Kitchen Garden Magazine

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Undercover

March can be a tricky month, with temperatures rising in the greenhouse and polytunnel on sunny days, but still the threat of frost at nights. You will need to be vigilant, particularly in caring for young seedlings. The reward, if the weather is mild, is the first tender harvest of early-sown salads

Harvest

New baby leaf salads, overwintering salads, oriental broccoli, chard, spinach, parsley, spring cabbage

Sowing tender crops

Early-mid March is the last chance to sow tomatoes, aubergines and peppers if they are to give you a worthwhile crop. Otherwise you will need to buy plants. To be sure of a choice of varieties, order now from mail-order catalogues for April or May delivery rather than rely on the garden centre. Most seed companies now offer a good range of veg plants, and organic ones are available too (www.organicplants.co.uk).

In mild areas, sow courgettes, French beans, and outdoor varieties of cucumber in heat for planting out in polytunnel beds. They only take three to four weeks to be ready for planting, so only sow if you will be able to keep the plants frost free by then – otherwise wait until early next month. Greenhouse cucumber plants need to be maintained at higher temperatures (at least 15C/60F), so early sowings need heated greenhouses.

Pricking out

Aubergines, peppers and tomatoes sown in heat last month will be large enough to handle and ‘prick out’ (transfer to small individual pots). If your potting compost is kept in a cold shed, fill the pots and bring them into the greenhouse for a couple of days beforehand to warm up.

Don’t be tempted to use larger pots than you need, to save further potting later. Not only do these take up more heated space, but nutrients are leached out of the large volume of compost before it can be explored by the roots, so its benefits are wasted. There is also more danger of waterlogging. I usually use pots no larger than 5cm (2in).

Onion sets

If you have onion sets left over from the veg plot, plant them 2-3cm (3⁄4-1in) apart in polytunnel beds or large pots in the greenhouse. They will quickly sprout, and you can harvest them green – like large spring onions – before outdoor crops are ready.

Leftover seed potatoes of early varieties can similarly be useful. Put a few in a paper bag in the fridge to stop further sprouting, for planting in August as an autumn undercover crop.

Oriental harvest

Some oriental greens grown for their winter leaves produce deliciously tender, sweet flower shoots in spring, which can be used raw or lightly cooked just like broccoli. So don’t pull these plants up as soon as they start to bolt – enjoy a bonus crop. I find the flat-leaved pak chois give the most substantial spears, but many others are worth trying.

Container crops

Container-grown fruit and pots of tender herbs such as lemon verbena will need a boost to spring growth. Scrape off any moss and old loose potting compost from the tops of the pots and replace it with a 2-3cm (about 1in) layer of new compost.
 

For much more advice, see this month's issue, available to buy online!

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