As we rumble into August, veg is flying out of the allotment on a regular basis, with both human and slug enjoying the harvest. Which, in turn, leads to allotment gaps. And seeing as we still preside over many weed ridden patches of uncultivated land it seems a shame to leave perfectly good growing territory bare. So we’ll fill the spaces with ‘catch crops’.
A catch crop is usually a quick growing veg that will give you a bonus harvest without overly disrupting your general crop rotation plan. Popular late summer catch crops include lettuce, radishes or even some cheeky turnips or beetroot to be harvested while still small. But not on our patch. This, remember, is a bonus harvest. And bonuses are for experimentation.
We’ve visited realseeds.co.uk – a great online source for interesting seeds – and have ordered some of their recommended late sowing savouries. First to be tested are mustard greens and a veg popular in Mexico called huauzontle (also known as Aztec broccoli. Because it’s similar to sprouting broccoli. And is from Mexico). Both crops are up already and must now survive the slugs. We’ll report on their progress and, providing they grow successfully, will provide more information about both crops.
Seeds sown: Mustard greens, The Real Seed Catalogue
Huauzontle (aka Aztec broccoli), The Real Seed Catalogue
