Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: TonyB. on February 14, 2020, 15:29
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It is probably a silly question, but.
I use a 5 bed rotation system; Potatoes / Peas & Beans / Brassicas / Carrots, Parsnips, Shallots & Garlic / Other stuff.
Needless to say the Sprouts prevented preparing all the bed from being prepared for this years crop. Given that the Shallots and Garlic will be lifted June(ish) depending on the weather; could I plant the Sprouts in that space. Then when they are lifted I could plant later growing Brassicas in their place? I do not suffer from club root on the plot. (should I say yet?)
As I said it is probably a silly question, just a mad idea I came up with.
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There's no such thing as a silly question.
I have planted them between rows of potatoes. (usually early or 2nd earlies) There are naturally tall plants so should not get smothered by potato foliage. OR grow them in pots until you have a space. I use a lot of supermarket 'cut flower' pots to help me through June/July period when the allotment is full and there are still more plants to find room for. They are in the ground for such a long time, so think of growing them along the edges so they will not interfere with next years clear up/digging.
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Cut off the bottom from the cut flower pots and twist them down into a space between your potatoes. When the sprouts need potting-on, just fill the pots with compost, soil or whatever and plant then up to their first or second leaf then really firm them in well with your fists. The pots will save you tying their stems to a cane and should be a lot more stable.
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if I remember that's the old fashioned way of planting brussels sprout plants between potato rows obviously this was to save space and by pulling the soil back to the brussels plants when lifting the potato crop was a good idea but how come the brussels plants wasn't ravaged by pigeons or the dreaded caterpillars like these days we have to net everything or loose it :unsure: probably more pigeon stews years ago :D
I do like the idea of cut flower pots for brussels something on my wish list to try i think the nets have stopped the pigeons its just the slugs to take care of this season