Saturday 27 February 2010

It's all going a bit leggy

So it’s now the end of February, after one of the coldest winters I can ever remember, and I’m learning all about the dangers of 'leggy' vegetables.

In my impatience I’m continuing to periodically sow a variety of vegetables in the conservatory; broad beans, peas, radishes, spring onions, lettuce and cabbage.

I’ve been doing this gardening lark for a while now, but the germination of seeds continues to frustrate and fascinate in equal measure. I carefully sow the seeds, water them, and then wait. As the days go by I begin to worry that something has gone wrong, checking back daily for any sign of growth, but to no avail. Then, one morning I come down stairs and there they are, tiny green shoots peaking up out of the soil.

As I carefully nurture my little seedlings, I begin to picture in my head the bumper harvest awaiting me. The weeks go by, the weather outside remains frosty, and my seedlings keep on growing upwards. Soon a few weeks have gone by, the ground outside is still frozen solid, but now my seedlings are toppling over, over-extending themselves in their desperate search for the sun. I’ve fallen victim to ‘leggy’ vegetables again.

I thought it might rain, perhaps not as heavily as it actually did, but I decided to get out to the allotment this weekend anyway. The peas had been sitting in the cold frame for a couple of weeks, and were desperate for something to start growing up. A heavy frost before they’re established could kill them off, but I decided to take the risk.

One of the great things about vegetable gardening are the structures you can build, and a pea net is one of the best. I used a triangular cross frame type arrangement, made out of bamboo stakes, with the net pinned to the floor with bricks, and to the top with gardening wire. It did look a bit precarious I’ll admit, and will need strengthening one day, but should give the peas a start, provided the foxes don’t get to it first!

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