By the Dart • Dartmouth Gardener The t
“Sailors fighting in the dance hall” By Alex Webster
Dartmouth Gardener
he year will see the 300th anniversary of the birth of one of the worlds most important landscape
designers, Lancelot Capability Brown (1716-1783). As one of the innovators of a style that he felt was both comfortable and elegant, he set the pattern for centauries to follow. His landscapes at Chatsworth, stowe and Blenheim
are all painted with a very large brush; in a sense, he was a landscape painter working in scale 1:1. For him and his well heeled clients, space was never an issue: the salisbury lawns at Chatsworth totalling 22,000m2 are all part of his style. But in one’s own plot, space can always be at a
premium, though there may currently be plenty of space between the bedraggled leeks and tatty brassicas so early on in the season. the reality is, it won’t be long before all of those seed packets, once sown and growing, will more than fill the good earth. I always end up buying too many seed packets. Firstly the staples: salad crops, the onion family and, of course, flowers for cutting. ‘easy’ one might think, but oh no. the seed merchant is out to tempt us poor unsuspecting gardeners, for there are always new varieties of vegetables and flowers to try. I normally field test one or two new releases. the staples are just that but something new offering
a must, managaement is key. My seed packets are normally filed as to species, variety and season for sowing. succession sowing and interplanting are all part of the schedule that any good gardener must follow. Interplanting is the practice
of planting a fast-growing crop between a slower-growing one in order to make the most of your garden space. An example of this would be sowing lettuce seeds between broccoli plants; the lettuce will grow happily in the space and shade provided by the broccoli plants and you will be
able to harvest it before the broccoli is large enough to totally shade it out. Intercropping allows for those intercrops to better
absorb available growth resources such as light, water and nutrients and convert them into plant matter as a result of their difference in competitive ability for growth. this more efficient utilisation of resources leads to yield advantages and increased stability compared to sole cropping. examples of intercropping strategies are planting a
deep-rooted crop with a shallow-rooted crop; planting a light nutrient feeder with a heavy feeder; planting a tall crop with a shorter crop that requires partial shade, or planting a fast-maturing crop with a slow-maturing crop. here are some examples: Radish and Carrots: Plant radishes with
management of planting is key
carrot seed. the radishes germinate and are harvested first, leaving space for the slow- maturing carrots. onions and Cabbage: onions will grow faster than cabbage and can be grown in between cabbage plants. As the cabbage grows larger they shade the onion bulbs, keeping the
better resistance to pest and disease just cannot be ignored. so the only way is to make the plot work hard. Whilst good soil and aspect are
soil cool and moist. the leaves may also deter onion maggots from finding the onion crop. Beans between tomatoes, peppers or eggplant, leeks and cilantro, winter squash with corn, corn and lettuce. this technique works best on a bed system for as you reach in from either side there is no need to walk on the bed, allowing for closer spacing. Along with clearing a bed once an early crop has finished, then a second or third can follow on. For instance, early salad crops could be planted out between rows of early potatoes, when the potatoes are cleared winter brassicas planted with yet again quick growing salads planted between the rows. so that’s four crops off one bed. Plants are best grown under cover in plug or modular trays; this prevents any root damage and then hardened off well before planting out.
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