Allotment Diaries, The by Sexton Kay

Author:Sexton, Kay
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Summersdale Publishers Ltd
Published: 2013-02-28T05:00:00+00:00

Crop care and allotment tasks

Feed your Brussels sprouts now with a seaweed or blood-and-bone feed and ensure they are well firmed down or wind rock may loosen the roots, causing all your sprouts to become open-hearted flowers: pretty to look at but not so nice to eat!

Keep hoeing open areas of soil as you remove crops: this stops the soil compacting and prevents late germinating weeds getting a hold – it’s easier to hoe them in now than to weed out in a few weeks’ time.

Check your winter squashes: fruit will benefit from being lifted from the soil on bricks or old roof tiles and it’s a good idea to cut away leaves that may be shading the developing fruit as the better the air circulation, the more likely the fruit is to avoid getting blossom end rot. Calcium deficiency is one cause of blossom end rot in squashes, and applying calcium nitrate (a water-soluble form of calcium that the plants can access through the soil) is the short-term solution. Poor air circulation intensifies the problem as the weak cell walls in the fruit collapse and mould spores proliferate in the damp warmth created by the sheltering leaves and spread into the microscopic cracks in the expanding squash or pumpkin. The long-term solution is to improve your soil quality – it saves all that other work! If you have the space, it’s good to allow your winter squashes to clamber up canes and other supports – we provide ours with sturdy twiggy branches to cling to, and this both increases air circulation and makes it more difficult for slugs and snails to find the newly formed baby squashes which they love to munch on when the outer wall of the squash is still tender and easy for them to chew through.

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