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Field Allotments at Amerton
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Tips
By Mrs FM
Hartley.
Unusual
& Old
Fashioned Fruit
Trees.
Unusual
Vegetables,
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Edible Plants.
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By
Alan J Hartley
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Winter Weather.
We seem to be getting more and
more severe storms these days, so from time to time I have to attend to
my various fruit trees and vines making sure that they are kept secure.
After one particular storm that we had recently I spent several hours
tying in Vines and replacing posts that had come loose. My two Kiwi
vines, both self fertile, the normal sized Jenny and the miniature
fruiting, Issai, hadn’t suffered, but the Akebia Quinata, or Sausage
Vine, needed tying back in, so I replaced a couple of the broken Bamboo
canes supporting it with some Hazel Rods that my brother had given me. A
few weeks ago I planted a second root that my Brother had also given me
when he was re-arranging part of his garden. When I planted the original
I didn’t realise that you need 2 plants to Cross Pollinate each other in
order to get fruit, so hopefully, when the new plant settles in, I might
get to taste its unusual, “Sausage,” shaped fruit. The Schisandra and
Cinnamon Vines were still secure, but I did save many of the unusual,
round, seed like, Bulbils from the Cinnamon vine as I cleared up the dead foliage.
One of the posts supporting my
Black Raspberry had started to rot and
come loose, so that had to be replaced and I had to tie back in the
long, prickly, arching stems that will fruit next season while cutting
out the old ones. One stem had got so long though it was touching the
ground and had started to root in, so that was cut off and potted as a
“Freebee.” The large fruited Black Berry, which I have trained against
some trellis, isn’t a vine either, but it needed some attention to its
supporting structure as well. I am never sure of the best way to grow
Black Berries because in fields and hedges they just grow unsupported as
rampant bushes, but they seem to grow happily enough against an open
fence, or trellis, with a bit of regular tying in. It is certainly one
way to keep them under control with all their sharp thorns, although the
“Thornless,” varieties are much easier to handle.
My Cape Gooseberries gave the best crop ever this year with punnet after
punnet of their lovely, but tangy, bright orange berries. Normally, the
berries will stay on the plants and continue ripening, even after the
first frosts have killed the foliage, but this year we had one, or two
particularly sharp, early frosts, that spoilt the berries even though
they were inside their paper cases. The paper cases will hold off a
light frost, but this season, by mid December, the berries had gone
mushy, so I just cleared the lot up. If you don’t clear up the Berries
that have dropped though, you will normally find that Seedlings will
germinate the next year where they dropped. These will develop into
normal plants, but will usually be too late to grow to full size before
the end of the season. Cape Gooseberries need a long growing Season and
should be among the first Seeds to be sown in February, in warm
conditions such as on your Kitchen Windowsill.
Most of December was spent doing odd little maintenance jobs around my
Plot, but at the end of December I did sow some Onion Seeds in the warm,
on my Kitchen Windowsill. I don’t know that they really needed that much
warmth to germinate though, but they did come up quickly and have been
growing nicely looking like a pot full of grass. I guess it won’t be
long before I can prick them out individually into “Cells,” in a Modular
Tray to grow on a bit until the weather looks better.
 At the end of January I will start thinking about more Seed Sowing with
it being the right time for Parsley, Cape Gooseberry’s, Rhubarb and
Asparagus. Another job that I will be doing in my Greenhouse is planting
self grown Tubers of Jerusalem Artichokes and Oca that have been over
wintering outside in the ground on my Plot. I didn’t do them earlier,
(although you normally would) because they would have germinated too
quickly and been too big by the time our Fundraiser plant Sale comes
round in May.
With the warmth of my Greenhouse, the Yacon Crowns, that I planted at
the start of Winter, are starting to shoot. If they grow too fast though
I will need to move them outside on the warmer days to slow them down,
but I will have to remember to bring them back in each night as they are
quite tender. This is a simple trick that you can do with many plants if
you need to hold them back for any reason. Commercially, growers use
cold storage containers when growing certain plants for things like
Chelsea Flower Show and they also control light levels on their plants
sometimes. They do this to get Poinsettias in colour for Christmas
otherwise they will naturally colour up after Xmas, in early Spring.
Most people simply throw away their Poinsettias after Christmas, but if
you want to keep them and grow them on for another Christmas you will
need to keep them, moist at all times, but not standing in water, and at
a steady and warm temperature. From September onwards you will also need
to control the light level, like professional growers do, which is not
as difficult as you might think, although it is a little bit fiddly. For
about 8-10 weeks before you want them to flower, the plants will need
short days of less than 12 hours light each day. You can do this by
keeping them in a darkened room and keep opening and closing the
curtains, or you can do it by regularly covering the plants.
Most people don’t realise just how tough ordinary Chrysanthemums are as
long as they are kept on the dry side and don’t get too wet. Even in a
cold Greenhouse mine will start shooting very soon and I will be able to
take some cuttings from the fresh, new, growth. You can replant the old
“Stools,” each year, but this may lead to disease, so most people take
cuttings from the old plants, early, each Spring. I am hoping to root
and grow a number of young plants like this so that they can be offered
for sale in our May Fundraiser. That is about the same time that you can
buy young Chrysanthemum Plants by Mail Order, or perhaps these days I
should say, over the Internet.
At the end of January I will pick a time when we are forecast to have a
few nicer days and I will sow my Parsnip Seed directly in the ground,
outside, on my plot. I will pick a spot that hasn’t been freshly Manured,
that is free of Stones and that has been dug quite deeply. All of these
things will help to prevent them from developing “Forked ,” roots. From
experience, I will also use fresh seed as well because the germination
of Parsnips can be erratic at the best of times.
When Winter comes many people have plants that need protection from the
occasional frosty nights and snowy days that we sometimes get. For some
the answer is a shed where they can store their Dahlias quite safely in
the dark. For others though, they have plants that need a bit more light
like Cannas and tender Palms, along with Orange and Lemon Trees, that
may be in large pots. These plants all need light throughout the Winter
Months even though they are not really growing properly. Oranges and
Lemons in particular will suffer without enough light and that is where
a lot of people go wrong when they keep them in their centrally heated
houses thinking that it is the best place for them. A cool and light
Greenhouse that is kept frost free is a far better winter home for them.
However, many are put off by the supposed cost of heating a Greenhouse,
but it need not be as much as you might think. Obviously putting up
Bubble Polythene insulation is a great idea, but you only need to put a
heater on, when a sharp frost is actually forecast. Keeping an eye on
the weather forecast will mean that for the majority of nights the
heater need not be turned on at all. I was told a long time ago that, “A
greenhouse will keep out 5 degrees Fahrenheit of frost,” and insulation
will greatly increase that figure. So, the actual nights that a heater
even needs to be turned on are few and far between except in all but the
coldest of weather. Another little gem that I was told was that, “For
every 5 Degrees Fahrenheit that you raise the temperature, you double
the heating energy requirements and therefore the cost.” This may not be
true these days as Greenhouses are much better built and less draughty,
but it does show the need to keep the temperature setting on your heater
as low as possible. Most decent heaters have what is called a “Frost
Setting,” that is pre-set to make the heater come on just as the
temperature starts falling to dangerous levels. There really is no need
for most over wintering plants to have the Greenhouse any warmer and
certainly no need to have it as warm as your house.
To convince myself of the energy requirements of turning up the heat,
one cold day I turned the heating down in my House by just 1½ Degrees
Centigrade. I left the temperature down for the 2, or 3 cold days and
nights that we had a few weeks ago and reckon that I saved over £1 a day
according to the “Smart Meter,” set up in my Lounge. I think that this
reinforces just how important it is not try to have the Greenhouse too
warm. For most of the more tender plants that many of us grow, it is a
combination of cold and wet that really kills them and most people would
be surprised at just how low many of their tender plants will survive as
long as they are kept on the dry side with the exception of Citrus and
Cannas that both need a little winter moisture. You only need to think
of some of the exotic plants that grow in the arid conditions of Middle
Eastern Countries and the low night time temperatures that they can get
at times.
Still, it won’t be long now and the Sun will start getting a bit more
warmth in it and Spring will follow.
 
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