The secret not to having ‘woody’ turnips is to harvest and eat them while they are still small. Leaving turnips to grow too large is the main reason that they become tasteless and woody.

Soil Preparation

Turnips should be grown in fertile soil that has been dug well the previous autumn. They prefer being grown in an area where the soil is firm yet free draining.

The spot should be in a sunny location away from high winds and frosts. These are the ideal conditions for turnips however, it is still possible to get a reasonable crop if these ideal requirements are not met.

Sowing and Planting

You can sow turnips right from March – August. Early varieties should ideally be planted from March up until June with maincrop turnips being sown in July and August.

Sow the small seeds thinly in rows that are ten inches apart, if you decide to grow one of the larger varieties you may wish to leave a larger space between rows.

Looking After the Plants

Thin the seeds once they are large enough to handle. Maincrop varieties should be thinned to eight inches apart while the smaller early varieties are thinned to five inches apart.

General maintenance is required, weed the rows regularly using a hoe or by hand, the plants should be kept well watered throughout the season and you should protect the plants from pests. Cabbage root fly is the one that most gardeners have problems with.

Harvesting

Early varieties should be harvested from May, the turnips should be between golf ball and tennis ball size. If you leave these too long the roots will become woody and tasteless.

Main crop varieties are harvested later in the season, usually in October or early November. You can begin harvesting these while they are still small because flavour is key, not size! While early varieties can be pulled from the ground by hand main crop varieties tend to have a long root, lift these larger turnips with a garden fork.

Soil Preparation

The soil and location are one of the most important things to get right when growing spinach, it’s going to be vital to your success growing this crop.

Spinach plants tend to run to seed easily therefore it is always best to sow them in between tall growing plants to provide shade against the summer sun. The soil where you intend to grow the spinach plants should be well dug, you can also add a general purpose fertilizer to the soil just before planting to give them that extra boost.

Sowing and Planting

Spinach seeds are grown like most others, sow the seeds outdoors in rows that are twelve inches apart. The seeds should be sown very thinly and covered with soil. These seeds can be thinned out again once they begin growing. With summer and winter varieties it is possible to harvest spinach all year long.

Looking After the Plants

The plants won’t grow extremely large so you should initially thin the seedlings to be 3 inches apart, once the plants are large enough to handle and cook each alternate plant should be removed and eaten.

Keep the plants weed free at all time, this is best done by hoeing around the plants weekly. It’s best to keep on top of this before the weeds get established and become a pain to get rid of.

Harvesting

Picking first begins when you are thinning and continues right until the plants are mature. Once the plants are mature they will be at their prime stage for eating. However in my opinion the key is to keep harvesting as required to avoid a glut at the end of the season.

You should be careful when picking individually not to disturb the plants next to the one you are harvesting.

Very similar to turnips, swedes are much tastier, the taste is milder and sweeter. The plants usually grow much larger than turnips meaning a much bigger crop is produced.

Soil Preparation

Swedes are best grown in a sunny location where the soil is firm, well fertile and non acid. The soil should be firm therefore having been dug in autumn and not early in the spring.

Sowing and Planting

Sow the seeds thinly in rows which are 15 inches apart. It is best to sow the seeds at a depth of half an inch but if sowing the swedes early in the season you would be best to sow a tiny bit deeper. Cover the seeds with soil and water lightly.

Looking After the Plants

The most important job now is to thin the seedlings as they grow, the plants should end up being around nine inches apart.

Watering in dry weather is essential, a lack of water will result in plants that are extremely small and woody when cooked. It is also important when growing swedes to keep them weed free, weeds look bad on any allotment or kitchen vegetable plot and will fight with your crops for water and nutrients.

Harvesting

You can begin harvesting swedes as soon as they are large enough to use, it’s not important to wait until they grow to their maximum size, I grow for taste not size. You can continue harvesting them this way until early spring. In spring you should lift the last of the swedes and store them.

I store swedes by removing the leaves and placing them in boxes of sand making sure that the swedes within the box are not touching. These should be stored in a cold dark place until they are ready to be used.

Soil Preparation

Radishes love rich, fertile soil which is well draining. However most people tend to consider radishes a vegetable that are just grown in the spare spaces between other plants, therefore don’t consider soil preparation.

Radishes will grow in bad conditions but if planted in a sunny spot with the correct soil conditions radishes will grow quickly, be less woody and grow larger.

Sowing and Planting

Radishes are only small so seeds can be sown pretty close together, try and sow a seed every inch in rows that are around 6 inches apart. Simply cover with soil and water lightly.

Looking After the Plants

Keep the area weed free at all times, this is best done by hoeing between the rows of seedlings, you can also hand weed the area if you have planted the seedlings a little to close.

Keep the radish plants well watered while they are still small, drying out can cause the crop to become woody. Thinning may also be required if seedlings are too close.

Harvesting

You can begin pulling the first radishes while they are still small, harvesting when the radishes are the size of your thumb is the best time to pick them.

If you leave the radish plants to grow for too long they will become woody, peppery and inedible. This can be a problem if you plant too many seeds at once and get a glut at the end of the growing season.

Parsnip germination rates can be extremely low and it can be very difficult to get a full row of seeds that have all successfully geminated. However, once parsnips have geminated they are really easy to grow. They also provide a crop when other vegetables are scarce.

Soil Preparation

Parsnips are not fussy about what soil types they grow in. If you wish to grow the long, ‘perfect’ looking parsnip you will need deep soil, that has recently been manured and is stone free. If parsnips hit a stone while growing they tend to fork.

Sowing and Planting

It is vital that you buy fresh seeds every single year as germination rates can be incredibly low especially if using old seeds so it is best to use only the freshest seeds possible.

Sow four seeds, six inches apart in rows that are 10 inches apart in March or April. Sowing four seeds at each station will ensure at least one successfully germinates, if more than one seed geminates they can be thinned out later in the season.

Looking After the Plants

Seedlings should be thinned to one seed per cluster once geminated. Don’t leave this job long as parsnips need room to grow. Water regularly, don’t allow the parsnips to dry out!

Keeping the area weed free is also essential as it is when growing most vegetables. Use a hoe or weed by hand but be careful not to disturb young seedlings.

Harvesting

You can begin harvesting parsnips in November, harvesting can continue right up until late February. The tops will die down once the parsnips are ready to be harvested however it is traditional to wait until after the first frost to harvest. This is said to improve the flavour.

Once the tops have died down you can harvest parsnips as required, don’t harvest all of the parsnips immediately and store them, the best method of storage is to leave them in the ground.

Soil Preparation

Onions love to grow in good soil, it’s highly recommended that you dig compost or well rotted manure into the soil in winter before planting. Before planting the onion sets you could also add some general fertilizer to give the sets that extra boost once planted.

Sowing and Planting

Onion sets should be planted in March or April depending on your location. Plant the sets 4 inches apart in rows which are 9 inches apart. When planting you should lightly press the set into the soil making sure that the tip of the set is still showing.

After planting you may also decide to cover the onions with nets as birds tend to pull the sets up, mistaking them for worms. Just covering with a general garden net should be enough just to protect them. Of course, once the onions begin growing the net can be removed.

Looking After The Plants

Keep the plants weed free at all time, you may wish to use a special onion hoe to do this or alternatively you can do this by hand, either way is fine.

If you decided not to net the sets after planting you will have to push the onion sets that have been pulled up by birds back into the soil. Don’t worry about this, once the onions have been growing for a few weeks and start rooting this will no longer be a problem.

Harvesting

The onions are mature once the stems of the plants turn brown and fall over. You should leave the plants outdoors to dry once you have harvested them. This will take 7-10 days depending on the size of the onions as well as the current temperature.

Any onions that have a thick neck should be used in the kitchen first as these will not store and onions that are soft or smell bad should be discarded.

Onions should be stored in trays or net bags in a cool, dry, frost free place away from direct sunlight and you will find that they will keep for up to nine months. Japanese onions will not store and need to be used in a month.

There are three different types of lettuce, loose-leaf, butterhead, crisphead and cos lettuces. With loose-leaf varieties growing much faster and ready for harvesting after just 6-8 weeks and with the other types maturing within 14 weeks.

Sowing and Growing

Lettuce need good soil to grow well, ideally the soil should have been well dug the previous autumn incorporating adequate manure as digging. Lettuce plants don’t like full sun but enjoy growing in an area which is slightly shaded and away from full sun.

Seeds can be started indoors or outdoors for a summer crop;

• Indoors: Sow 2-3 seeds in a small peat pot, removing the weaker seedling as soon as the first true leaves appear on the plant. Plant outdoors once the seedlings are a reasonable size.
• Outdoors: Sow seeds thinly in 2cm deep drills which are 30cm apart. Cover the seeds with soil. When sowing outdoors make sure you don’t sow the seeds to close as this will waste seeds and make more working thinning them out in a few weeks time.

You will need to protect your lettuce seedlings from slugs. Many people use slug pellets but other options that you could try are the copper slug prevention rings and also using a beer trap.

Harvesting

Lettuce are quick growers and before you know it your lettuce will be ready for harvesting. The lettuce will be ready as soon as a firm heart has formed, you can test to see if they ready for harvesting by gently squeezing the top of the plant.

Pull the whole plant from the ground and then cut off the root and lower leaves. Making sure you compost the roots and lower leaves.

Sowing and Growing

Leeks prefer very rich well drained soil that has well rotted compost dug in and a great deal of moisture. They will tolerate both full sun and partial shade but dislike water logged conditions.

Leeks are started from seed. They can be directly sown into the garden in a well drained weed free location once the danger of frost has passed. They should be sown close to half an inch deep and half an inch apart. Seedlings should emerge in about 14 days as long as temperatures don’t get too cold at night. The seedlings will need thinning out to 4 inches apart then transplanting when they reach six inches or more in height.

Leeks can also be sown indoors in seed trays before being transplanted into the vegetable garden. Seedlings are ready to be transplanted when they reach six or more inches in height.

When selecting the site for the leek bed it’s worth remembering that leeks remain in the ground for many months with most varieties hardy enough to stand in the ground throughout the winter months. Leeks have a shallow root system and require firm ground. To transpant the leek seedlings make holes that are six inches deep and nine inches apart using either a thick dibber or a wooden stake. Carefully lower one leek seedling into each hole ensuring the roots do not stick out of the holes. Some gardeners trim the roots to one inch which makes this easier. Fill the holes with water and gradually over a few weeks the holes will fill with soil.

Blanching

To increase the white portion of the stems you will need to blanch the leeks starting in July or early August. This is done by drawing the soil up around the stems a couple of inches at a time however, to stop the soil entering the stems and giving you gritty leeks a collar needs to be placed around the base of each leek stem before earthing up. Collars can be made from plastic pipe or brown parcel paper can be tied around the stems.

Harvesting

Leeks can be harvested as baby leeks or left to grow to maturity. Simply dig up the leeks as required for cooking leaving the remainder of the bed to carry on growing.

Sowing And Growing

Swiss Chard requires good draining soil but will grow in most soil conditions. Sow the seeds thinly in seed drills about 1cm deep in April through to July, spacing the rows 38cm (15 inches) apart. When the seedlings are large enough to handle thin to 15cm (6 inches) apart, eventually thinning the swiss chard plants to 30cm (12 inches) apart. Ensure that the chard plants are kept weed free, well watered and you will be rewarded with an excellent harvest.

Harvest

To harvest swiss chard cut the stalks with a knife leaving about 2cm (1 inch) of stalk still attached to the plant. New stalks and leaves will grow from the cuts. Take a selection of outer leaves leaving the smaller central leaves to grow more. Swiss chard is a hardy vegetable plant and should survive the winter producing another crop from spring onwards the following year.

In The Kitchen

Both the leaves and stalks are used in the kitchen but need treating as two different vegetables as the leaves cook so much faster than the stalks. Cook the leaves as you would spinach, sauteed in a little olive oil and garlic. The stalks can be used in stir fries or sliced and cooked for a few minutes before adding the leaves. Young tender central leaves can be used in salads.

French beans can be grown as a bush, which grows between twelve to twenty inches tall depending upon the variety you decide to grow. There are also climbing varieties that grow in a similar way to runner beans, these varieties grow up to seven foot tall.

Soil Preparation

French beans like most vegetables enjoy growing in a rich fertile soil that is well draining. However french beans will grow well in almost any soil or location, they tend to adapt to any soil type other than really heavy soil.

The soil is best dug in the spring digging in well rotted compost or leaf mould. It is essential that you don’t grow crops in the same position twice as french beans in particular are prone to disease if grown in the same place year after year.

Sowing and Planting

Seeds can be sown outdoors in May and June. The seeds are quite large so extremely easy to plant. Seeds should be sown at a depth of two inches, four to five inches apart in rows that are fourteen inches apart.

You may also decide to sow an early crop in April under cloches. Sow in the same way as you do with the main sown beans just a little earlier and with some protection from colder weathers.

The beans can also be sown under glass with the young plants transplanted after the last frost.

Looking After the Plants

If a late frost is expected you must protect your french beans from this cold weather as just a touch of frost can kill rows of beans instantly.

While the plants are still small slugs may be a problem and protection may be needed. Some support will be required to, for bush varieties you can use pea sticks and string, for the larger climbing varieties you should use a network of stakes and canes.

Keep the plants well watered throughout the season as water is essential to make the flowers set and the beans to grow.

Harvesting

You can first start harvesting french beans while they are still small, 4-5 inches long are perfect. Allowing french beans to grow much larger than six inches long can make them stringy and tasteless. In my garden I grow vegetables, particularly french beans, for taste, not size.

Haricot beans can also be produced by leaving some beans on the plants to mature. No special treatment is required, just leave the beans upon the plant until they mature and the pods turn golden brown.