February Vegetable Growing Update – Carrot & Leek Harvests

Posted on 06. Mar, 2010 by Tracey in Veg Plot

February was one of the coldest months on record with snow, ice and countless frosts but somehow my vegetables have made it through the freezing cold weather for a little harvest, my first of the year! Although some of my vegetables have not been so fortunate.

Harvests – 1st March

Half of my Leeks (Varieties – Bandit and Pandora).
These were sown at the end of March last year, planted out in my raised beds in June.
Baby Carrots (Variety – Giant Red).
These were sown as winter crops in August. I’m hoping as the temperature warms up, they might begin growing again to live up to their name ‘giant’.

Vegetable Casualties

Due to the frost and snow, I have unfortunately lost some of my vegetables:-

Peas (Variety – Meteor)
Symptoms: Weak plants, shriveled leaves and a grey tinge to plants.
Recovery: I used pea sticks to raise them above the cold soil however they haven’t recovered.
Solution: Luckily peas can be sown at two times of the year (April and September), so if I did want to sow peas again I wouldn’t have long to wait. Some early smooth varieties can even be sown in March. I will be sowing mange tout later in the year.
Broad Beans (Variety – Aquadulce Claudia)
Symptoms: Blackening stems and black blotches on the leaves, collapsed plants.
Recovery: The centre rows of plants which were protected have survived.
Solution: I could sow new rows of broad beans in March and April to harvest July and August to fill the gaps.
Fennel (Variety – Colossal)
Symptoms: Wilted foliage and yellowed stems.
Recovery: Fennel is a feathery tender vegetable with a swollen root that grows above the ground, it really had no chance against freezing soil especially as I was supposed to harvest it in November.
Solution: Fennel can be next sown in April or another quick crop can be used to fill in the gaps until then like radishes.