Planting Tips For Beginners In Winter Season | Aplus Farms
Planting tips for beginners, If planting seedlings directly into pots, fill with a mix of organic potting mix, adding around 20 per cent compost and 20 per cent manure container gardens are easy to establish, plant and harvest – so, from pot to plate, serving up delightful winter fare from the garden couldn't be easier.
You can use any type of container. It just needs to be free draining, large and deep enough for the plants (a minimum of around 30cm wide and around 35cm deep.)Position the pots in an area where they're protected from high winds and they'll receive adequate sunlight. Vegetables need around six hours of sunlight daily.
If you're sowing seeds directly into the pot, use the packet instructions as a guide. If the soil is too cool outdoors, germinate the seeds inside on a sunny windowsill in a biodegradable pot, using a quality seed raising mix or a blend of propagating sand and coir peat. Keep the soil moist until germination.
If planting seedlings directly into pots, fill with a mix of organic potting mix, add around 20 per cent compost and 20 per cent manure and dig in well. Vegetables are hungry feeders and pots can dry out quickly, so water and feed often with worm juice or comfrey tea. Harvest early and often so you can enjoy the cream of the crop.
Spring Onion Farming
Quick growers, spring onions will keep producing if you don't pull them out! by the roots. Just snip them off above ground level and new stems will shoot up.
As many recipes just require a couple as a garnish or salad flavouring they really are ideal for pots. Like their onion cousins, there are varieties with red stems as well as white. Confusingly, they are also known as shallots and green onions, or scallions in the US.
- Sow seeds :
- Sow to a depth of 5-6mm. Thin seedlings to around 5cm apart.
- Harvesting :
- 8-12 weeks.
- When about finger thick harvest by cutting above ground.
- If you prefer to sow new seeds, pull out of the soil.
Planting Tip and Tricks :
Winter warmers:
- Use in salads or as a garnish for soups and egg dishes.
- Throw into a stir-fry just before serving.
- Grow the red varieties for a little extra colour.
Brassica Farming
This brassica is a nutritional dynamo that's a relatively fast cropper and easy to grow. Bok choy is shallow rooted, so water often. Easy to grow from seed, it can be adversely affected by frosts. Don't overwater. Snails and slugs love it so set up some beer traps or coffee grounds to deter them.
- Sow seeds :
- 5cm apart and thin gradually.
- Harvesting :
- 8 weeks, removing the outer leaves as you need them.
Planting Tip and Tricks :
- It needs space, so opt for a large pot.
- Miniature varieties do well in pots.
- Harvest young for extra taste.
Winter warmers:
Baby Spinach Farming
Homegrown baby spinach has a delicate nutty flavour that lends itself to a variety of culinary delights. It grows in sunny/part-shaded areas. Mulch around plants to retain moisture. And watch for slugs and snails: treat with beer traps or coffee grounds. To keep a continuous supply of this versatile spinach, sow successive crops so you'll always have some on hand.
- Sow seeds :
- Presoak and plant directly into the soil.
- Thin seeds after germination to 5cm apart.
- Harvesting :
- In around 7-8 weeks you'll be eating fresh baby spinach.
- Pinch leaves and take from the plant as needed.
Planting Tip and Tricks :
Water well and often; if plants dry out, they can go to seed quickly.
Winter warmers :
Lightly sauté and add to stir fries, frittatas and pasta dishes as well as dips, smoothies and, of course, salads.
Sorrel Farming
Sorrel is a tangy, versatile, lemon-flavoured vegetable (also referred to as a herb) and perfect for potted gardens. It's a hardy perennial but can slow a little during winter. It likes afternoon shade and moist soil. Snip off the flowering stems for tenderer leaves, which are best picked young.
- Sow seeds :
- 2cm apart, just under the soil surface.
- Harvesting :
- From around 8 weeks.
Planting Tip and Tricks :
Plants can be divided and shared.
Winter warmers:
- Use in egg dishes such as quiches or omelettes or recipes that call for wilted greens.
- It also goes well with fish, beef and lamb casseroles.
Kale Farming
This nutrient-rich winter superfood looks striking in a potted garden. You'll need a generous-sized pot for kale – plants need around 50cm to spread. Mulch around plants to stop dirt touching and decomposing the leaves.
- Sow seeds :
- Directly into the soil 1cm deep and keep moist.
- Seeds will germinate in around a week; then thin them out.
- Harvesting :
- 5-6 weeks, picking young sweet leaves.
Planting Tip and Tricks :
- The cabbage white butterfly and aphids love kale.
- Companion plant with marigolds, use Dipel or pick them off by hand.
Winter warmers:
This leafy plant can be sautéed and added to salads and pasta dishes, roasted as kale chips or added to smoothies.