The oldest anthology of Japanese poetry composed from 450AD refers to ‘seven plants showing green through the cold earth as harbingers of spring’.

Eaten on the 7th day of January, mixed with rice gruel, this concoction makes an early spring dish of varied herbs. Each herb has its own homeopathic effect on our health.

The Seven Spring Herbs

• Combined together the following plants form ‘Haru no nanakusa’.
• Oenanthe stolonifera, water celery, or water parsley
• Capsella bursa-pastoris or Shepherd’s Purse
• Gnaphalium affine or Cudweed
• Stellaria media or Chickweed
• Lamium amplexicaule,  Henbit, or Deadnettle
• Brassica rapa,  White Turnip, mustard greens, or celery cabbage
• Raphanus sativus or Japanese White Radish

This may be a hard mix to find in the UK but the idea of mixing herbs appeals to me. If you have a favourite mix or concoction then send details via our comment section below.

For ,ore information see the Japan Times online


Grow and Crop your own Soya Beans

• For a little grown vegetable Soya are an easy and attractive crop to grow.
• Sow in a propagator or into warm soil May or June if sowing direct outside.
• Plant in well-drained, moist rich soil, 6 inches apart. Keep well watered, particularly as pods are setting.
• You will get 3-4 beans to a pod but you get lots of hairy self pollinated pods at the top of the plant.
• Plants are virtually pest and disease free.

How to Use Your Soya Beans

• You can pick pods whilst beans are still green and boil them in the pods with salt. Butterbean & Envy are good varieties for this purpose available from organicseedsonline.com
• Shelled the green beans can be treated like broad beans
• When pods turn brown harvest the dry beans and they can be stored in an airtight container. Soak them for 12 hours before using.
• Good varieties include Ustie, Butterbean and Elna.
• Commercially grown Soya is often GM but produces oil, Soya milk, Bean Curd or Tofu and can also be fermented to make Soya sauce.

Japanese Beans

• Azuki beans are a hairy annual similar to Soya beans. They have yellow flowers and longer pods.
• Daizu is the Japanese Soya rich in oil and protein. Flowers are violet or white and pea shaped.
• Miso is a bean paste made from Soya beans rice and salt.
• Tofu is an easily digested protein made from soaked and curded soya beans.
• Natto is fermented Soya beans often eaten at Japanese breakfasts.

Kale or borecole has returned to popularity as a vegetable. Kale is a form of cabbage Brassica oleracea Acephala and has green or purple leaves.

Growing Curly Kale

• The leaves do not form a cabbage head but remain open.
• Some varieties have flat leaves but the flavour and texture is not as refined. These leaves are often used as animal feed.
• Baby leaves can be used in a salad and have a peppery taste.
• Black Tuscany Kale has attractive dark green, deeply savoyed, strap-like leaves.
• The traditional winter hardiness makes this a useful winter to spring vegetable at a time when fresh garden produce is scarce.
• F1 Kale Reflex has more intensely curled, succulent and nutritious, dark green leaves which stand well without yellowing.
• Grow Kale from seeds planted in February or March. Some varieties supplied by Thompson Morgan can be grown inside for salads.

Eat the Seasons says ‘Kale is a very handy ingredient for seasonal eaters as it is one of the few green vegetables that is more abundant and flavourful during the coldest months of the year.’

Harvesting Kale

• Choose a good variety and pick the greenstuff when it is young and tender .
• Pick from the crown of the plant from November onwards.
• Remove a few young leaves each time you pick.
• Use a sharp knife or a sharp downwards tug.
• Do not gather mature or yellowing leaves for kitchen use as they will be bitter.
• Stripping of the crown will stimulate the development of succulent side shoots.

For more information on Ornamental Kale read

The summer Raspberries are now finished and I am eagerly awaiting a crop from my Autumn Raspberries planted 2 season ago.
In the meantime the old Raspberries are getting a bit of friendly treatment.

Cultivation of Early Raspberries.

• The plants throw up canes 3-5 feet high from a stool at ground level.
• In Summer and Autumn new canes are produced that will carry the flowers and fruit next spring.
• Canes will only fruit once so old canes should be cut down at ground level after you have harvested the fruit
• I shred the old canes on to my compost heap.
• New canes need support. I string wire across the row from stout posts at each end.
• Raspberries are a hungry and thirsty fruit.
• Feed with general purpose granular fertiliser like Growmore in spring and mulch with well-rotted farmyard manure.

Varieties

• Grow Raspberries from bare-root plants in the autumn. Here are some of the varieties available from Thompson Morgan.
• Glen Moy – spine free canes, heavy crops in early summer
• Glen Prosen – firm fruit in mid-summer
• Autumn fruiting types include All Gold and Autumn Bliss
• Read also Spring Summer and Autumn on Gardeners Tips.

Common Golden Thistle or Spanish Salsify has golden yellow flowers that look like other members of the Compositeas.

Growing Spanish Salsify

• The plants prefer light well-drained soil. Occasionally it will be found growing wild but as its name suggests it grows well in Spain where it is also known as Spanish Oyster.
• Spanish Salsify is a biennial or perennial plant, which grows 2-3′ tall and is very spiny. The stems are branched at the top, with discontinuous spiny branchlets.
• Cultivation has reduced since Victorian times when it was more popular

Growing for Eating and Cooking

• All parts of the plant are edible but the roots were originally thought  to have a slight diuretic effect.
• Root eaten raw or cooked have a sweet flavour that makes an excellent vegetable though it is rather low yielding.
• The roasted root has been used as a coffee substitute
• Young leaves and leafstalks can be blanched and used in salads
• The flowers are used to adulterate saffron as a food colouring
• In Spain the main uses are in salads or with scrambled eggs .

Read more on the UN Agricultural web site

Ordinary Salsify

• Grown from seed the roots can be stored for winter use.
• Salsify Scorzobianca produces slender, parsnip-like white skinned roots. They can be left in the ground and lifted as required. In the spring the tender shoots of Salsify Scorzobianca make an appetising green vegetable.
• Seeds available from Thompson Morgan
• The roots have a delicious, delicate flavour likened to Oysters or Asparagus.
• Salsify is a good source of Vitamin C and potassium.

Sweetcorn is one of my favourite vegetables. Even when it comes out of a tin it is OK but fresh Sweetcorn boiled then smothered in butter is a treat that makes these plants well worth growing.

Planting Sweetcorn.

• Each seed is the shape and colour of a pip from a sweetcorn cob. They germinate quickly in warm conditions.
• Sow seeds in mid spring 4 weeks before the last frost in your area.
• Plant out 18in apart in blocks rather than rows when all danger of frost has passed,
• Sweetcorn seed is available in many varieties from Thompson Morgan.
• If you try F1 hybrids don’t grow next to standard varieties or the cross pollination may cause the cobs to lose some of its sweetness.

Pollination and Growing On

• Pollen from the male flowers, above, falls or is blown onto the female flowers or tassels, below, which when fertilised will form the cob.
• To get good pollen distribution it is worth growing plants in square or rectangular blocks not long rows.
• Hand pollination can be tried, dust female tassels with an open male flower or run your hand down the male flower and transfer the pollen onto the female tassels.
• Once the silks or tassels start to form on the cobs regular watering is helpful.
• To check that the cobs are ready to be picked pull back part of leaves covering them and squeeze one of the grains, if the liquid is thin and creamy, not watery, the cob is ready.

Sweetcorn Mini Vegetables

• Miniature sweetcorn Minor produces tiny corn cobs for Chinese cooking and casseroles and crops in 64 days
• The baby corn of Sweetcorn Minor are harvested before pollination just as the ‘silk tassels’ begin to show.
• Sow seeds in mid spring 4 weeks before last expected frost in your area, singly ½in deep in 3in pots of compost.
• Plant out 4-5in apart in rows 8in apart when all danger of frost has passed in blocks of short rows rather than one long row.
• A warm sheltered position in fertile, moist yet free draining soil is best.
• Plants will still grow tall, the only thing miniature is the cobs.
• Keep free of weeds and water regularly.
• Harvest the tiny cobs when the silks first show above the husks. What you are harvesting is the immature corn on the cob.
• Under ideal conditions each plant should bear 4-6 cobs. If you forget to harvest on time a normal sweet corn will be produced.

Eating Sweetcorn

• Miniature cobs are ideal raw, steamed, stir fried or with dips.
• Also very tasty cooked, then tossed in parsley butter or served with a cream sauce.
• Maincrop Sweetcorn are good when barbecued or grilled.
• Sweetcorn adds starch to chicken or fish soup.

A family of plants that looks good, tastes good and by golly it does you good – what more can you want.

• Amaranth has other names in other cultures. I like the African name ‘Chewa’ or the Caribbean ‘Callaloo’.
• Chinese use ‘Bayam’ in stir fries
• The plant has had synthetic red dyes named after it and the Hoppi red Dye variety has long been known for it’s deep red.
• Amaranth ‘Red Army’ is sold by  Thompson Morgan as a living green veg like mustard and cress see below.

Thompson Morgan’s Growing Tips

• Grow seeds of Amaranth Red Army microgreens for instant colour and visual appeal, with a mild flavour, brightening salads and garnishes. Micro greens are eaten as young seedlings prior to the first true leaves, when they are full of an intense range of flavours.
• They are quick and easy to grow indoors all the year round.
• Grow in a similar way to mustard and cress. Fill seed trays with vermiculite, then sprinkling the seeds liberally, but not too thickly on the surface. Place the trays on a warm windowsill or in the greenhouse.
• Ensure the seeds are constantly moist and as the seedlings emerge, especially during summer, mist spray or water carefully as necessary.
• Cut these ‘Living Seedlings’ as they develop for immediate use or keep in a plastic bag in the fridge
• Just like sprouting seeds and salads leaves, they are very rich in healthy nutrients, ideal for spicing up sandwiches and salads or to garnish soups.
• Seedlings mature quicker in the warmer, longer days of summer, and take a little longer during the depths of winter.

Chillies are a hot plant to grow and a little goes a long way so they are an economic crop for the space.

Growing From Seed

• Chilli seeds need to be sown early in the year for a long growing and ripening season.
• Germination can be variable and speed & percentage success is improved with a propagator warmth.
• Use a gritty soil based compost like Arthur Bowers as Chillies like good drainage.

Chilli Growing Tips

• Pot on your seedlings into 3″ pots when the leaves are large enough to hold
• Pot on as they grow into 9 inch pots or larger depending on the variety.
• Chillies are best grown in a greenhouse or poly-tunnel though they can be grown outside in a sunny spot.
• Smaller pots can be used for compact ornamental varieties.
• Shade your greenhouse or conservatory to avoid scorching.

Chilli Varieties and Heat

• Cayenne pepper plants will flower and fruit much earlier than varieties such as Habanero, Scotch Bonnet or Naga.
• The slower varieties require much more heat and light and are best kept in a conservatory or greenhouse to ensure they fruit as soon as possible.
• Habaneros take over 3 months from potting on to reach maturity.
• Heat is measured in ‘Scovilles’ .  Sweet Peppers score nil, Jalapenos & Hot Wax 2-8k, Tabasco & Cayenne 30-50k, Habenero & Scotch Bonnet 100-325k and Naga Jolokia upto 855k. Police use a Pepper spray that is rated at 5.3m Scovilles and pure Capsicum is 16m Scovilles. Hot or what?

Read the rest of this entry »

White Currants are closely related to Red Currants and need similar, sunny or partially shaded treatment. They will reward the soft fruit grower with a nice crop of sweet juicy fruit for gardeners pies and summer puddings.

What is a White Currant

• Ribes rubrum is the fruiting currant which can be red, yellow, pink or white.
• These currants are related to the Gooseberry
• White Currants make a fairly strong, vigorous, upright bush. The plant in the photo has been trained in a ‘U’ shape as a double cordon. This urn shape in a bush or cordon allows air to circulate and helps harvesting.
• White Versaillies has large light yellow and sweet fruit ready for harvesting early July. ‘White Grape’ AGM and ‘White Pearl’ fruit in summer.

Growing White Currants

• Plant currants when they become dormant towards the end of November or December.
• Propagate from ripe hardwood cuttings 10-12 inches long burried ¾ of the way into the ground. New roots will strike from a number of areas along the stem.
• You can also layer currants in autumn or spring as they root quite freely.
• Prune  all young side shoots to 5 leaves in June. In Autumn or winter cut back long shoots by one third.
• Snip strings of fruit with scissors (then separate them from the stalk with a fork)

Your summer crops may have been cleared from your Veg patch but you can now plant winter cabbage. For many varieties it is too late (August) to grow from seed but you can buy suitable plants from nurseries, mail order or local market stalls.
Some loose leaf cabbage grown as spring greens can be sown in August.

Cultivating Winter Cabbage

• Plant at 5-6 leaf stage allowing 2 feet between plants (less for spring greens).
• The soil should be firm, contain plenty of well rotted compost and be well limed.
• Just before planting, rake in 3oz per sq yd of balanced fertiliser.
• Hoe occasionally and water if the weather is dry. Harvest in very late winter

Varieties to Try

• Spring Cabbage Hero is a ball cabbage that will stand through winter to produce a solid head from early May.
• Tundra F1 is solid and sweet with crisp heads, ideal for winter salads.
• Thompson Morgan selection of plants and seeds
• Spring Advantage is an excellent new variety suitable for providing both spring greens or small to medium sized hearted spring cabbage. From an August sowing it will keep well into April.
• January King a hardy winter variety with heads which are crispy and crunchy and full of flavour.
• Savoy cabbages can be grown through winter for spring use

For more on Brassicas read

More Cabbage Tips Read the rest of this entry »