The March beds are pretty much planted/sown (left to do: some peas and a few cabbages to move before they go to flower).
I’m really pleased with the biennials. Fingers crossed, there should be plenty of seeds to share:
carrots, parsnips, leeks, onions, kale/collard-brassica leaves, (cabbages, hopefully, but I need to time it right to prevent crossing with the kales), radicchio/heading chicory, chard (hopefully beets at home), wild rocket, parsley, celery…
Wow what a beautiful selection of carrots. I have never seen the ones in the second row, that look like radish/turnip/rutabagas, do they even taste like carrots.
Thanks Declan, yes they took me by surprise too when I dug them up. Definitely carrots! I’m not 100% sure where they come from… time for some detective work!
Thanks Ashley! I’m still figuring out what works best for me and my garden (small hobby scale, no cellar or other frost free out-building).
I harvested the roots a small section at a time. For each section, I kept the best 3-4 roots in the fridge to replant. The last bed was dug up recently so those went back in pretty much straight away.
This season, I want to do it differently:
Figure out where they will be replanted so I have the space ready in the autumn.
Harvest a section at a time but instead of keeping the selected roots in the fridge, replant some straight away. So select 4 roots, 2 in the fridge, 2 replanted straight away. That way, I can select for roots that can store in the ground all winter and have a back up in the fridge if they fail.
At the moment, I want to maximise the genetic diversity. I didn’t source all those varieties for nothing! I also try to freeze seeds from every stage.
