Ornamental Veg.

Hello everyone. Tonight we will have a look at a few things in the veg garden, I want you to see how ornamental veg can be as well as good for eating.

This first picture is of the beetroot and in this case is just planted in a bog standard row but I’m sure with a bit of imagination the green leaves and red stems could put on a good display in any flower border.

Again, these Lettuce aren’t arranged at their best but I' sure you can see the potential of the contrasting colours of the reds and greens. The row in the middle is the new Lettuce I’m trying called Bijou. Its leaves are almost purple and if it tastes as good as it looks then it will be one that I will be growing again that’s for sure.

This picture is of a Mangetout flower. After the flower come golden pea pods, I think this plant is worth growing just for that lovely flower, almost as good as a sweet pea.

Sowing Lettuce.

I said the other day that I would show you how I sow my lettuce, also a few other things for that matter. There is no reason at all why Lettuce can't be sown straight in the ground at this time of year but this method is particularly useful for early sowings when the ground is wet and cold, however I also prefer this way no matter whatever the time of year is.

I take a tray with cells, I use a ten cell tray as that will provide at least three Lettuce a week.

Fill with potting compost and firm, then top off and level before making a dent in the compost with your finger, don't make the hole too deep as this is mostly the cause of bad germination in seeds. It just wants to be deep enough to cover the seeds.

Put a few seed in to the palm of your hand, and I then use the blade of my knife to scoop up a couple of seed and place in one of the holes in the compost.

If the seed is new then a couple of seeds in each hole is all you need, if its older seed then put in a few extra.

Then just cover the seed with your finger, water in and either place in the greenhouse or warm sheltered place. When the seedlings are big enough to handle take out the weakest leaving one good plant in each cell.

In a few weeks you will have Lettuce like this ready for planting in the garden.

A Lettuce For All

This week in the veg garden I will show you some of the lettuce and salad leaves that I have growing at the moment. In the first picture are some 'All Year Round' lettuce, these were started off in February time in the greenhouse.

This next Lettuce is a red Lettuce called Bijou, its the first time I've grow this one do am looking forward to seeing how it does.

I'm also growing a couple of different kinds of salad leaves, one is a Spicey Greens mix and the other is Salad Rocket.

They have become very popular recently and although they don't appeal to me the lady of the house likes them so I thought it might be a good idea to grow some.

In the greenhouse I have some Webbs Wonderful coming on, this is still my favourite lettuce, very old fashioned these days I know but still lovely and crisp all the same. A couple of inches of this between two slices of bread and maybe a little salad cream and you have a proper lettuce sandwich - something to sink my tooth in to!

Whatever sort of lettuce you grow the secret is to sow them little and often. In a few days I will do a post on how I sow my lettuce so pop back and take a look if you're insterested.