August brings so many jobs to be done as spring arrives, but to me August means potatoes. They can be placed directly on the surface of the soil and covered with about a third of a metre of peastraw. They won’t grow in straw alone because there is very little nourishment, so a thick layer of sheep manure and soil/compost is placed on top, then liberally apply blood and bone over this to provide calcium and nitrogen for the potatoes when they come through. The bed needs total saturation to rot down, and the manures and compost will break down through the straw and be used by the potatoes as they come through. The pile will remain moist after this initial watering, so only water as required after this. Additional straw can be added, with the crop being ready by Christmas. Don't grow them in a straw/wire ring as suggested by many, it does work, but dries out easily and thus demands lots of WATER...something we dont have the luxury of. i have grown potatoes in tyres in early spring and autumn, to extend the season. the rest of the time , and if you have the room, grow them in soil for godsake, thats where they grow best.
Artichokes - Jerusalem artichokes are a type of sunflower and their tubers make wonderful eating. They can be roasted, put in the microwave and make marvellous soups. Bury the tubers and cover with a mulch of compost, blood and bone and manure. This will seep into the soil and produce a plant with yellow-flowering daisies three or four metres tall.
Globe artichokes are an Thistle. The buds before they open are the part of the plant that is eaten as a vegetable. The flowers are a beautiful blue and the foliage is popularly used in landscaping. A proven producer of good artichokes can be propagated from offsets. These are new plants produced at the base of the parent plant. Pull them off or dig them out from the side, making sure they have a few roots, burying this new plant firmly in the ground, allowing the new plant to spread about 1.5 metres, with the same height. The edible part of this undeveloped flower makes delicious eating.
It is also time to sow peas. Dwarf Snow Peas and Snap Peas can be planted with a lattice placed in the middle of the rows to support both of them when they come through. If the rows are planted thickly with peas it will allow for the losses caused by birds, and a good crop will grow without the need to replant.
give your soil and folage a bit of a boost by watering with a brew made up - to 10 litres of water add :½ a cup of fish emulsion – 1 cup of seaweed concentrate – 3 teaspoons of zinc sulphate.-3 teaspoons of epsom salts (magnesium sulphate)Mix well. This is a very strong mixture – far too strong to apply directly to the foliage of plants. In fact it could damage or even kill young plants if applied at this strength.
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