{"id":936,"date":"2025-04-12T12:47:42","date_gmt":"2025-04-12T11:47:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gardenadvice.co.uk\/marketa\/?p=936"},"modified":"2025-04-12T12:49:23","modified_gmt":"2025-04-12T11:49:23","slug":"2025-starting-the-vegetable-garden","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gardenadvice.co.uk\/marketa\/2025-starting-the-vegetable-garden\/","title":{"rendered":"2025 starting the vegetable garden"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Spring pictures 2025<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Early Season Progress & Techniques<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Home Made Cloche with sweet pea seedling and hazel canes<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

First crops are well on the way<\/strong>, especially quick growing vegetables, with protection from home made cloches<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Slots cut in home made cloches to harden off seedlings<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Seedlings inside Cloche<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  • Homemade cloches<\/strong>\u00a0have been particularly effective for:\n
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    • Starting\u00a0beetroot<\/strong>,\u00a0chard<\/strong>,\u00a0salad leaves<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0carrots<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Improving early growth conditions<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Gaining a\u00a03\u20134 week head start<\/strong>\u00a0on harvests<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Hardening off<\/strong>\u00a0seedlings as weather warms:\n
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      • The outer skins of homemade cloches are now being\u00a0ripped open slightly<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • This allows seedlings to\u00a0gradually adjust<\/strong>\u00a0to outdoor conditions<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

        Succession Planting Strategy<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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        • GardenAdvice members are now\u00a0sowing continuously<\/strong>\u00a0every 2 to 4 weeks to produce a steady flow of vegetables through the season and autumn, this includes<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

          Pea & Sweet Pea Support Systems<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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          Hazel Twigs over pea seedings to add support and protection as peas grow<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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          • Hazel sticks (pea sticks)<\/strong>\u00a0used as natural supports:\n
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            • Sourced from\u00a0hazel stems with twiggy tops<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • Ideal for\u00a0peas<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0sweet peas<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • Can substitute with\u00a0bamboo canes<\/strong>\u00a0if needed<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • Sweet peas<\/strong>:\n
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              • Planted at the base of the supports<\/li>\n\n\n\n
              • Now\u00a0shooting and climbing<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
              • Gardeners are starting to\u00a0add string between supports<\/strong>\u00a0to assist climbing<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
              • Peas<\/strong>:\n
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                • Germinated well \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>once germinated cover with pea stick\u00a0 add support and protection from pigeons<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                • Covered with finer\u00a0twiggy hazel tops<\/strong>\u00a0for support<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                • After harvest,\u00a0sticks and pea plants will be composted<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                  Potatoes \u2013 Two Approaches<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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                  Potatoes in containers in a cold glasshouse earthed up<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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                  • In containers (unheated greenhouse)<\/strong>:\n
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                    • Planted halfway down the container<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                    • Now growing above the top \u2013 time to\u00a0earth up to cover the stems<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
                    • Earthing up produces\u00a0more early potatoes<\/strong>\u00a0along the stem<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                    • In beds outdoors (unprotected)<\/strong>:<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                    • In plastic-covered beds<\/strong>:\n
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                      • Potatoes are beginning to shoot<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                      • Important to ensure\u00a0shoots align with holes in plastic<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
                      • Gently pull shoots through the holes in the plastic\u00a0 if needed<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                      • Soil beneath will be perfect for\u00a0autumn crops<\/strong>\u00a0post-harvest once the potatoes removed<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
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                        Potatoes growing through plastic sheeting \u2013 cut holes in the sheeting for potato shoots to grow through<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                        Garlic Update<\/strong> Planted in cloches and directly into beds<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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                        • Two methods<\/strong>\u00a0used:\n
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                          • Direct planting into open beds<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                          • Planted under\u00a0cloches<\/strong>\u00a0for a quick root start<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                            Runner & French Beans<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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                            • Runner beans<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0French beans<\/strong>:\n
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                              • Started and now almost ready to be\u00a0trained onto canes<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
                              • Growing strongly in preparation for summer production<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                                Calendula (Companion Planting)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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                                • Calendula seeds<\/strong>\u00a0planted in the corners of:\n
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                                  • Raised beds<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                                  • Traditional beds<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                                  • Benefits include:\n
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                                    • Attracting beneficial insects<\/strong>\u00a0like bees and lacewings<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                                    • Repelling pests<\/strong>\u00a0such as aphids<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                                      Spring pictures 2025 Early Season Progress & Techniques Home Made Cloche with sweet pea seedling and hazel canes First crops are well on the way, especially quick growing vegetables, with protection from home made...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":938,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-936","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gardening-notes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenadvice.co.uk\/marketa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/936","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenadvice.co.uk\/marketa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenadvice.co.uk\/marketa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenadvice.co.uk\/marketa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenadvice.co.uk\/marketa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=936"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gardenadvice.co.uk\/marketa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/936\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenadvice.co.uk\/marketa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/938"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenadvice.co.uk\/marketa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=936"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenadvice.co.uk\/marketa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=936"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenadvice.co.uk\/marketa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=936"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}