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Veg growing continues to sprout
by Hannah Stephenson
Not since the war years has vegetable growing been so popular, as gardeners turn their talents to producing more of their own food for better flavour and better health.
Sales of vegetable seeds continue to outstrip those of flowers. Last year there was a 7% increase in the sales of vegetable seeds, according to the Horticultural Trades Association, which represents the UK garden industry.
This year looks like having a similar outcome, according to some of the big seed companies.
"Once again the early indications are that vegetable seeds sales will outperform flowers," says Catherine Matthews, product manager at Unwins.
"The popular varieties are fairly conventional vegetables, indicating that the Jamie Oliver effect is continuing and people are growing their own food for both the improved taste and health benefits."
Francijn Suermondt, marketing co-ordinator for Suttons, says that in some regions Suttons seed sales ratios are 70% veg to 30% flowers, while Dobies mail order sales ratios so far for 2008 are 74% veg to 26% flowers.
"Seed packets are now featuring recipe cards, while speedy season veg give quick results and this is all influencing sales as well," she says.
Anyone visiting their garden centre for inspiration will find acres of seed packets promising wonderful harvests of succulent veg - but which do you choose?
New varieties are coming on to the market every year - but are they any better than tried and tested types?
Results of trials of new vegetables, revealed in the latest issue of Gardeners' Which?, the Consumers' Association magazine, show the best of the bunch.
Samples of more than 30 new vegetable varieties were trialled last year before they were available to buy.
The best performers included Courgette 'Tristan' (Thompson & Morgan), which produced large vigorous plants and a heavy crop of typical dark green tasty fruits, and Radish 'Amethyst' (Dobies, Marshalls, Mr Fothergill's), a new 'purple' type, best picked small, with a dark red skin which will add fantastic colour to your salad bowl.
Other winners in the test included the large-fruited tomato 'Country Taste' (Thompson & Morgan), which produced some huge, smooth fruits weighing up to 500g, and the cherry tomatoes 'Piccolo' (Dobies - plants; The Organic Gardening Catalogue; Suttons - plants) and 'Apero' (Dobies - seeds and plants; Suttons - plants), which cropped from August to September in the greenhouse. Both had tougher skins than supermarket cherry tomatoes, but made up for this with intense sweet and sharp flavour.
Carrot 'Tendersnax' (Thompson & Morgan), a new, early, sweet carrot, proved a winner with nearly 600 triallists. From an April sowing most harvested from mid-July to mid-August, averaging around 2kg from a 2m row. Some 80% of triallists rated the flavour good or very good.
Lettuce 'Marshall' (Marshalls, Suttons) was a beautiful, decorative lettuce, great when paired with another new variety, 'Ashbrook' (Unwins). The red leaves turned deep purple, almost black when mature, but they bolted rapidly last summer. The taste was good, with just a hint of bitterness and kept well in the fridge and considered worth growing as cut-and-come-again or baby leaf salad.
:: Dobies: 0844 701 7625, www.dobies.co.uk; Marshalls 01480 443390, www.marshalls-seeds.co.uk; Mr Fothergill's 0845 166 2511, mr-fothergills.co.uk; Suttons 0844 9220606, www.suttons.co.uk; The Organic Gardening Catalogue 0845 130 1304, www.organiccatalog.co.uk; Thompson & Morgan 01473 695225, www.thompson-morgan.co.uk; Unwins 01480 443395, www.unwinsdirect.co.uk
:: Gardening Which? is a subscription-only gardening magazine. For details on how to receive three issues of Gardening Which? for 3, telephone 01992 822800 or visit which.co.uk
BEST OF THE BUNCH - Iris reticulata
This gorgeous little rockery iris, growing only around a foot high, produces beautiful flowers in shades of blue with yellow markings before the thread-like leaves appear in spring. Bulbs should be planted in late autumn in a sunny, well-drained spot such as a rockery or raised bed, or in a pot where they can produce a burst of dazzling colour. The flowers may not last long and don't often do well second time around, but may come back if you leave them another year. For lovers of blue flowers, they are a must. Another good dwarf for spring is I. danfordiae, which produces yellow scented flowers between February and March.
GOOD ENOUGH TO EAT - Chilli peppers
If you want to grow something that's going to spice up your food and brighten up your greenhouse later in the year, then try sowing some chilli peppers indoors now. They need a sunny spot and high temperatures so are best grown in a greenhouse under the same conditions as tomatoes or cucumbers.
Seeds should be sown at 20C (68F) in pots or modules of seed compost. The really hot varieties can take a month to germinate so they should be sown in late winter. Milder ones can be sown in early spring and transferred into 9cm (3 1/2in) pots when big enough and then grown on at 18C (65F). When the plants are 20cm (8in) tall, pinch out the tips to promote bushiness. If you want lots of small chillis, pinch out the sideshoots again later on. When the roots fill the pot, the plants can be transferred to 30cm (12in) tubs or growbags. If you are planting out, harden them out in early summer.
Plants can be trained up canes and should be fed regularly with a general fertiliser until flowers form. They can be picked before they are ripe, or left on the plant until they change colour, although you won't get as many fruits if you leave them too long. Hot varieties include Thai Dragon, a red type, and the jalapeno pepper Summer Heat, which is milder.
THREE WAYS TO... preserve herbs
1. Chop them up and place them into ice-cube trays with a little water, to be used when you need them.
2. Make herb-flavoured oils by placing some healthy-looking sprigs into a jar of good olive oil and leaving them in a cupboard for a few weeks.
3. Hang them in small bunches in a warm, airy place out of sunlight to dry them, then crumble them up and store the dried herbs in a clean, dry glass jar.
WHAT TO DO THIS WEEK
:: Plant stored dahlia tubers in pots of potting compost in a frost free greenhouse to give them a good start.
:: Sow radishes and thin them when they are big enough to handle.
:: Pot up lily bulbs now for a summer show, but keep them in a frost-free greenhouse at first.
:: Plant extra early potatoes which were chitted last month in pots filled with compost in a frost free greenhouse and water sparingly until shoots appear out of the top. Then you can gradually increase watering.
:: Sow seeds of busy Lizzies in a heated propagator.
:: Prick out or pot up pelargonium seedlings that have grown from seeds sown last month.
:: Apply a top dressing of gravel around rockery plants to suppress weeds and ensure free drainage.
:: Sow seeds of tomatoes for growing in a cool greenhouse.
:: Bring strawberries in containers into the greenhouse for early fruit.
:: If you haven't yet sown peas, round seeded varieties such as Feltham First or Meteor can be sown now under cloches.
:: Cultivate ground for an annual border, so no time is lost when conditions allow sowing.
DON'T MISS
Mar 8: Grow Your Own Veg Open Day, RHS Garden Harlow Carr, Crag Lane, Harrogate, North Yorkshire: Find out what you can do to create some great crops in your garden. Free entry on the day. For details phone 01423 565418 or go to www.rhs.org.uk
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Tuesday 14 February 2012
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