Veg4Show

Things so far

Carrots: Long, stump: Long carrots yet to show after 3 weeks, so all stations have been resown. My stump carrots in the tunnel also had a hard time with about one third not germinating and only a few did germinate in the bore holes that were planted with about 7 seeds, resown empty spaces.

Parsnips: Looking really good and have clean tops with no pest damage and lush foliage. I am using a moisture meter just so i know how moist the soil is about 7 inches down so i can judge how much water to give.

Onions: Most of my large onions are now planted outside in the raised bed and are larger than my thumb with some being double this size but most are an even size which is what you want. I have kept a few onions back that i hope to plant up inside the tunnel. Planting onions outside can be risky and wont make a size anywhere near the national onions you see at about 20-22 inches around but i wont be doing any nationals. I really want just nice sized onions and hopefully avoid botrytis that always seems to attack onions grown inside more than outside, i also tend to find a lot of onions split inside the tunnel because of the heat levels in summer.

Celery: My first sowing of celery that was about 8 inches high and looking really healthy all wilted under the extremely hot day we had. I still have a second and third sowing which have just been potted up and will hopefully make it on time for the shows.

Potatoes: I have 15 bags of Kestrel in and i hope to get another 30 or so planted this weekend, and another 30 the next week after.

Shallots: Very impressed so far and are probably the biggest i have had for this time of year and have just grown non stop.

Leeks: The pendle leeks inside the tunnel are looking very good indeed and are on par to make a decent size. The one problem i have this year is this orange colour at the base of the plant from which i lost 5 leeks in the early stages. It looks like some kind of fungus, I have noticed one of my leeks inside the tunnel and one outside have a slight orange colour at the base so i have removed a few flags to clear it and sprayed with a fungicide in the hope it wont come back. This could be due to excess water surrounding the base of the plant so i am avoiding watering the base of the leek.

The welsh seedlings that are planted outside this year because they have a tendency to bubble up and the flags split under stress/ hot days are looking good but slightly behind the pendle leeks now.

Tomatoes: My 10 cedrico are now in there final pots and look extremely healthy with the first truss of flowers just showing at the tops.

My 5 goldstar tomato cuttings from Medwyns came yesterday and have been potted up into there 5 inch pots. When receiving plants from growers or even from a local greenhouse you must keep them warm for at least the first week at night so they can adjust to the temperatures inside your greenhouse/tunnel, as they have been growing in a warmhouse they will wilt on you very quickly. If you do buy from a garden center i suggest you buy the smallest plants that have had more room to grow than the other leggy dead things in the pot next to it.

I have also taken some cuttings from my cedrico already and they have rooted so we will see how they get on later.

Cabbage: My large cabbage are in 2litre pots at the moment and i hope to get them in soon, i have another 200 or so also to plant out in the allotment. These will all need to be covered and my show cabbage will also have collars put at the base to avoid cabbage root fly.

Weeds: These are looking extremely good this year and i should get a good crop of them.