Vacant Beds

[jjat8cv]

I have lifted my potatoes early due to blight on our allotment site and am now left with vacant beds and nothing ready to go in them. What could I sow now to fill them or would it be better to buy some plants?

[Kirpi]

Depending on how friable the soil is (seed ready), I would be sowing early varieties of carrot (sow they mature within the time you have left) and then depending on your personal crop rotation you could sow kale still, salads, beetroot, spinach. How about spring cabbages?

Or – sow a green manure crop to harness what’s left of the sunshine and cut and compost it ready to top dress in spring. I like leguminous green manures as you can leave the roots in the bed with the nitrogen they fix for free and compost the top growth.

[Don Foley]

Hi,

I personally sow Spring Cabbages after early Potatoes but there are a lot of other things you could sow
such as Beans, Turnips and Leeks depending on your particular rotation schedule.
Charles has an extensive list of overwintering salad crops which I’m sure he will advise you of.

Don.

[jjat8cv]

Thank you Kirpi and Dan. I have been sowing beetroot, turnips, French beans and spinach. I will try some spring cabbage as well but that will have to be done in modules to plants out.

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