Garden Tips series : 2 - Growing vegetables
Bill Collier - 14.03.2009
Tips 2 - Growing vegetables - 14.03.2009

Leeks
 When planting leeks, in order to get a lot of white leek you will have to bury that part of the plant. Dig a trench big enough to plant all the leeks you want to blanche to a depth of about 8 inches and cover the stem up to the point where the break of the first leaf is. As they grow, keep filling the trench up to the first leaf until all the soil has been back filled; do be careful not to allow any soil to get into the folds of the leaves. Do not firm the soil in as you add to the trench; the weather will do that.

Celery
 Celery can be sown in trays early, just scatter onto compost and leave do not cover as the light plays a big part in germination. As with leeks, when two true leaves appear, plant out in the plot. If you want white stalks then you must cover the plants with black plastic or tubes. One trick which I use is to plant the whole row and then using two rolls of bin bags, about 6 inches wide, staple the ends together and roll them vertically along the row stapling either side of each plant leaving about a 6 inch space for the plant to grow in. Using ground cover pegs every 2 feet peg the bags into the ground and leave the plants to find their own way to the top.

Peas
 When planting peas put your nets up first and push the peas into the ground at about 2 inch intervals. If you are lucky enough to have twigs from dead trees, push them into the ground at a slight angle to the row and plant 2 rows of peas either side of the twigs leaving about 4 inches between the rows.

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