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Vegetable Facts

1. The most popular vegetables from seedÌýare tomatoes (no 1 is Tomato Sungold , no 2 is Tomato Ferline), runner beans (Wisley Magic and White Lady), carrots, beetroot, courgettes, Brussels sprouts and lettuce in that order. Potatoes are also very popular,Ìý the salad varieties in particular.ÌýÌý

Carrots

2. More gardeners are growing their own. More allotments are having plots taken by younger families or lady gardeners. These younger gardeners are also more adventurous and are willing to try the more unusual vegetables like butternut squash, sweet potatoes, coloured climbing beans.

3. Another trend IÌý have noticed is the amount of vegetables being grown as mini vegetables or as patio vegetables. Some gardeners do not have an allotment or enough garden border space to grow vegetables in the normal way. But nearly all vegetables can be grown in containers from potatoes through to tomatoes. This is certainly an area we are developing with our customers, and we are seeing a growth in sales in this market. Vegetable breeders around the world are also breeding more for the patio/mini vegetable market as well.

Tomatoes

4. We all go and buy salad bags from supermarkets, but many gardeners now realise how easy it is to grow their own. Many mixed salad leaves and rockets can be sown all year around and are ready to harvest within 25 days of sowing.

Vegetable Gardening Tips

1. For a full season of runner beans, make three sowings. For the first sowing at the beginning of May and the second sowing in the middle of May I use a red flowered variety. For the third sowing in mid June I use a white flowered variety. The reason for changing to a white flowered variety is because white flowered varieties set beans better during very hot weather, whereas red flowered types can drop their blooms once temperatures rise too high, and not set.Ìý Another way of ensuring your beans set is to keep your plants well watered, a 12ft ( 4m) row can require up to eight gallons of water per night during aÌý hot summer.ÌýÌý

2. Plant brightly coloured calendulas next to runner beans and courgettes, as these will attract hoverflies to help pollination. They will also attract the pollen beetle.Ìý It is better for pollen beetles to go for these brightly coloured flowers rather than into the flowers of beans or courgettes because bees and hoverflies won't enter flowers that contain pollen beetle. This companion plant will help solve this problem.

Parsnips

3. During hot weather if sowing seeds in drills outside, always water the base of the drill first then sow the seed. Once sown cover the seed with dry soil, this will keep the moisture below ground where the seeds need it to germinate. If you were to water afterwards on top this moisture would quickly evaporate or the soil would be capped by the sun making it hard for the seeds to push through.

4. One of the most frequent problems I get asked about by vegetable gardeners is ‘why am I having trouble with courgettes not setting fruit?’.Ìý This is usually a problem during the early spring when the weather is often very changeable and there is a lack of pollinating insects around. Now they can grow Courgette Parthenon F1 Hybrid as this variety is Parthenocarpic (self fertile) so is guaranteed to set fruit whatever the weather without the aid of pollinating insects. Parthenon could be the answer to many gardeners prayers,Ìýas you can even grow it early under glass or in poly tunnels for that very early crop.

5.ÌýRather than sowing parsnips in February/March sow your seed later in April/May for better germination, and still produce good sized quality roots.

Potatoes

6.ÌýAs parsnips can take 6-8 weeks to germinate a handy tip is to sow a few radish seeds in the same row as your parsnips as these will germinate quicker and allow you to get an early harvest of radish as well as enable you to hoe in-between your parsnip rows.

7.ÌýBeat tomato blight by sowing an early maturing variety of tomatoes like Red Alert or Gartenperle, which will fruit before blight is around . Alternatively sow Tomato Legend or Ferline as both these varieties have good blight resistance.

8.ÌýIf you suffer with growing carrots on clay soils, grow the smaller golf ball sizedÌýÌý carrots like Parmex or Paris Market, as these do not grow deep but still produce succulent tasty fun sized round carrots.

9. Those gardeners that wish they could grow vegetables, but have no vegetable garden, can still grow a wide variety of vegetables on a sunny patio in containers, the choice is endless.

10. Grow brassicas under Enviromesh all the time from when they are young until ready to harvest. This will deter pigeon damage and help prevent attacks from cabbage white butterflies.