a taste of early potatoes and fresh broad beans, and frozen several batches, and so it doesn't hurt too much.

However, thinking onwards, the answer for next year lies in an early spraying of an organic liquid that will remove the black flies, and I don't mind regular spraying as long as it is effective.

That will be our task over the winter months... deciding on the best approach to this annual problem, which is worse this year than any we can remember.

Any observations or suggestions would be much appreciated.
The variety was 'Jubilee Hysor', and it can be recommended for its outstanding taste, and we will be growing it again next spring.

Discover: Elephant Garlic

• Elephant garlic (Allium ampeloprasum var. ampeloprasum) is a plant belonging to the onion genus. 
• It is not a true garlic, but actually a variant of the species to which the garden leek belongs. 
• It has a tall, solid, flowering stalk and broad, flat leaves much like those of the leek, but forms a bulb consisting of very large, garlic-like cloves. 
• The flavour of these, while not exactly like garlic, is much more similar to garlic than to leeks. 
• The flavour is milder than garlic, and much more palatable to some people than garlic when used raw as in salads.
• The mature bulb is broken up into cloves which are quite large and with papery skins and these are used for both culinary purposes and propagation. 
• There are also much smaller cloves with a hard shell that occur on the outside of the bulb. These are often ignored, but if they are planted, they will the first year produce a non-flowering plant which has a solid bulb, essentially a single large clove. 
• In their second year, this single clove will break up into many separate cloves. 
• Elephant garlic is not generally propagated by seeds.
• The plant, if left alone, will spread into a clump with many flowering heads. These are often left in flower gardens as an ornamental and to discourage pests.

Green Manure - Forage Pea

• Forage Pea is a member of the legume family that is excellent at fixing nitrogen and has deep penetrative roots that help to break up the soil. 
• Forage peas are notable for their ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen, thanks to a symbiotic relationship with bacteria (rhizobia) found in root nodules of these plants. The ability to form this symbiosis reduces fertilizer costs, and allows legumes to be used in a crop rotation to replenish soil that has been depleted of nitrogen. 
• The nitrogen fixation ability of legumes is enhanced by the availability of calcium in the soil and reduced by the presence of ample nitrogen.
• It can grow up to 1 metre (3'3") tall.
• Forage Pea is excellent for over wintering and can be sown from September to November. 
• It has good weed suppressing qualities but its foliage is not as bulky as some other green manures that overwinter.
• It could be sown with a lower growing green manure like red clover if weed suppression was paramount and adding lots of bulky organic matter in spring is required. 
• It is however good enough as a weed suppressor to use on its own too.
• The top-growth can be composted or dug into the soil to decompose, adding to the quality of the soil.
• The crop should be cut down before it goes to seed, otherwise descendant peas will become a regular weed.

Discover: Ramps

• Ramps (Allium tricoccum), also known as spring onions (not UK scallion), ramson, wild leeks, wild garlic, and, in French, ail sauvage and ail des bois, is an early spring vegetable with a strong garlicky odor and a pronounced onion flavor. 
• A perennial member of the onion family (Alliaceae), the plant has broad, smooth, light green leaves, often with deep purple or burgundy tints on the lower stems, and a scallion-like stalk and bulb. 
• Both the white lower leaf stalks and the broad green leaves are edible.
• Ramps grow in groups strongly rooted just beneath the surface of the soil. 
• They are found from the U.S. state of South Carolina to Canada. 
• They are popular in the cuisines of the rural upland South and in the Canadian province of Quebec when they emerge in the springtime. 
• They have a growing popularity in upscale restaurants throughout North America.

Growing Kale

• Kale or borecole is a form of cabbage (Brassica oleracea Acephala Group), green or purple, in which the central leaves do not form a head. 
• It is considered to be closer to wild cabbage than most domesticated forms. 
• The species Brassica oleracea contains a wide array of vegetables including broccoli, cauliflower, collard greens, and brussels sprouts. 
• The cultivar group Acephala also includes spring greens and collard greens, which are extremely similar genetically.
• Not only is Kale a tasty vegetable with a long cropping season but it is a very attractive vegetable as well. Many gardeners grow them in their borders purely for their ornamental value, especially over winter.
• Kale is resistant to most pests and diseases and grows in almost any site and position. 
• Seems to be a favourite of both the small and large Cabbage White butterflies, and their caterpillars can strip kale of all of its foliage. The only safe protection from this pest would seem to be to protect the young plants with butterfly-proof netting.
• Tolerant of most conditions and maintenance-free once planted, kale is an excellent addition to any vegetable garden.
• Unlike growing other cruciferous vegetables, growing kale is virtually effortless. 
• Kale will grow well even in poor soil, and is generally untroubled by the many garden pests, such as cutworms and root maggots, that plague other brassicas. 
• A cool weather crop, kale will tolerate freezing temperatures up to five degrees Fahrenheit (-15 degrees Celsius.) In fact, the flavour of tender baby leaves are enhanced by a few hard frosts. 
• Although kale is more heat-tolerant than many other brassicas, gardeners in very hot climates will get the best flavor by growing kale very early in the spring or in late autumn.

• Kale is considered to be a highly nutritious vegetable with powerful antioxidant properties; kale is considered to be anti-inflammatory.
• Kale is very high in beta carotene, vitamin K, vitamin C, lutein, zeaxanthin, and reasonably rich in calcium. 
• Because of its high vitamin K content, patients taking anti-coagulants such as warfarin are encouraged to avoid this food since it increases the vitamin K concentration in the blood.
• Kale, as with broccoli and other brassicas, contains sulforaphane (particularly when chopped or minced), a chemical believed to have potent anti-cancer properties.

• Until the end of the Middle Ages, kale was one of the most common green vegetables in all of Europe. 
• Curly leafed varieties of cabbage already existed along with flat leafed varieties in Greece in the fourth century BC. These forms, which were referred to by the Romans as Sabellian kale, are considered to be the ancestors of modern kales. 
• Today one may differentiate between varieties according to the low, intermediate, or high length of the stem, with varying leaf types. 
• The leaf colours range from light green through green, dark green and violet-green to violet-brown. Russian kale was introduced into Canada (and then into the U.S.) by Russian traders in the 19th century.
• During World War II, the cultivation of kale in the U.K. was encouraged by the Dig for Victory campaign. 
• The vegetable was easy to grow and provided important nutrients to supplement those missing from a normal diet because of wartime rationing.
• Kai-lan, a separate cultivar of Brassica oleracea much used in Chinese cuisine, is somewhat similar to kale in appearance and is occasionally called "kale" in English.

• Kale Lutes can be classified by leaf type:

1. Curly leaved (Scots Kale Lutes)
2. Plain leaved
3. Rape Kale Lutes
4. Leaf and spear (a cross between curly leaved and plain leaved Kale Lutes)
5. Cavolo nero (also known as black cabbage, Tuscan Kale Lutes, Lacinato and dinosaur Kale Lutes)
6. Because Kale Lutes can grow well into winter, one variety of Rape Kale Lutes is called 'Hungry Gap', named after the period in winter in traditional agriculture when little could be harvested.

• There is an ideal soil and site for Kale but rest assured, it will grow in almost all conditions, even part shade and sandy soils will produce a reasonable crop. 
• For the ultimate crop, grow in a soil that was enriched with compost or manure the previous season.
• Full sun is best but they will grow well in part shade.

• With the exception of rape kale, sow the seeds in a seed bed around April to May time. 
• The timing is not crucial because kale will germinate in temperatures as low as 5°C / 42°F and as high as 35°C / 95°F. That's an enormous range for any vegetable.
• Sow the kale seeds about 1.5cm (½in) deep in rows which are 22cm (9in) apart.
• Germination will take about 10 days.
• When the plant is about 22cm / 9in high and four leaves have developed (about 6 weeks after sowing) transplant them to their final positions.
• They should be planted slightly deeper than they grew in the seed bed.
• Spacings are 45cm  (18in) apart with rows the same distance apart.
• Rape kale should be sown slightly late in the season, May to June is a good time. Sow them directly in their final position because they do not like to be transplanted.

• Water regularly at least until the plants are well-established.
• Almost no care is required because these are one of the strongest and most disease resistant of all vegetables.
• Remove yellowing leaves which will appear round the base of plant.
• Keep the weeds under control with regular hoeing.
• Dwarf varieties of kale will withstand winter winds especially well.

• Begin to harvest your kale as soon as the leaves reach about six to eight inches (15 to 20 cm) in length. 
• Harvest kale only when you need it because it does not keep well even in the fridge.
• They provide a crop between late September to early May, although rape kale is at its best in spring.
• Harvest the young leaves only which will be at the top of the plant. This will stimulate the plant to produce more young tender leaves.

• Kale freezes well and actually tastes sweeter and more flavourful after being exposed to a frost.
• Tender kale greens can provide an intense addition to salads, particularly when combined with other such strongly-flavoured ingredients as dry-roasted peanuts, tamari-roasted almonds, red pepper flakes, or an Asian-style dressing.
• In the Netherlands it is very frequently used in the winter dish stamppot and seen as one of the country's traditional dishes, called Boerenkool.
• In Ireland kale is mixed with mashed potatoes to make the traditional dish colcannon. It is popular on Halloween when it is sometimes served with sausages. Small coins are sometimes hidden inside as prizes.
• A traditional Portuguese soup, caldo verde, combines pureed potatoes, diced kale, olive oil, broth, and, generally, sliced cooked spicy sausage. 
• Under the name of couve, kale is also popular in Brazil, in caldo verde, or as a vegetable dish, often cooked with carne seca (shredded dried beef). 
• When chopped and stir-fried, couve accompanies Brazil's national dish, feijoada.
• In East Africa, it is an essential ingredient in making a stew for ugali, which is almost always eaten with kale. 
• Kale is also eaten throughout southeastern Africa, where it is typically boiled with coconut milk and ground peanuts and is served with rice or boiled cornmeal.
• A whole culture around kale has developed in north-western Germany around the towns of Bremen, Oldenburg and Hannover as well as in the State of Schleswig-Holstein. There, most social clubs of any kind will have a Grünkohlfahrt ("kale tour") sometime between October and February, visiting a country inn to consume large quantities of boiled kale, Kassler, Mettwurst and schnapps. These tours are often combined with a game of Boßeln. Most communities in the area have a yearly kale festival which includes naming a "kale king" (or queen).
• Curly kale is used in Denmark and Halland, Sweden, to make (grøn-)langkål, an obligatory dish on the julbord in the region, and is commonly served together with the Christmas ham (Sweden, Halland). The kale is used to make a stew of minced boiled kale, stock, cream, pepper and salt that is simmered together slowly for a few hours. 
• In Scotland, kale provided such a base for a traditional diet that the word in dialect Scots is synonymous with food. To be "off one's kail" is to feel too ill to eat.
• In Montenegro collards, locally konwn as rashtan is a favorite vegetable. It is particularly popular in winter, cooked with smoked mutton (kastradina) and potatoes.
• Kale is a very good source of iron, calcium, vitamin C, vitamin K and Carotenoids (which provide vitamin A). 
• In Japan, kale juice (known as aojiru) is a popular dietary supplement.

About Brussels Sprouts

• The Brussels sprout (Brassica oleracea Gemmifera Group) of the Brassicaceae family, is a Cultivar group of wild cabbage cultivated for its small (typically 2.5–4 cm (0.98–1.6 in) diameter) leafy green buds, which visually resemble miniature cabbages.
• Brussels sprouts grow in temperature ranges of 7 to 24°C (45 to 75°F), with highest yields at 15 to 18°C (59 to 64°F). 
• Plants grow from seeds in seedbeds or greenhouses, and are transplanted to growing fields. 
• Fields are ready for harvest 90-180 days after planting.
• The edible sprouts grow like buds in a spiral array on the side of long thick stalks of approximately 60 to 120 cm (24 to 47 in) in height, maturing over several weeks from the lower to the upper part of the stalk. 

• Sprouts may be picked by hand into baskets, in which case several harvests are made of 5-15 sprouts at a time, by cutting the entire stalk at once for processing, or by mechanical harvester, depending on variety.
• Each stalk can produce 1.1 to 1.4 kg (2.4 to 3.1 lb), although the commercial yield is approximately 900 g (2.0 lb) per stalk.
• In the home garden sprouts are sweetest after a good, stiff frost.
• Brussels sprouts are a cultivar of the same species that includes cabbage, collard greens, broccoli, kale, and kohlrabi: they are cruciferous.
• They contain good amounts of vitamin A, vitamin C, folic acid and dietary fibre. 
• Moreover, they are believed to protect against colon cancer, due to their containing sinigrin . 
• Although they contain compounds such as goitrin that can act as goitrogens and interfere with thyroid hormone production, realistic amounts in the diet do not seem to have any effect on the function of the thyroid gland in humans.

Discover: Lupino

• Lupin, Lupino or Lupini Beans are yellow legume seeds of the Lupinus genus plant, most commonly the Lupinus luteus or Yellow Lupin, and were once a common food of the Mediterranean basin and Latin America. 
• Today they are primarily eaten as a pickled snack food, and are treated as a gourmet delicacy.
• Lupini Beans are commonly sold in brine in jars (like olives and pickles) and can be eaten by making a small tear in the skin with your teeth and "popping" the seed directly into one's mouth, but can also be eaten with the skin on.

• This rarely heard of, but easy to grow, bean is popular in rural Mediterranean Europe, where it is served at Italian fairs and as an appetiser in Spanish beer halls. 
• In the Lebanon these beans are a traditional snack food known as tremocos.
• To grow, treat exactly the same as dwarf beans, when this unusual mid-early specimen will form an upright plant up to 50 cms tall with very pretty flowers. 
• It will produce a heavy crop of beans that mature in stages, from the bottom branches upwards.
• The delicious beans are flat, coin shaped and yellow brown with a small hole at one end and have a unique sweet flavour and a firm texture. 
• Nutritionally they are very high in protein, vitamins and minerals.
• They are extremely versatile in the kitchen and can be eaten cooked, chilled and then salted as an snack or cocktail nibble, hot or cold with salads or as an accompaniment to meat dishes or added to soups or stews.
• The seed of many lupin species contain bitter-tasting toxic alkaloids, though there are often sweet varieties within that species that are completely wholesome. Taste is a very clear indicator. 
• These toxic alkaloids can be leeched out of the seed by soaking it overnight and discarding the soak water. 
• It may also be necessary to change the water once during cooking.
• Fungal toxins also readily invade the crushed seed and can cause chronic illness.
• It is in flower from June to July, and the seeds ripen from August to September. 
• The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees. 
• It fixes Nitrogen and is used as a green manure and soil improver in Southern Europe.
• The plant prefers light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils and can grow in nutritionally poor soil.
• The plant prefers acid and neutral soils and can grow in very acid soil. 
• It cannot grow in the shade, and must have full sun all day. 
• It requires moist soil.

Personally, we are growing this as an experiment and will report later on the results.

Black flies running riot!

We are currently besieged by black flies (aphids) on our broad beans. I can't recall a worse year than this one; they are everywhere on the plants. See how the left stem on the photo is covered totally with black fly, that happened in one day between inspections.

• Whilst ladybirds will help, sometimes more action is required. Really it is cloud cuckoo land to expect ladybirds to guard a whole crop against black fly, and it is just exaggeration from the organismists to claim that lady birds can control the situation. They can assist with small quantities, but when it gets as bad as we are experiencing it needs something much more!
• There are a few different colours of aphids and they tend to affect a range of different vegetable crops. 
• Blackfly or Black Bean Aphid can be particularly devastating to the broad bean plant if not spotted in time.
• Symptoms: The blackfly can be spotted at the top of the plants as black clusters in the amongst the leaves, under the leaves or flowering buds.
• If lines of ants can be seen running up and down the plant stem, this is a sign that they are farming the aphids. The ants don’t do any harm to the plant, but the black fly does so remove them as soon as possible.
• If they have infected the plant, you will see distorted growth on bean pods and withering plant stems with patches of black in the leaf nodes (the part where the leaf joins the stem).
• Treatment: If the blackfly are in small quantities, squish them between your fingers to remove them from the plant,
• Washing them off the plants with a hose will temporarily remove them but this will need to be repeated and is not necessarily effective,
• Washing or spraying the area with mild soap solution may help but will need to be repeated weekly.
• Best Treatment: When the plant has finished flowering, pinch off the growing tip of leaves at the top of the plant. This is usually where the blackfly congregate in clusters. This does no damage to the plant and removes any further attack to that plant.
• Prevention: Encourage blackfly natural predators such as Ladybirds, lacewing larvae, hoverfly larvae and parasitic wasps. The encouragement may run to buying a Ladybird Hotel box or similar.

Discover Celeriac

• Celeriac (Apium graveolens rapaceum) is also known as celery root, turnip-rooted celery or knob celery. 
• It is a kind of celery, grown as a root vegetable for its large and bulbous hypocotyl rather than for its stem and leaves. 
• The swollen hypocotyl is typically used when it is about 10–12 cm in diameter; about the size of a large potato. 
• Unlike other root vegetables, which store a large amount of starch, celery root is only about 5-6% starch by weight.
• Celeriac may be used raw or cooked. It has a tough, furrowed, outer surface which is usually sliced off before use because it is too rough to peel. 
• Celeriac has a celery flavour, and is often used as a flavouring in soups and stews; it can also be used on its own, usually mashed, or used in casseroles, gratins and baked dishes.
• The hollow stalk of the upper plant is sometimes cut into drinking straw lengths, rinsed, and used in the serving of tomato-based drinks such as the Bloody Mary cocktail. 
• The tomato juice is lightly flavoured with celery as it passes through the stalk.
• Celeriac is not as widely used as some other root vegetables, perhaps because it is harder to prepare and clean.
• There are a number of cultivars available, especially in Europe. Among them are 'Prinz', 'Diamant', 'Ibis', and 'Kojak', which all received Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit designation in the trial in 2000.
• Celeriac normally keeps well and should last three to four months if stored between 0°C (32 degrees Fahrenheit) and 5°C (41 degrees Fahrenheit) and not allowed to dry out.

Growing Cabbage

• Growing cabbage with care results in amazing harvests everytime. They can be planted to provide crops all the year around, or whenever you prefer. 
• By choosing the right cabbage varieties, with enough land, and by sowing and transplanting at the correct times, then a non-stop harvest can be yours.
• Cabbages are extremely hardy members of the brassica family, which thrive in cold damp winters and are capable of withstanding temperatures which would destroy many other crops.
• Remember when following the suggestions below on planting cabbages, that the terms spring, summer and winter refer to the season that the cabbage is harvested in, not when it is planted.
• Because cabbage is suited to most temperate climates and soils and also require minimal attention, they are one of the easiest crops to grow.

Sowing Cabbage outdoors in seed beds

• Plan a succession of sowings from mid spring until early summer for a long period of harvesting. 
• For a mid to late summer crop, sow the seed thinly in late winter in seed beds protected by poly-tunnels or cloches. 
• Plant into permanent position during mid to late spring 30-40 cm (12-15") apart each way. 
• Protection from severe weather may still be necessary during this time. 
• Cabbages grown outdoors should be transplanted when four or five cabbage type leaves have appeared.

Sowing indoors in pots

• If you have a greenhouse, cold frame or cloches - growing cabbage from seed can be made easier and more convenient, especially if you don't have a large garden or allotment to accommodate a proper seed bed.
• Sow cabbage seed in a tray filled with seed compost bought from your local gardening centre. 
• Water thoroughly and place them inside their protected environmen. 
• When the first two leaves have formed prick them out into 7.5cm (3") pots filled with potting compost.
• Plant them into these pots a little deeper - to just below the two leaves - water in well. 
• Leave plants to grow on until tall enough for planting out by following the growing instructions above.

Buying commercially grown seedlings

• Commercially grown seedlings can be bought and planted on the same day, whereas if you want to use your own seedlings you have to start growing them at least four weeks ahead of when you want to plant them. 
• They are also good as stop-gaps for when seedlings you are growing yourself are not ready in time. 
• Commercially grown seedlings are much more expensive than buying seeds and growing your own seedlings. 
• If you were to list all the different varieties of vegetables available as seedlings you would only fill a few pages, but if you were list all the different vegetables listed in the various seed catalogues and for sale in nurseries you would end up with a very large book. 
• Growing your own seedlings opens up a Pandora's box of what can be grown as seedlings.
• Commercial seedlings are grown under ideal conditions with plenty of water, heat and fertiliser to grow them as quickly as possible. This tends to produce seedlings that are more likely to be stressed when first planted in the garden as they are not used to the tougher conditions.
• Most commercial seedlings are grown hundreds of kilometres from where they are sold and a lot of fuel is used to truck them across the country. Transporting seeds uses much less fuel. Also the punnets that they come in are only used once. If you grow your own seedlings not only will less fuel to be burnt but the punnets and pots used to grow the seedlings can be used over and over again.

Planting out

• Once the seedling (whether grown outdoors in a seed bed , indoors in a pot or bought from a garden centre) has reached the size of the plant on the right, then it is time to plant out in its permanent position.
• Chose a fairly sunny spot that has not had another brassica planted on it in the last 3 years. Crop rotation is an essential requirement to ensure that you do not suffer from club-root.

• Dig the growing plot in the autumn and work in some manure or compost. 
• The soil must not be acidic, so liming in the winter may be necessary. 
• Some humus must be present, but this should not be freshly applied.
• A week before planting apply a fertiliser. 
• Cabbage require a firm soil, so do not fork over the plot prior to planting, but remove any weeds or stones with a rake.
• Plant the seedlings about 30cm (12") apart, in straight rows to make the subsequent care as simple as possible.
• A layer of garden compost around (but not touching) the plants will conserve water, prevent weeds and deter insects pests.
• Where you have no garden compost, covering the surrounding soil with a weed control fabric will do exactly the same job and that will last for many years. 

Care of Cabbage

• Cabbages sown in spring do not require a great deal of care, but do not allow them to dry out as this will affect their growth. Water liberally during hot and dry weather. 
• Hoe around the plants during the growing period to control the weeds and aerate the soil, which will also deter insect pests from laying their eggs. 
• Cabbages are greedy feeders and require plenty of fertiliser during the growing period. 
• As the plants mature, some of the leaves may turn yellow. Break off these discoloured leaves as soon as they appear.
• One major enemy of your attempt to grow vegetables are birds - especially in country gardens, they particularly seem to like brassica plants. The only reliable protection is suitable bird netting.
• Protect the smaller plants from sparrows and the bigger mature plants from wood pigeons.
• Apply a foliar feed during summer as the plants respond very well to this. Far more nutrients are absorbed this way than by feeding at the roots.

Harvesting and Storing Cabbage

• Cabbages are ready for harvesting when the hearts are firm. 
• Lift the entire plant with a fork and cut the roots off at a later stage, or, cut the stem just above the base of the lower leaves, and discard the outer leaves which are too coarse for eating. 
• Mature cabbages with a good firm heart, and in good condition, can be stored in a cool, airy frost proof shed for several weeks.
• Place the cabbages on a rack made of wood or chicken wire, do not stack them on the ground. 
• Once the cabbages have been cut and stored, the crop has now finished and the ground can be cleared.

Discover Caigua

• Caigua (Cyclanthera pedata (L.) Schrad) is an amazing and rare edible climbing annual, and is regarded as one of the lost crops of the Inca peoples.
• Its other names are achocha, achoccha, achojcha, caiba, caihua, caygua, concombre grimpant, korila, kaikua, lady's slipper, pepino de comer, pepino de rellenar, pepino andino, slipper gourd, stuffing cucumber, taimia de comer, taimia de cipo, wild cucumber (USA).
• Native to Peru and the high Andes.

Growing

• This beautiful climbing vine has bright green toothed, palmate leaves and long twining tendrils.
• This plant is very easy from seed and will suit a position in sun or shade.
• It will cover fences, sheds and allotment eyesores with ease.
• Its growth rate is astounding in a tropical climate where it is capable of growing 40 feet in a season, but is obviously less vigorous in our northern temperate climate.
• From late July through to September it produces tiny cream coloured flowers followed by curious edible, smooth gherkin like fruit with a hooked end.
• Available in England as seed is Caigua 'Zapatilla Gorda', the only smooth skinned variety of this species, and who's name in Spanish means "the fat slipper".

Culinary uses

• Edible are the fruit, seeds, and leaves.
• The flavour is similar to sweet peppers.
• Unlike a cucumber, the inside of the ripe fruit is hollow (much like a bell-pepper), with several black seeds attached. 
• In Peru, the fresh fruits are typically put into a blender and juiced. The juice is taken in 1/4 to 1/2 cup amounts twice daily. The fruits are also simply eaten as a vegetable, either fresh or cooked.
• The fruit can be eaten raw (after the seeds have been removed) in salads, stir fried, or stuffed with meat, fish or cheese and rice mixtures and baked in the oven.
• They are also prepared as stuffed peppers; stuffed with meat, fish or cheese and then baked - earning it's name "stuffing cucumber." 
• The leaves and shoots are also edible raw or lightly cooked.
• Caigua is currently cultivated as a food in the Carribean, Central and South America. 
• It has been introduced into Florida where it is called "wild cucumber" and is considered a weed pest in lawns and gardens.

Medicinal

• There is a great buzz in medical circles at present concerning the medicinal properties of this plant. 
• New research has just shown that the fruits contain substances that dramatically reduce cholesterol and promote weight loss. The plant also contains potent anti-oxidants.
• The Peruvian Wild Cucumber, as it is known in the south of the USA, has long been utilised for weight loss and problems associated with arteriosclerosis. 
• It is thought to be one of the most potent natural fat absorbers and is traditionally taken to rejuvenate and reduce cellulite. 
• Clinical studies have demonstrated regular consumption of Caigua regulates the metabolism of lipids and sugar in the blood stream, controlling cholesterol levels by reducing ldl cholesterol (the "bad" cholesterol) while increasing hdl cholesterol (the "good" type). 
• Flavonoids and triterpenoid saponins have been isolated from the caigua fruit. 
• A preclinical study has also shown Caigua to be a more potent anti-inflammatory than Ibuprofin. 
• Ciagua’s weight reducing and cholesterol-balancing effects are most noted when consumed daily for several weeks or months

How to Make a Seed Bed

• The concept of a seedbed is a specially prepared bed used to grow plants in a controlled environment before transplanting them into the allotment. 
• A seedling bed is used to increase the number of seeds that germinate. 
• Once the seedlings have matured in the seedling bed, they are then transplanted into a larger bed or a garden.

The preparation of a seedbed may include:

• The removal of debris. Insect eggs and disease spores are often found in plant debris and so this is removed from the plot. 
• Stones and larger debris will also physically prevent the seedlings from growing.
• Levelling. The site will have been levelled for even drainage.
• Breaking up the soil. Compacted soil will be broken up by digging. This allows air and water to enter, and helps the seedling penetrate the soil. 
• Smaller seeds require a finer soil structure. The surface of the soil can be broken down into a fine granular structure using a rake.
• Soil improvement. The soil structure may be improved by the introduction of organic matter such as compost or peat.
• Fertilizing. The nitrate and phosphate levels of the soil can be adjusted with fertilizer. If the soil is deficient in any micro nutrients, these too can be added.
• The seedlings may be left to grow to adult plants in the seedbed, perhaps after thinning to remove the weaker ones, or they may be moved to a growing bed as young plants.

Discover Summer Leek 'Gros Long d’Ete'

• Gros Long d’Ete is a remarkable, long stemmed leek that comes from France. 
• It is an early variety, a summer leek with long, slender white stems 30cm (15in), topped with erect, mid green leaves. 
• They are not winter-hardy but will handle a light frost and will stay ready for use until Christmas.
• Gros Long d’Ete leeks are an excellent choice for short season climates. 
• They mature in 125 days, 75 days from set out. 
• From earliest sowings they are ready in June to July, and later sowings, August to September.
• You can also direct sow without the need to transplant, or sow densely for delicious, succulent baby leeks to use as a garnish or for soups or salads.
• Mild enough for use in salads and a welcome addition to soups, or sautéed as a side dish. 
• They stay sweet, tender and white all season long.

 Preparing the soil

• If possible, prepare the soil for planting in the winter. 
• Dig the site well, removing weeds and working in plenty of well-rotted manure to improve its ability to retain water. 
• Leeks can be planted in heavy soil, but improve the drainage by mixing in some horticultural sand. 
• This is a hungry crop – spread a general balanced fertiliser over the soil a week or so before sowing and rake in. A rate of 60g per square metre is ideal.

Timing

• If you live where the autumns are long and cool and frost is rare, you can plant two crops. Sow the first crop 12 to 14 weeks before the last frost in spring.
• In mid-July, sow the second crop indoors. 
• If your area could experience frost during the winter, plant a frost-tolerant variety for your second sowing (‘King Richard’ together with ‘Musselburgh’ a winter leek, makes an excellent combination for extended harvest)

Sowing:              

• Sow seeds indoors 12 to 14 weeks before the last frost date
• Seeds can also be sown direct later but will give smaller plants

Sowing Indoors:

• Sow the seeds thinly and evenly 1/4 inch deep in moistened potting mix and cover them lightly with vermiculite or sand. 
• Keep the soil temperature at about 70°F until the seeds germinate. Move the seedlings under grow lights or into a very bright window.
• Thinning the seedlings will encourage more rapid growth, but it isn't necessary if you keep them well fertilized. 
• When the grass-like seedlings get to be 15cm (6in) long, cut them back by 4cm (1½ - 2 in) You can use the part you cut off as you would chives.
• Harden off the plants before transplanting into the garden starting in late April or early May (the plants will tolerate light frost). 
• You can also transplant later or sow seed directly outdoors for smaller plants. 

Transplanting:

• When the seedlings are about the diameter of a pencil, they are ready to transplant outside. 
• Planting deeply helps to blanch the stems. 
• Use a dibber (or a rake handle - great for making perfect holes). and make holes 15cm (6in) deep and 22cm (9in) apart. 
• Make the rows 38cm (15in) apart. Mark the row clearly so that, when weeding later you don’t remove plants by mistake
• Drop the leek seedlings into the holes leaving just the tips of the leaves showing. 
• Do not fill in the holes or try to cover the roots with soil or even firm them in. 
• Just fill each hole with water from the watering can and this will wash some soil over the roots and be just enough to tighten the little plants in. 
• Over time the holes will fill up gradually.

Sowing Direct:

•  On the allotment seeds are best sown in rows, 35 to 40cm apart. 
• Mark a straight line and use the corner of a rake to make a shallow groove in the soil, about 1cm deep.
•  Sow seed thinly along the trench, cover with soil, water and label. 
• When seedlings have three leaves each, about four to five weeks later, thin to leave plants every 15cm – the seedlings you remove could be used to plug gaps elsewhere.

Cultivation:

• Keep the leek bed moist in dry weather and hoe regularly to keep the weeds down. 
• Except for exhibition plants there is no need to feed the leek plants. 
• But if you want to be sure of a good crop you can feed with weak liquid manure and hoe in a small dressing of nitrate of soda.
• After the holes the leeks were planted in have filled up, push some soil up to the stems with the hoe. This will make sure you will have a good length of white (blanched) stem. Do this earthing up gradually over a period of three weeks because if done too much to soon, the leek plants may rot. 
• Mulch will help to retain moisture over summer.

Rotation considerations:

• Avoid following onions, shallots, garlic and chives.

Good Companions:

• Beet, carrot, celery, garlic, onion, parsley and tomato.

Bad Companions:

• Beans, peas

Harvesting:

• Pull up as and when required. 
• Harvest them by lifting carefully with a fork, aiming to avoid damaging neighbouring crops.

Harvesting:                        

• September to April            
• Plants will be ready to harvest 110-135 days from transplant. 
• Pull up as and when required. 
• Harvest them by lifting carefully with a fork, aiming to avoid damaging neighbouring crops. 
• Eat them when they're no more than 2cm (¾in) in diameter, rather than the monstrous inch or more of the industrially produced leek sold in supermarkets.  
• At this size, the leeks are more tender and flavourful.

Nomenclature:

• The leek, Allium porrum, originated in the Mediterranean basin, it is one of our most ancient cultivated vegetables, already much consumed in many variants by the ancient Greeks and Romans. 
• The genus name, Allium comes from the Celtic "All," meaning pungent, the species name comes from The Roman name for leek "porrum"
• "The most esteemed leeks are those grown in Egypt," wrote Pliny, the first-century Roman. His contemporary, the Emperor Nero, ate so many leeks he was nicknamed Porophagus -- leek eater.
• The Anglo Saxon word for Leek was "Por leac" while the name for onion was "Yul leac".
• The medieval Anglo Saxon kitchen garden was called the "Leek-garden" and the gardener the "Leek-ward."  
• To this day many English towns derive their name from the Leek including, Leckhampstead, Latton and Leighton Buzzard.
• The word "porridge" originally referred to a vegetable soup containing leeks.
• In French, the leek is called le poireau, harking back to its Latin name. It is also known as ‘l'asperge des pauvre’ meaning "poor man's asparagus".  There is even a French word to describe the edible part of the leek.  It's called le fût; which also means "barrel."
• France has more cultivars of leeks than any other country in the world. 
• Leeks are omnipresent in potagers from the north to the south and are a staple of the northern third of the country. 
• They are a staple French comfort food and de rigeur in the classic pot-au-feu, the French version of the boiled beef dinner. 
• I'm willing to bet that the French consume more leeks than any other vegetable.  
• Tuck into a plate of leeks vinaigrette and you'll see why.

Obtain from Seedaholics on the web

Discover: Sea Kale

• Crambe maritima (common name Sea kale) is a halophytic perennial plant in the genus Crambe that grows wild along the coasts of Europe, from the North Atlantic to the Black Sea. 
• It has large fleshy glaucous collard-like leaves and abundant white flowers. 
• The seeds come one each in globular pods.
• The plant is sometimes grown as an ornamental but its most common use is as a blanched vegetable. 
• Along the coast of England, where it is commonly found above High Tide Mark on shingle beaches, local people heaped loose shingle around the naturally occurring root crowns in springtime, thus blanching the emerging shoots. 
• By the early 18th Century it had become established as a garden vegetable, but its height of popularity was the early 19th Century when sea kale appeared in Thomas Jefferson's Garden Book of 1809, and it was served at the Prince Regent's Royal Pavilion in Brighton. 
• The shoots are served like asparagus: steamed, with either a bechamel sauce or melted butter, salt and pepper. 
• It is apt to get bruised or damaged in transport and should be eaten very soon after cutting, this may explain its subsequent decline in popularity. 
• However, given a rich, deep and sandy soil, it is easy to propagate and grow on from root cuttings available from specialist nurseries. 
• Blanching may be achieved by covering it with opaque material or using a deep, loose and dry mulch.
• Sea kale is more commonly used in Europe and only rarely grown in the United States.

Discover: Chokeberries

• The chokeberries (Aronia) are two to three species of deciduous shrubs in the family Rosaceae, native to eastern North America. 
• They are most commonly found in wet woods and swamps. 
• Chokeberries are cultivated as ornamental plants and also because they are very high in antioxidant pigment compounds, like anthocyanins. 
• The name "chokeberry" comes from the astringency of the fruits which are inedible when raw. 
• The berries can be used to make wine, jam, syrup, juice, soft spreads, tea and tinctures. 
• The fruits are eaten by birds (birds do not taste astringency and feed on them readily), which then disperse the seeds in their droppings. 
• The chokeberries are often mistakenly called chokecherries, which is the common name for Prunus virginiana. 
• Further adding to the ambiguity, there is a cultivar of Prunus virginiana named 'Melanocarpa' , easily confused with Aronia melanocarpa. 
• Chokecherries are also high in antioxidant pigment compounds, like anthocyanins, further contributing to confusion. In fact, the two plants are only distantly related within the Rosaceae.

Sunburnt plants 'myth'

Perpetual Spinach enjoying the sunshine

• It is a piece of advice that has been followed by generations of gardeners - never water your plants in the full glare of the midday sun.
• But new research has contradicted the widely-held belief that watering in direct sunlight can cause leaves to suffer from unsightly "leaf burn".
• A team of physicists, troubled by the lack of scientific evidence for the phenomenon, set out to test the theory that water droplets on leaves can act like mini magnifying lenses, focusing the sun's rays and leaving a leaf's surface covered in scorch marks.
• Using computer modelling as well as tests on real leaves, the researchers claim to have disproved the theory.
• They found that water droplets on a leaf surface were not able to focus the sun's energy sufficiently to damage the leaves before the water evaporated.
• Only on some tropical plants with hairy leaves were the water droplets held sufficiently far from the surface to cause burning. But hairy leaves tend to shed water, so droplets would be unlikely to stay on them long enough to do damage.
• Dr Gabor Horvath, who led the research at Eötvös University in Budapest, Hungary, said: "This problem has been dealt with only by amateurs, gardeners and laymen, who could only speculate about this subject. The consequence is that myths rule.
• "We believe that completely unrelated types of leaf damage might be partly responsible for the widespread belief about sunburn caused by water drops.
• "For example, drops of acid rain, salty sea or tap water, chlorinated water and concentrated solutions of fertiliser or other chemicals can all cause sunburn-like brown patches.
• "Plants could also suffer some kinds of physiological stress from putting cold water onto hot leaves."
• Advice against watering plants in direct sunlight is widespread. The Royal Horticultural Society states: "Water on leaves can act as a lens that concentrates the light leading to burnt patches," while experts at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, say they have followed the advice for years.
• However, the researchers' computer simulations of how water droplets refract and focus sunlight through the course of the day found that the most likely times for sunburn to occur were actually early morning or late afternoon, when the sun is lower, rather than at midday when it is at its highest and hottest.
• When water droplets were placed on leaves taken from maple and Ginkgo biloba trees, which were then left out in the sun at various times of the day until the water had evaporated, they found no evidence of leaf burn.
• As a control, other leaves which had glass beads placed on them suffered severe burning. A glass sphere acts as a stronger lens than a water droplet.
• In a third test the researchers used leaves of a floating fern with water-repelling hairs on their surface. The droplets formed spheres in the hairs above the leaf surface which focused the sunlight and caused burning after around two hours.
• Dr Horvath believes that there are other, more compelling reasons for not watering plants during the full heat of a sunny day. He said: "Water evaporates quickly from the soil surface, and so it cannot be used efficiently by plants."
• Stewart Henchie, a senior horticulturalist at Kew, said it was common for gardeners and horticulturalists not to water plants on hot sunny days, but he was not aware of any scientific evidence to back up such advice.
• He added, however, that young plants could still be vulnerable to burning as their leaves were not hardened against the weather.
• He said: "If we are watering these young plants we tend to use a fine mist to stop water droplets from forming. I'd be certainly be keen to try out a few tests of my own now to see if what the effect might be on different leaf types."
• Simon Thornton-Wood, director of science and learning at the Royal Horticultural Society, said: "This research is challenging the traditional notion about why you shouldn't water plants on bright sunny days.
• "There are other reasons for not doing so, the main one being water conservation. It is possible that it may be chemicals - feed and pesticides - that many gardeners put in their water that is causing the damage instead."