Start early with pot-grown veg

I cannot wait to get started with the new growing season!

If you have a cold greenhouse, why not start off straight away? There is nothing better than homegrown produce and if you can grow some crops out of season, then so much the better.

I like to start off with some early vegetables and salads now. I may not succeed with all of them - it depends on the winter - but in recent years with milder conditions it has been quite possible.

Extending the season by growing in pots either early in the spring or at the end of the summer can give you some really tasty fresh vegetables at very little cost or effort.

With a few modern products like bubble polythene and fleece you can give protection to these plants whenever very cold frosty conditions are forecast.

Carrots are a good vegetable to start with and can be grown in a large pot, 8-10 inches diameter, filled with a multi-purpose compost or even a home-made mix of fine sandy soil and some re-cycled compost or old growbag compost.

It is worth using an inch or two of new compost on the surface to prevent damping off disease on the new seedlings.

Just sprinkle the seeds thinly over the surface, water and cover with bubble polythene to stop the seeds drying out before germination. Once germinated, uncover them and protect with fleece if it is really cold

Leaf salads are becoming very popular and you can grow your own for a fraction of the cost of buying a packet in the supermarket.

Mizuna, rocket, salad bowl lettuce or oriental mixes can be sown thinly on dwarf pots or seed tray cells of compost and by only giving them enough moisture to germinate, will reward you with some cut and come again leaves in a matter of weeks.

Link-A-Bord containers, like double-glazing help give extra protection to the plant roots from outside cold, thus helping the crop to grow even faster.

Alternatively, if you can find some polystyrene trays, they will also insulate the compost keeping the roots warm. Salad onions can be grown successfully in pots in the same way but would appreciate a little gentle heat to start the germination process. Beetroot can be tried a little later but may bolt if sown too early

You cannot beat the flavour of freshly harvested new potatoes, and I always start off a few pots of ‘earlies’ in the cold greenhouse using up old compost.

Put three ’seed’ potatoes on a shallow bed of compost in the bottom of a 12 inch pot or bucket, earth up with more compost as they grow.

Keep them warm with bubble polythene round the side of the pot and glass over the top. If they are not ready to harvest before the space is needed stand the outside from April, if the weather is mild but just bring them inside the greenhouse or the garden shed if frost is forecast.

I have had some lovely new potatoes for Christmas growing in the same way but starting in August.

Next month it will be time to start growing broad beans, cabbage, cauliflower and lettuce under glass for planting outside under cloches or in the open. It is lovely to experiment with new ideas and extend the vegetable season.

GROUND RULES

• Prune back grape vines to one bud from the main framework before the sap starts rising, otherwise they will bleed
• Apple trees need thinning out this month to remove congested growth, replace warn out wood and stimulate new productive wood. Try to maintain an open centre without branches growing up to the sky
• If the weather is frost- free it is a good opportunity to edge up lawns or lift and level any hollows or even re-turf worn patches
• Cut back any branches of deciduous shrubs that are causing congestion whilst it is easy to see where the problems lie. Ideally, very old or crossing wood can be removed
• Check tender plants are well protected should very cold weather appear. Make sure Dahlias in the soil are well mulched. Birds have a habit of spreading it about, making it too thin

By Martin Ford