Sow from now for a succession of veg

As the soil is beginning to warm up at last, it is now time to plant or sow the first of the vegetables for harvesting in the summer.
John Shannon. INLT 13-802-CONJohn Shannon. INLT 13-802-CON
John Shannon. INLT 13-802-CON

You can sow root vegetables – parsnips, carrots, turnips, radish and spring onions (scallions) – directly into the soil.

Before sowing, ensure the area is free of weeds, particularly perennial weeds such as nettles or brambles. These can be dug out or treated with a weed killer which has the ability to kill down to the roots. Use either Roundup or Resolva 24H. Neither of these products will damage the soil and are very safe to use, but do always read the instructions before application.

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Work into the soil a soil conditioner such as farmyard manure or Westland Soil Conditioner and just prior to sowing apply a general fertiliser such as Growmore or chicken pellets.

When sowing make a shallow impression in the soil about 1-2cm deep. Sow very thinly and never sow too many seeds at once. Who wants 500 carrots or beetroot at the same time?

Sow little and often: (this is known as successional sowing), so that you have your vegetables maturing at different times throughout the season.

Young vegetables home grown are better than old vegetables.

Vegetable plants are now becoming available in the centre including lettuce, cabbage, red cabbage, sprouts, spinach, kale, Cos lettuce and salad bowl lettuce.

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Prepare the ground the same way as sowing seeds. The distance between the little vegetable plants should be 30-40 cm.

Plant in firmly and water well. More vegetable plants will be available in the coming weeks.

For more information contact the growing team at Inver Garden Centre.

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