Ask The Expert

Dear Joey,

You've asked if rhubarb and nettle leaves can be put in water and left to rot to be used as plant food.

The way to do it, Joey, is to find an old pillowcase and make a tea bag out of any leaves you have, rhubarb, nettles, dandelions, comfrey, anything really. Once the pillow is full, tie a knot in the end and use it like a huge tea bag - soaking it in a water butt. Please remember to keep a secure lid on the butt, and let it soak for a couple of weeks.

The resulting stew smells horrid, but dilute it 1 part to 3 parts water - it’s good stuff!

Remember to wear rubber gloves, just in case you are allergic to the contents.

Dear Mr. Collins,

There isn't much you can do about it in practical terms except isolate the problem. If possible, improve the drainage, grow onions in a raised bed if your soil is drenched - some allotment plots are awful when it comes to drainage. White rot hase become a serious problem and there is little in the way of effective organic treatments.

Dig over the soil and add wood ash to it. Some remedies say add lime too.

This vicious fungal infection remains dormant in the soil for at least 8 years, and is particularly suited to damp soil. I knew a gardener who had a big bonfire on his onion patch and grew only in the same spot year after year. This way the soil was sterilised before he grew his onions - but where he got the wood from I don't know

Also, if you have white root, keep your tools away from onions or your onion bed. Make sure you sterilise them beforehand. Don't walk around the garden - keep to the paths.

Finally, be sure to buy certified infection free stock, and don't plant supermarket garlic - it can bring white root into your garden.

Hi Edward,

You have said that you prepared the ground well and put in well rotted manure in the winter - but your root vegetables have had stunted growth and not much leaf on top.

I assume you mean carrots, parsnip and turnips etc. The thing is to do is not to over manure the soil, but make sure you chop away at the soil until it is very fine. Gardeners call this soil a ‘tilth’. Add some sand and when you sow your seeds in rows, called ‘drills’ water well and cover with a cloche.

Thin out the seedlings as they grow until you end up with mature plants about a hand’s width apart.

Hi Raymond,

Yes you can, but I wouldn’t really do it myself unless I was forced to. You get eel worm infestations and also slugs and viral infections. You also get an increase in blight spores. To be honest, unless you were desperate, I wouldn’t bother. If, like me you only have a little space, try a crop in tubs - it’s remarkable how much you can get from a large tub.

If you really have to, space the potatoes far apart - at least twice as much space between them as normal. Each plant will give you a better crop than normal planting and your yield will hardly be affected - but you shouldn’t plant a third time on the same plot for absolutely sure.

Hi Roger,

Muck! Nothing but well rotted cow manure - a great big pile of it at the bottom of the plot, rotting all the year, to be dug into your potato plot in the autumn.

The organic dose for fertilising is four tonnes per acre, so your potatoes would do well with twice this amount - which usually means half a barrow full to every two square yards. Dig well in and let the worms work it into the soil.

Hi Jean,

Leek moth emerge as adults in April and lay eggs on the leeks (and all alliums) and you get damage from the grubs in May. These produce more adults in August and you get more damage in September / October.

Keep the plot clean, especially of onion and leek leaves - try to remove all roots. Netting does help - especially the newer stuff, and you can keep fleece off your crop with hoops - it does help them.  If you plant after May you have plants out of season for the moth and you get better results - it simply means keeping the “leeklets” going in pots a little longer.

Hi Jean,

Jean, the simple answer is yes and no. Sorry - there is much more work done on compost because this is paid for by compost manufacturers. However, I personally believe the soil has a huge influence on plants.

For example, if you grow garlic and lettuce together you get garlic flavoured lettuce. I bet I could tell the difference between Cheshire new potatoes and Jersey Royals, blind folded - but don’t put me to the test! If you want to boost the natural flavours of your plants try adding that powdered rock fertiliser you can get from the garden centre. If your compost comes only from your own garden produce, it will slowly decrease in fertility year on year - every garden needs some outside help!

Hi Gina,

Gina, what a question!  An ordinary allotment - about 5 metres wide by around 25 metres long will produce enough vegetables to feel a family from the spring through to the autumn. Another allotment with fruit on it and another for hens and maybe a couple of goats and you can live in the city and approach self-sufficiency.

The thing to do is work out what you eat on a daily basis and plan to grow that. You certainly will get enough for a family if you plan it right for just about half a year.

Dear Nicky,

The best time to start garlic is November. It starts to grow and then stops. If it is frozen, the resulting plant tastes better. If you forget then start in April in a greenhouse to allow the plants to catch up. They have to be grown in a big pot.

On the other hand, (and don’t tell anyone I told you this) since garlic is completely edible at any stage in it’s development, and since you can eat all the plant, pop some in the ground any time of the year and harvest it when you feel like it - they won’t win any prizes but they will be garlic, and taste just perfect.

Hi Emily,

If you are a beginner, try some salads. You can make it easy on yourself by going to the garden centre and buy lettuce plants already started and you simply pop them out of the polystyrene plugs they are growing in and pop them in the ground. Water them and they’ll be fine.

Try some raddish and then see if you can grow some nasturtium seeds, which are also edible. Then buy some strawberries for the centre of your plot. I am sure the children will love them.

Yes, you can cover - it’s the only completely foolproof and organic method (not that i am calling you a fool!)