This week we will start to sow a number of our vegetable seeds in modules in the greenhouse as a way of to starting them off early in the protected growing condition that greenhouses provide. Then once they have grown in to sturdy little seedlings we will plant them out in the garden in late April. We will be sowing members of the brassica/cabbage family. This is a large family which includes kale, kohlrabi, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli and brussel sprouts to name but a few.
This week we will sow:
1. A Chinese cabbage ‘Wong Wok’ (which when harvested we would like to try out in our fermentation workshops this year)
2. A red pointed topped cabbage ‘Kalibos’, and a small compact white cabbage ‘Minicole’ which is good for making into coleslaw. Then thirdly a cabbage called ‘Tundra’ which will help us extend our cabbage harvesting season with its outstanding resistance to frost. It is a savoy cabbage that has a very sweet flavour and forms a tight ballhead that remains in good condition without splitting for many months.
3. Two different varieties of Cauliflower ‘Veronica’ which produces lime green pointed flowerhead and ‘De purple’ which produces large purple flower head.
4. Broccoli ‘Inspiration’ which is a tenderstem variety. Tenderstem broccoli is a hybrid of Chinese kale and broccoli. It blends the Chinese kale’s leafy, long stems and broccoli’s tightly bunched florets to create a very tasty vegetable.
5. Two varieties of kale – ‘Cavolo Nero’ and ‘Scarlet’.
6. Kohlrabi ‘Azur Star’ – a bright purple vegetable, nice eaten raw in salads or cooked in stews. It is one of the most stunning looking brassicas which many people think looks very weird with its round swollen stem from which the leaves jut out at all angles!
6. And to finish off our adventures through the brassicas, we have Brussel sprout ‘Brendan’, enabling us to have a few sprouts ready for Christmas!
On the edible/ornamental front we will be sowing two different varieties of trailing nasturtiums ‘Climbing mix’ and a variegated nasturtium, ‘mixed Queen’ with flowers colours of yellows, oranges and deep reds and with leaves with are a variety of different greens. Both varieties grow to 2m and we are interested in their leaves and seeds which we harvest from late summer onwards and use to make nasturtium pesto.
We will also grow three different shorter varieties of nasturtiums to sell in our shop later this spring. These are Nasturtium ‘Whirlybird mixed’, ‘Ice Cream Sundae’ and ‘Empress of India’.
The Herb Garden
We are planing to do a monthly Sunday afternoon session 2pm – 4pm focusing on working in the herb garden. This will take place every third Sunday of the month starting this Sunday and will be led by Verena. Sign up on the volunteer spreadsheet for the Sunday afternoon session to take part.
