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Wellington Fields Allotments - Hixon. |
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More Wellington Field Allotments Hixon
Gardening
Tips
Unusual
& Old
Unusual Environmental Issues And Going Green.
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Before the new Season starts with Spring arriving there is always a
little bit of Harvesting that can be done by most Plot Holders through
all but the worst of the Winter and even if you don’t harvest them in
Winter, there are some vegetables that can be stored and that will keep
fresh for use all throughout winter. Leeks and Brussels Sprouts are the
obvious vegetables for most People, but there are a few others. As with all Vegetables you need to be planting/sowing them at the right time to give you a Winter Harvest. Traditionally, Onion Seeds should be sown around Christmas although if you put in “Sets,” they can go in in early Spring. Older varieties of Leeks also need a long growing season so should be sown early in the Year as should some older Parsnip varieties. Brussels Sprouts can be sown later in the Spring for a Winter Harvest, but as I say Jerusalem Artichokes need to be planted quite early on, perhaps February, although newer varieties like Fuseau, have a shorter growing season maturing more quickly. Yacon on the other hand mature even more quickly as do Squashes and don’t need to be planted out until after the last of the Frosts in Spring – around the start of May and they will still give you a good harvest that can be kept all through the following Winter. You do need to start the Yacon Crowns off in Pots in a Greenhouse before then though and Squashes will need some heat to germinate early.
There are still jobs that can be done on Allotments at this time of year
and many involve working with Trees. I have already done most of my
Pruning, but the repeated Storms that we have been having this Winter
have broken or loosened, several of my supporting Posts that all need to
be seen to. With careful planning I may be able to re-use some of the
longer, broken ones where I need a short one. Posts are so expensive
these days and often difficult to get hold of when you want them. I am
hoping to be able to use some of my Brothers Hazel Poles that he cut for
me. Some of them are quite “Chunky,” and may be thick enough to use as a
Post which will save me quite a bit.
Apart from tying in my Trees, I have done some “Air Layering,” on a couple of my more exotic Fig Trees, a fancy Elderberry and a Twisted, red leafed, Hazel. Some Trees respond better to Layering,” than others and they will still take months to root, but generally it is more effective and easier than cuttings. With “Air Layering,” you first need to select a suitable stem that won’t harm the shape of the Tree when it is eventually cut off. Then you scratch the Bark before wrapping the wound to make a “Ball,” in something that will hold moisture. Traditionally this was Moss, but Newspaper or Tissue Paper is just as good. Then you wrap this “Ball,” in a piece of Plastic like an opened-out Bread Bag making sure that the “Ball,” is soaking wet first. From time to time, you may need to trickle a spot of water down the Stem into the “Ball,” to moisten it but other than that it can just be left to root in 6 Months or more. Hopefully, you will see the roots as they develop in the wrapping and then the rooted cutting can be severed and potted. In most cases the Cuttings will root better and get away quicker than by more traditional methods. Other Jobs that can be done with trees in late Winter is the last minute Planting of Bare Root Trees. With this in mind, I did my usual trick of removing the unwanted shoots, from around the base of my Fig Trees and Red Leafed Hazel Tree, many of which had roots starting to develop. As with bought “Bare Root,” Trees these will put on more roots and spring into growth as the Winter ends and things warm up giving me a lot of “Freebies,” to go towards our Autumn Plant Sale.
Another aspect of growing Trees that can be tried at only a little cost
is growing them from Seeds. One Tree that caught my attention this
Winter was the Spindle Tree, or Euonymus Europaeus. I found some berries
on a wild Tree/Bush at work and sowed them for a bit of fun and then
came across a cultivated variety in a local Garden Centre called the
“Winged Spindle,” or Euonymus Alatus that has very odd stems. The stems
are sort of flattened hence the “Winged,” name. They don’t grow
particularly tall so I will try keeping it in a large Tub on my Yard at
home. I did also put some other Tree Seeds in that I collected for free
from various places. Hopefully some of them will result in a few Trees
for our Allotments Plant Sales sometime in the future although some
trees will take years to develop from seeds. The “Gelder Rose,” or
Viburnum Opulus, Hypericum, Pineapple Broom – Cytisus Battandieri,
Cotoneaster, Wild Rose, Rowan, Crab Apple, Quince and Medlar are some
that I have tried this Winter. These all came from Fruits and Seeds that
I collected for free, but I also bought some Sweet Chestnuts, costing
just a pound or two, from the local Greengrocer. At that price they are
cheaper than buying a Packet of Seeds. I was a bit concerned when the
Shopkeeper said that he had fetched the Nuts out of the Chiller though
because if some Seeds are frozen it can spoil them. However, as my
Brother pointed out, many Tree Seeds germinate better after being “Vernalised,”
or “Stratified.” On the other-hand Sweet Chestnuts come from the
Mediterranean so they wouldn’t normally get chilled over Winter! |
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