The Watering Can 2: Jobs to do

You may think that the allotment year is over, but you would be wrong, as the allotment year never ends. Granted it has its seasons and in all respects this is the quieter one, but there are still jobs to be done if you are to have a successful year next year.

Preparation and forward planning really are the name of the game. Don’t wait until spring to finish off those jobs that you should have done in the autumn, and don’t leave your seed buying until the last moment.

Draw up a little plan what you are going to grow next year and where you are going to grow it. That way you know which parts to want to add manure to and which to add lime to, especially if you are growing brassicas. Try to work to some rotation as this will reduce the problems of disease.

Get your manure ordered, it is still not too late, and get it dug in to the ground. This way the worms and other soil borne creatures will be able to work on it during the winter months. Having problems with slugs? Put a plastic sheet over the infected area for a month or two and you will find that many of them are on the sheet and then can be disposed of.

I love looking through seed catalogues with all their different new varieties and also the free information that they contain. It’s almost better than any book as the information is updated every year with the latest news and varieties. If you really want know, for example, all about the best varieties of potatoes and for what purpose, and which ones are resistant to various diseases, then check out the catalogue from Edwin Tucker and Sons Ltd, which has ten pages on the subject. Dobies, also, have much information on potatoes as well as varieties of tomato and cabbage, while Thompson and Morgan’s gives a list of R.H.S. Award of Garden Merit vegetables. All this and much more is available within catalogues for the price of a phone call, stamp or e-mail.

Contact :- EDWIN TUCKER AND SONS LTD, BREWERY MEADOW, STONEPARK, ASHBURTON DEVON TQ13 7DG
TEL; 01364 652233.  E-MAIL, seeds@edwintucker.com or  www.edwintucker.com

SAMUEL DOBIE & SONS, LONG ROAD PAIGNTON, DEVON.TQ4 7SX TEL: 0844 7017623.
http://www.dobies.co.uk

THOMPSON AND MORGAN, POPLAR LANE IPSWICH SUFFOLK IP8 3BU. TEL; 0844 5731818. http://www.thompson-morgan.com/