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Veganic Growing Month By Month: May, June & July
‘Veganic’ is a combination of two words ‘vegan’ and ‘organic’. It’s a guarantee that food is grown in an organic way with only plant based fertilizers, encouraging functional biodiversity so pesticides are not necessary. No chemicals, no GMO and no animal by products in any part of the chain.
We all know that following a plant-based diet is the most ethical, healthy and environmentally friendly way of eating possible, but growing some of those plants can give you huge satisfaction along with all the fun, self-reliance and planet-saving benefits of producing your own food too. It can be done at any level, from keeping potted herbs on a windowsill or growing vegetables in your back garden, to aiming for near self-sufficiency from a larger plot or allotment.
So here’s what to do at this time of year.
MAY
Seeds to sow:
Beetroot Broccoli – early sprouting
Cabbage Cauliflower
Chinese cabbage
Lettuce and other salad greens
What to plant out:
Aubergine
Broccoli – calabrese
Brussels sprouts
Celeriac
Courgettes
Chinese cabbage
Cucumber
French beans
Onions
Peas
Pepper – capsicum
Pepper – chilli
Pumpkins/squash
Runner beans
Sweet corn
Tomatoes
What do I mean by ‘plant out’? Crops that you have grown from seed in trays or pots that will need to be planted out into beds or larger containers. Alternatively you can buy many of these as small plants from garden centres or online from garden catalogues
Other jobs on the plot:
Start evening walks around the plot checking for slugs and snails. The best time is just as it’s getting dark and after rain. Collect any you find in a lidded pot and release them at least 100 metres away in a wood or a park etc.
Liquid feed established crops fortnightly. Make batches of nettle and comfrey liquid feed, or use a seaweed extract.
Regularly check greenhouse plants and pots for watering – on sunny days they may need daily watering, ideally in the evening or early morning.
Earth up potatoes as they grow.
As broad beans grow taller they may need supporting with canes and string.
JUNE
Seeds to sow:
Carrots
Lettuce and other salad greens
Pak choi
Radish
What to plant out:
Celery
Courgettes
Florence fennel
Kale
Leeks
Melon
Peas
Swede
Turnips
Other jobs on the plot:
This is the time for formative pruning of young cherry trees, for example to train them in a fan shape against a wall. It’s also the time of year for pruning plum trees.
Check apricot trees – if they have produced a large number of fruits then these can be thinned out to a few inches between each fruit.
Prune fig trees to remove the shoot tips from fresh growth.
Erect canes in the greenhouse for tomatoes, cucumbers and other climbers. Ventilate daily for the next three months unless there is a cold snap (an automated vent will help with this).
Pinch out side-shoots from vine tomatoes.
JULY
Seeds to sow:
Chinese cabbage
Spinach/chard
Turnips
What to plant out:
Broccoli – early sprouting
Cabbage
Cauliflower
Chinese cabbage
Other jobs on the plot:
Liquid feed plants in greenhouse and outdoor pots, especially those that start fruiting, increase to weekly. Also use seaweed extract as a foliar feed.
Cut down broad beans when they have finished cropping and mulch over the bed.
Check brassicas for the next few months for white butterfly eggs/caterpillars. Remove any found by hand and relocate (for example to a sacrificial bed of nasturtiums).
Check potatoes for signs of blight, browning/shrivelling of leaves – remove and burn any affected foliage.
Check potted greenhouse plants for greenfly, such as aubergines and peppers. If any are found, stand the pots outdoors for a few days for their predators to get to work.
For more information about growing veganically see the Vegan Organic Network website
www.veganorganic.net
Piers Warren is the co-author (with his daughter, Ella Bee Glendining) of The Vegan Cook & Gardener: Growing, Storing and Cooking Delicious Healthy Food all Year Round available from
tinyurl.com/VONCOOK21
More information about Piers Warren at
www.pierswarren.co.uk
