Winter may be a few months away, but if you want homegrown veggies for slow cooked soups and stews this is the month to sow carrots, beetroot, turnips, leeks, spring onions and onions.
Dos and don’ts:
- Don’t add manure to the soil because most root crops are sensitive to nematodes that can reside in manure and deform the roots.
- Do loosen the soil so that it drains well. Root veggies like deep loose soil (on the sandy side). If necessary, dig over the soil twice to break down clumps of soil and to aerate it.
- Do plant in beds that receive lots of sun.
Tip from MayFord seeds: Only fertilise with organic 2:3:2 fertiliser if there has been a lot of rain which has washed away the nutrients.
Carrots ‘Cape Market’ are a cool season variety recommended by MayFord seeds as a quick, high yield crop for a small area. The first carrots can be picked within 70 days from germination. If sown now, you’ll have carrots from end June into early July.
- Sow in situ, either in drills or broadcast. Mixing the seed with mealie meal helps distribute it more evenly. Cover the seed with a thin layer of sand and firm down.
- Keep the soil consistently moist during germination. The fine seed dries out quickly.
- When the seedlings have developed five leaves, reduce watering to once a week. This encourages the root to go in search of water, extending the length of the carrot.
- Two or so weeks before harvest, water the carrots with Epsom salts dissolved in water. This gives the carrots a deeper colour and sweeter taste.
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Beetroot ‘Chioggia Guardsmark’ is a beetroot with a difference. This Italian heirloom variety is a mild and sweet, candy-striped beetroot. The medium sized beets work well as baby beet, being super-sweet when roasted and used in salads. Plants have bright green edible leaves that can be eaten like spinach.
Grow beetroot in full sun and sow directly into the soil. Keep the soil moist during germination.
Beetroot seed comes up in clumps because it consists of two to six seeds in a single shell. Thin out seedlings to 3 cm apart and as the roots start to develop pick out alternate plants to eat as ‘baby” beet. This allows the remaining plants space (10cm) to develop.
Beets are ready for harvesting within 68 days when they are 5 to 10cm in diameter.
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Did you know?
- Beetroot can also be planted in containers, at least 35cm wide and 40cm deep. Don’t let containers dry out and liquid feed once a week.
If there is one winter veggie that’s dead easy to grow its turnips. MayFord’s “Early Purple Top Globe’ is a quick growing variety that is sown directly into the soil and is ready for harvesting within 60 to 80 days. It can also be grown in containers. Use turnips instead of potatoes for soups and stews, and they can be roasted, baked or mashed like potatoes. The younger the turnips, the sweeter the flavour.
Tips for turnips
- Loosen the soil to a depth of 30 cm, break down clumps of earth, and add in compost for drainage.
- Sprinkle seeds over the surface of the soil and lightly cover with a thin layer of soil, firmed down. Water gently and keep the soil moist during gemination.
- Thin seedlings to 10cm apart. For the best flavour keep the soil is evenly moist while growing.
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The most suitable onion for sowing in April or May is ‘Texas Grano.’ It has a mild flavour that’s suitable for cooking as well as salads.
However, it has a long growing season (up to six months) and as winter stews can’t wait, there are two faster growing alternatives; spring onions and leeks. Why not sow them at the same time as the onions.
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MayFord’s spring onion ‘White Welsh’ is harvestable within 45 days and both tops and bulbs can be used.
Sow spring onions directly into the soil in rows. They germinate quickly and to keep them going, take four or five out of the clump that have been harvested and replant them about 7cm (four fingers) apart.
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Leeks ‘Carentan’ grow easily in most types of soil and need a steady supply of moisture. They are not troubled by pests and diseases.
They can be harvested at almost any time if used for flavouring. The green leafy tops are the most delicious part so don’t discard them.
Start in seed trays and when the seedlings are big enough to handle, make holes 15 to 20cm deep and 3 to 4cm wide and drop the seedling in, but don’t firm down the soil. Water the soil in and the hole will gradually close.
When plants are about 20cm high feed them with a general garden fertiliser and feed monthly after that. Mound up the soil around the stem as it grows. This keeps the long stems white.
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