Gardening section.qxp_Layout 1 20/01/2022 16:10 Page 46
MENDIP TIMES
Let’s get growing – spring is on the way
OVER the past couple of years many folks have taken to growing some of their own vegetables and have reaped the rewards of harvesting and eating produce straight from the garden or allotment. During lockdowns, tending growing crops gave us a common purpose and put huge pressure on the seed With MARY suppliers to keep pace with the overwhelming PAYNE MBE demand. Things have got a bit easier in that respect now, but if you have been hooked by the bug of “growing your own” the momentum is sure to continue. The desire to avoid using pesticides, where possible, means we need to resort to cultural techniques such as, using fleece or very fine (Enviromesh) netting to avoid the scourge of all brassicas, the dreaded cabbage white caterpillar or carrot root fly. There is now a biological control for caterpillars involving a microscopic eelworm (nematode) that is sprayed on when the caterpillars are around. Do not order in advance, as it only has a two-week shelf life. It is also effective against the sawfly that defoliates your gooseberries and currants. Sadly, plant breeders have yet to come up with a cabbage, or indeed any brassica crop, resistant to the caterpillar, but they have been working very hard on our behalf to breed other vegetables that offer tolerance or resistance to a variety of pests and diseases. This does not involve genetic modification, simply good oldfashioned hybridisation. Mildews are a common disease on many plants and there are two types. Powdery mildews show as white mould on the upper surface of leaves and are a common problem in dry seasons, whereas downy mildews show on the underside of the leaves and are associated with damp conditions and there are many varieties that are now showing good resistance to these problems. The good news is that the mildew on your courgettes will not affect your peas or fruit trees. Fungal diseases tend to be “host specific” but may attack close relatives. To help guide you through the minefield of varieties, I thought it might be useful to know what is available that are pest or disease resistant, or at least tolerant. The price of seeds, like everything these days, seems to be on the rise, but if you belong to a garden or allotment club then it is worth pursuing a group discount. Most of the major seed companies do this and some give a 50% discount to club members. The club is given a discount code to pass onto its members and can despatch orders directly to each member rather than one member needing to collate and distribute the seeds. The plants raised from F1 seeds are very uniform, show hybrid vigour and tend to mature at the same time. Carrots always suffer from carrot fly, the larvae of which tunnel into the roots. “Flyaway” and “Resistafly” both give improved crops, and even better ones if you sow a sacrificial row of a traditional variety next to them. The soils in our area tend to be on the neutral to alkaline side so we rarely get problems with club root disease, but for those who do, then most types of brassicas now have varieties that show resistance. Cauliflower “Clapton” and “Zaragoza”, cabbage “Kilazol” and “Kilbaro”, and Brussel sprout “Crispus”. It is important to plant all brassicas very firmly, especially PAGE 46 • MENDIP TIMES • FEBRUARY 2022
Brussels, which tend to produce loose sprouts unless very stable. Poor setting on runner beans is often a problem but is easily remedied by growing “Firestorm” “Moonlight” or “Snowstorm”. These have been bred with a touch of self-pollinating French bean blood, although they look and taste like runner beans. Tomatoes, both indoors and out, suffered from potato blight (they are very closely related) last season due to the warm humid weather conditions. So, this year I am trying “Crimson Crush”, which has been bred for resistance and claims to have good flavour. My favourite yellow cherry variety “Sungold” is prone to splitting, and a new variety “Honeycomb” is looking to replace it. If the spines on courgettes annoy you then try the spine free “Midnight”, or for mildew resistance go for F1 “Tosca”. Cucumbers can suffer from both mildews, but F1 “Passandra” is an all-female, small fruited type showing good resistance. If your leeks regularly suffer from leek rust try F1 “Sprintan” or F1 “Below Zero”. In the field of soft fruit you can now select gooseberry varieties resistant to mildew “Invicta” and “Pax” (virtually spine free). Blackcurrant “Ben Hope” shows resistance to big bud mite while raspberry “Glen Mor” is resistant to the dreaded raspberry root rot, while “Glen Moy” and “Glen Ample” have spine free canes. The latest breakthrough in plant breeding is to produce the Sunion, an onion that does not induce tears when being prepared. The breeders in New Zealand have used traditional techniques to select for a lack of the enzyme that leads to tears. At present, the seed for you to grow, is not available in the UK but some supermarkets will be selling these this year. Selecting varieties for resistance, or tolerance to a problem, does not mean that we can forget about rotating our crops. This will always remain best practice, not only for disease control, but it recycles nutrients in the soil, and enables leafy crops to be grown on the residue of the nitrogen fixing of pea and bean crops grown on the land the previous season. Finally, don’t be tempted to sow seeds too early, the light levels are too low, and later sowings always catch up.
