[Doddy]

Our first earlies should be out of the ground in the next 2-3 weeks (closely followed by main crop if the flowers are anything to go by). With 1 or 2 beds becoming free on our 1/2 plot, where space is a premium, is there a good crop to plant mid-late june that won't deplete the ground - and maybe give something back, before using a green manure over winter?

Thinking mange-tout, for fixing nitrogen back in... any other ideas?

[DD.]

Peas and peas.

Late spuds will take a while yet, you have to wait for the foliage to die down.

[Dreamer@45]

I’ll be planting  leeks after my first earlies.

[mumofstig]

Leeks, carrots for winter, dwarf green beans, pak choi 

[fletcherbaker]

Would it be possible to plant more 1st earlys!!!

[JohnB47]

Winter squash.

[DD.]

I would normally have said leeks etc., but note:

before using a green manure over winter?

[Fisherman]

Leeks assuming you have some growing about pencil thickness, French Beans, Winter Carrots, Sprouts, Kale, Cabbage and salad crops. Courgettes would also be good.

[DD.]

NOT leeks or winter carrots, I'll repeat, he wants the stuff out before winter manuring!

[Thephoenix572]

I was going to put my pumpkins in where the first earlies will come out from. Will that work?

[mumofstig]

yes 

[Vit]

NOT leeks or winter carrots, I'll repeat, he wants the stuff out before winter manuring!

why not?   He will do that little bit later.
If something "fast" maybe radish or any type of lettuce?

+1 for leeks, carrot.

[DD.]

Because green winter manure needs to be sown at the same time these plants need to be in - that's why! It's quite simple.

[Doddy]

Thanks for the replies, and the argy-bargy with them

DD - Your love of peas is duly noted, I think some variety in terms of mange-tout and sugar snap could be managed. We have peas growing alongside the broad beans at the moment, but it's one veg that we can probably manage by the bucket-load.

Courgette?, maybe not from seed but we have a couple pot-bound (big pots!) that maybe could take a portion of the bed up and let it's feet grow.

The idea behind winter manuring is simply that our limited experience - last year - of over-wintering the beds was that this was, let's say, fraught, and a hard winter killed off our 9 month PSB crop and the overwintering onions suffered a lot this season (whereas spring planted is going strong). Any over-wintering we do do will be significantly limited this time around.

Other suggestions like lettuce and radish - already have a half-bed that's providing that, and a quick analysis of the contents of the fridge suggest we're now bored of radish - might let the whole 1/2 bed over to lettuce.

Pak Choi?, we tried baby PC last year, where it clung to the ground for dear life. Maybe a non-baby variety grown around the border, shouldn't interfere too much with the light for the peas. PC we would also use in the kitchen.

Carrots?, always lovely, but tend to be in the ground too long.

French beans - already got those climbing behind the greenhouse (~24 plants) so don't *think* we need more.

Kale? we're settling on tenderstem broccoli for the greens - quick and reliable from what we've seen so far. They're in the next bed.

Pumpkin - same family as Courgette?, if so then see above, we'll sacrifice a few sq ft to a courgette plant.

Sprouts?, nope. That path leads to divorce.


Thanks for the advice on the main-crop - I was getting itchy fingers to pull them (although planted later, are significantly bigger and heavier into flowering than the 1st-earlies). Interestingly, wifey planted some main-crop in bags in the garden (back-up plan for if the allotment failed / blight etc) - they've flowered and now the leaves are wilting back and generally looking sorry for themselves... that sound about right for plucking?

[Gandan57]

Beetroot and spring onions to go with the lettuce. Yummy.