Surrey Homes | SH65 | March 2020 | Good Living supplement inside

them as much. Only water if it gets exceptionally dry – and
it is better to water deeply once a week than little and often.
Un-buyable Taste
There are some vegetables you just can’t buy, and a few that
when homegrown have a very different taste to those bought
in shops. Peas and sweetcorn start to lose their sweetness as
soon as they are picked because the sugars in them turn into
starch and by the time they get to the shops they are often
woolly and tasteless. Frozen peas are always better to buy than
fresh, because they are harvested and frozen out in the fields.
Sun ripened homegrown tomatoes are unbeatable for
flavour – from tiny cherry style up to big and beefy, your
own tomatoes will always be better than those in the
shops. Then there are things like courgette flowers, tiny
artichokes and pea tips (the first few leaves that appear).
Living Larders
One of the many joys of vegetable growing is that you will have
fresh veg on tap – just waiting outside on the patch for you
to harvest when you need it. Some crops need to be picked as
soon as they are ripe but others, especially those that are happy
to sit in the ground through winter, really do become like a
living larder. I find that leeks, kale, perpetual spinach (spinach
beet), winter-hardy salad leaves and most herbs just tick away
for months, ready to be picked – until the following spring
that is, when they will suddenly rush into flower and set seed.
Forking Hell
The things that go wrong are usually related either to the
soil and weather conditions, or to attack from pests. Carrots
and parsnips will fork into un-peelable little monsters if the
soil is too rich, or too stony. Brussels sprouts may ‘blow’ and
cauliflowers fail to produce curds in light, friable soil. If it
gets very hot and dry then rocket, spinach, beetroot and some
lettuces will ‘bolt’ and run to seed – these are best grown in
the spring or early autumn when the weather is cooler.
Pests are numerous so, if possible, net susceptible crops at
vulnerable times in the year. Most importantly encourage a
healthy ecosystem so your allies – birds, frogs, hedgehogs,
wasps and beetles – do a lot of your pest control for you.
It is still a little early to be sowing crops directly outside
– the exception being hardy things like broad beans, peas,
spinach onions and leeks, but many can be started off under
cover this month. Like much in life, vegetable growing
is an adventure; nothing ventured, nothing to harvest.
With any luck and a favourable wind, some sunshine and
rain (at night please) this could be a bumper year…
For details of Jo’s gardening courses visit
hornbrookmanor.co.uk
or contact Jo on 01233 861149
Top: Leeks and celeriac Above left: Mixed salad Above right: Cabbage
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