Growing Beetroot

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1 Soil preparation

To make a seed bed, remove weeds and dig over the site with a spade, removing any particularly large stones.
Level roughly and then work over the area with a rake to leave a fine finish.
If you can, two or three weeks before sowing, spread a general granular fertiliser across the site and rake into the soil.

2 How to sow seed

Seed can be sown directly into the soil from April to July.
Make a 2cm (0.75in) deep trench with the corner of a rake (or a cane will do) and drop in two seeds every 10cm (4in).
Cover, water well and label - when the seedlings are about 2cm (0.75in) high, remove the weakest of each pair to leave one beetroot seedling every 10cm (4in).
If you want a plentiful supply of beetroot, sow seeds every month, keeping rows 20cm (8in) apart.

If you have a small garden, beetroot are easy to grow in pots.

To grow in pots (ideal for round varieties, not long cylindrical ones), choose containers that are 20cm (8in) in diameter and at least 20cm (8in) deep.
Fill loosely with multi-purpose compost leaving the compost just shy of the top.
Tap the pot gently to settle, and firm with your finger tips aiming to leave a 4cm (1.5in) gap between the surface of the compost and the top of the pot.
Sow seeds thinly across the surface and cover with 2cm (0.75in) of compost.
Water and thin out seedlings when they're about 2cm (0.75in) tall, leaving 12cm (5in) gaps between them.

3 Aftercare

This is really easy. Remove weeds and keep seedlings well watered, especially during dry periods as this will stunt the growth of plants.

Category: Recipes

Irish Stew with Parsnips

Irish Stew with Parsnips
The Parsnips are by no means traditional in this recipe and are optional but my wife loves them so what you going to do?

Fagiolini in Umido

This is a great dish to use some of the abundant Green Beans that should be available in the summer months Fagiolini in Umido is an Italian dside dish simply means Green Beans cooked in Tomato.

Baked Salmon & Asparagus with Jersey Royal's

Tasty and so easy to make, great dinner party dish or a cracking family treat, and a healthy dish too especially if like me you have an Asparagus Bed or two!.

Category: The Growing Season

Spring is starting and the new season is here

Hopefully by now we are now standing on the threshold of Spring and the new gardening season. The days are beginning to lengthen and although it may not feel like it at times the temperatures are slowly increasing day by day. More importantly the longer days are the real trigger to new growth and you will find that with the help of a little protection you can really go for those early sowings

The Growing Season

The Growing Season varies in different parts of the United Kingdom, but in Hatfield Peverel we are blessed with a milder climate and enjoy a longer season than many parts of the country.

In this section of the web site I have tried to separate the season out into monthly sections to help and guide you through the most popular tasks and crops regularly grown on the allotment site, but if you would like a feature made of a particular vegetable or task, please get in touch and I will do my best to add it to the web site for you.

Jobs to do in January

Jobs to do on the Allotment in January
January is generally a very cold month with hard frosts freezing the ground and when the ground isn't frozen it is generally too wet to do much although there are no guarantees with British weather. Looking through my diaries, snow isn't that likely for a prolonged period but you never know.

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