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Henry's Garden Hints & Tips 4

Guides to growing vegetables, hints & tips to help you get more from your plot from forum member mkhenry

Runner Beans - Get Bumper Crops

When your runner beans start to slow down it can be quiet depressing, so if you want a second bumper crop, try this Put a good shovel of horse manure in a large bucket of water and leave for around a week. Wait for the leaves on your runners to start to turn and shrivel and carefully remove them all so that you are left with the few tiny runner beans and bare stalks.

Then pour your magic liquid on the roots of your beans. Around 1 bucket full to 12 feet of beans. Result, a new crop of beans, best picked small, they will taste so sweet. Sorry but this hardly works north of the border, the further south you go the better it works.

Cutting Winter Kale

If you are cutting your winter Kale on a "cut and come again" basis, when you do cut the leaves its a good idea to cut at an angle, about 45 degrees would be great. This helps to prevent rot and disease, plus it aids water run off. Keeping the cut and the plant fresher for the next cut.

Avoiding Frost Damage to Broccoli

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If you want to avoid losses caused by even a light frost, try this old method.
Locate north on your plot and dig a little soil away from the base of your broccoli plants on the north side. Then go around to the south side and using a spade gently tilt the plant over, then build up a little soil and compact it so that the plant head lays over a little. This will ensure a slow thaw out in the worst frosty days, thereby avoiding browning and spoiling the tops of your much cared for winter food.

Saving Winter Cabbage

If we get a mild slow start to winter, cabbages can start to put out too much leaf. This will affect the heart and size later in the season and they may not be fit to stand a very cold snap. So what to do?

Dig your shovel in about a foot out and a spade depth down forming a square around the plant. This chops off the thin roots that will eventually weaken the whole system when its strength is most needed. Just push the spade right down do not wiggle it about then pull it out and tread the soil back down. Job done!

Courgettes on Poor or Sandy Soil

If you have poor or just sandy soil you can do the usual mound etc. but you may like to give this a try instead.

Take a cheap plastic bucket and make a series of holes all around it about 2" from the bottom and another series of holes 4" from the top. The holes should be about the size of a large pencil.

Place it in a hole up to its neck and pack the soil around it.Then plant your courgettes (four would be best)in a circle around it. About a 3ft or 1M circle would be fine.

Next fill the bucket with horse manure and always water the plants by pouring it into the bucket. This will ensure that the nutrients get to work their magic.

You will almost certainly get a bumper crop. You will also have the added benefit of catching a few slugs and other pests. Unfortunately, this does not work so well on heavy clay soils or for marrows