Gardeners Tips

Parsley Tips

• I have grown this parsley from spring sown seed. Germination can be a bit erratic as warm temperatures are needed.
• After a summer in the herb bed I have potted a clump up in the greenhouse.
• Before the worst frosts I will bring a pot into the house for snipping onto potatoes and garnishing fish.
• The flat leaved variety is one of my favourite herbs but I am not very successful at growing it. Fortunately there are many varieties that seem to be within my compass.
• Parsley is a hungry feeder so if growing in a container add some bone meal

The curly herb Parsley crispum is naturally slow to germinate. If the soil dries out it may never germinate.

Germination Tips

• • Try watering the drill then sow the seed in the drill covering with dry soil. This covering will dramatically reduce evaporation so the seed will be in contact with moisture for longer.

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The oldest anthology of Japanese poetry 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. Other cultures and regions have their own herb traditions and mixtures. If you have a favourite mix or concoction then send details via our comment section below.

Other Mixed Herbs

The UK has Parsley, sage rosemary and thyme in the traditional song Scarborough Fair
The French have bouquet-garni
As we approach Thanksgiving spare a thought for the turkeys stuffed full of sage and onion
Traditionally used in Italian cooking a popular mix includes oregano, basil, thyme, marjoram, sage, parsley, bay leaves and  cracked black pepper.

 

The Umbels family are far from humble when grown well. When grown badly like Hemlock (conium maculatum) they are poisonous, even fatal but many species such as carrots, parsnips and fennel are edible or even medicinal. The Greeks and Romans knew a thing or too (until Hemlock killed Socrates)

Umbels flower in a parasol shape with short stalks of equal length rising from a common point opening to a flat or rounded spray.

Unusual Facts About Umbels

• A small umbel is called an umbellule
• Fatsia japonica has a globular umbel reminiscent of a golf ball.
• Sea Holly (Eryngeum) produces fruirlets rather than seed but is still a member of the umbel group of plants
• Umbellifers are mostly aromatic flowering plants of the genus Apium such as the celery, carrot or parsley family.
• Queen Anne’s lace is a development from the common carrot
• The first ‘Herbal’ describing umbels was credited in a ‘History of Plants’ believed to be written circa 300 BC.
• Coriander leaves produce cilantro which has strong antibacterial and fungicidal properties that helps kill Salmonella bacteria hence its use in food from hot climates
• The many herbs and ornamentals of the umbel family are not as well known as they should be.

Herbal Umbels in Medicine

•  Traditionally many umbelifereous plants have been used in herbal medicine.
• One recurring use of plants from this group of plant is in treating digestive and stomach problems. Parsley, Dill, Fennel,  and Lovage are well known in this respect
• Angelica, Wild Celery, Caraway, Coriander, Anise, Cow Parsnip and other plants are used for treatments and  a range of medicinal claims, toothpaste, tisanes and poultices.

Sea Holly Hedge Parsley  (Torilis japonica)

Ornamental Umbels and Uses

• The ferny foliage of umbelliferous plants looks attractive when combined in borders with more robust foliage even before the flowerheads are taken into account.
• See through backdrops and feathery borders can be included in your own bespoke garden design.
• I grow Angelica in my border and it is a robust plant that survives our northern climate.
• Many gardeners already grow Astrantia and Burpleurum a couple of other umbels without thinking of them as part of the carrot group.
• You could grow a whole bed of Eryngium species including, yuccifolium, alpinum, higanteum and variifolium
• Pennyworts or Hydrocotyle are useful in water gardens and the harder to find Oxypolis is used in wet land.

Wild Carrot Pig Nut (Conopodium majus)

Starter Tips

• Grow culinary leeks in ground with well rotted compost that hasn’t cropped leeks for the past 3 years.
• Sow autumn and winter varieties in deep pots during late March or April
• Transplant in June-July so about two thirds of the plant is buried increasing the length of blanching.
• For average sized leeks plant  6 inches apart in rows a foot apart.
• Nitrogen fertiliser in autumn helps winter growth
• Grow Pot Leeks for competitions prevalent in the North East of England.

Leekology

I first went to a Leek show in the North East one September about 40 years ago and the Pot Leeks on show were really something to behold.
It is an art, a science and a bit of black magic that helps create a show stopper in this region renown for its prize leeks.
Pot leek exhibition standards require a blanch of up to 6inch which can give a circumference of 28″. Intermediates are up to 14″ blanched length and Long leeks are anything in excess of this.                                                                                                           For eating purposes, size is much less important than flavour. We will  concentrate on normal garden culture for flavour.

Tips on starting to grow Leeks

• Seeds can be sown in Mid march until June as the plants like a long growing season.
• Set out the plants at the end of May.
• A quick and easy start can be made by buying seedlings from a nursery or market stall.
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Potash is a collective name for potassium salts that help grow healthy plants. Potash is good for fruit and  flowers helping thebbalance with nitrogen to improve disease protection and enhance flower colour.

Potassium sulphate widely used as a quick acting source of potash. Ideal for tomatoes, peppers and easy to mix and apply from a liquid.

Potassium nitrate is quick acting if you need a boost to nitrogen and potash at the same time. Like p. sulphate it helps develop fruit and can be sprinkled around the roots of fruit trees

Potassium chloride is a cheap form of potash that is a bit out of favour as it is less suitable for some root crops and soft fruit.

Home made potassium rich fertilizers can be made from comfrey leaves or wood ash. Soak comfrey leaves in water to make a vile smelling potash rich feed. Burnt wood ash contains potash but of varying quality and longevity so it may be best added to your compost heap.

It has taken 7 years to get a good crop of blueberries from my plants in a 12″ pot. See my earlier more detailed blueberry GTips from 2014. Now with the benefit of experience a good crop looks likely.  The yield has increased annually but for soft fruit and my blueberries in particular 2021 looks the best yet.

Three Best Tips

1. Blueberries love a moist soil and plenty to drink. I put Strulch around the plants to retain moisture and water regularly. If using tap water rather than rain water I add some ericaceous feed.
2. I planted two varieties in the same pot which helps fertilisation. One was a smaller weaker variety.
3. The pot is now in a sunny sheltered position. The fruit grows on old and new wood  so I only trim rather than prune

I have found a new commitment to growing and eating Brussels sprouts. From 3 or 4 plants last year I ate several hearty meals including a socially distanced Christmas (not because of any sprout side effects). I treated the plants in a cavalier manner and wonder how much better they would be with a bit of tender loving care.

Reasons for my new Commitment

• The plants do not take up as much space as other brassica crops when compared to the volume of food produced.
• My soil is fertile and free of most diseases (famous last words.) It also hold plants firmly in the ground a feature I am informed helps sprouts.
• In march I will sow last years seed of Evesham Special but also try find some F1 plants of early (maximus), mid (Diablo) and late (Revenge) season favorites.

Tender Loving Care

• This year I will  draw up more soil round the stem in summer to reduce staking and provide support. (Evesham only grow 2 feet high)
• Early sowing produces the best plants so I should get a move on. It is one draw back that plants grow for 12 months of the year but don’t need too much attention.
• I have a lot of local pigeons but did not suffered any attack on young shoots last year. I still keep some chicken wire temporary fencing handy should the need arise.
• This year after potting-on I will give a weekly liquid feed.
• Watering well in summer will provide an opportunity to boost with a nitrogen-rich feed.
• Whilst I try to minimise insecticides I will resort to them if caterpillars and white fly start to over power the crop.

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You do not need to give your raspberries five a day for them to supply you with at least one portion a day of your fruit and vegetables. However feed your canes and treat your hungry raspberries right with these tips.

Good Food Guide for Raspberries.

• Feed with a general fertiliser containing nitrogen for leafy growth, phosphorus for roots and shoot and potassium for for flowers and fruit. Growmore suits me but Phostrogen, Chempak of Vitax Q4 will do a similar job.
• If your leaves show signs of yellowing between veins it may be due to magnesium deficiency or the over use of potassium feeds. As a cure foliar feed with epsom salts solution in summer. I also start with an epsom soil feed in early spring.
• On chalky soil it may be worth giving a feed of sequestered iron in the form of sequestrene.
• Mulch around the canes with well-rotted manure but don’t bury the canes. This feeds and helps retain moisture both essential for good fruit. I also mulch and water in summer.
• Prepare the soil for new plants by deep digging adding well rotted compost and a slow release fertiliser such as bone meal.

Good luck with your cropping this year. May you pick enough raspberries to feed your daily portion needs with some leftover  to freeze or turn into jam

 

Purple sprouting broccoli is coming along nicely. It has been occupying the ground for quite some time and has a lax habit needing more space. The old sprout stalks are ready to be dug out (they are too firmly in the ground just to pull out). They take less space and produce more food per square yard than broccoli which is consistently good at our greengrocer. A tip for this years growing plans – more sprouts firmly planted and well staked.

Kale is now flowering and running to seed. I am less keen on this vegetable so the plants get no tlc. The purple leaved version that I grew from a mixed packet of seed was worthwhile for its individuality. I am not a brassica free growing garden but I wont be rushed into cabbages just at the moment so my 5 a day will be sprouts.