Root Bed
Spring Planting in the Root Bed
| Produce | When Planted | Expect first growth | Expected Harvest |
| Rhubarb | First shoots in January | April/May | |
| Garlic | 25th October | January | July |
| Shallots | 13th February | April | July |
| Shallots | 18th March | April/May | July |
| Potatoes (Bambino) | 18th March | End April | June |
| Potatoes (Swift) | 13th March | End April | June |
| *Carrots (Parano) | 26th March | End April | June/July |
| *Carrots (Nantes) | 26th March | End April | June/July |
| *Parsnips (Helblange) | 26th March | End April | August |
| Beetroot (Boltary) | 26th March | End April | July/August |
| Red Onions x 2 (Baron) | 22nd April | July August | |
| Carrots x 2 | 25th April | Early May | July/August |
| Parsnips | 25th April | May | August |
| Carrots x 3 | 21st May | June | August |
*These seeds did not germinate so more were planted during April.
Did you know that.....?
We call this bed our 'root bed' as it is the root part of the plant we eat.
When the potato leaves appear from the ground we have to 'earth' them. This is done by covering the leaf growth with soil to force the plant to grow. It encourages the potato to produce more tubers and it also prevents exposure of the tubers to the sunlight or any late frosts. Sometimes you may find a greenness in the potatoes that you have bought. This occurs when the potato has been exposed to sunlight. There is Solanine in the potato which is a natural defence against insects, disease, and predators, which is not good for us either and should be avoided.
The carrot is a versatile vegetable. It is used raw with salads, cooked as a vegetable accompaniment to meat and other vegetables and in sweet dishes such as carrot cake. For further information on carrots you may like to visit the World Carrot Museum.
Scorzonera aroma is disliked by the pest Carrot Fly. We have therefore planted Scorzonera amongst the carrot seeds to ward off this pest. When cooked Scorzonera has a delicious delicate flavour.
Parsnips can be difficult to germinate, so we have planted parsnips into seed trays as well as directly into the ground, to ensure we have a good yield.
Beetroot are one of the few root vegetables where we are also able to eat the leaves. They are often used in salads and soups. Like the parsnip they sweet in taste, especially when young. We like our beetroot steamed with the peel still on them. They taste nothing like supermarket beetroot. 'Try it....!'