ROB'S PLOT BRING on autumn

Summer is ending and harvesting and preserving become a part of day-to-day life for every veg gardener. Veg expert Rob Smith is no exception...

We’ll hopefully have a few more weeks of decent weather which will allow us to sow quick crops such as radish, but there’s a distinct autumnal feeling to what’s going on now.

Once the foliage starts to yellow on maincrop potato plants, it’s time to get the tubers ready for storage. I find the best method is to remove all the foliage and leave the plants for a week or two. This allows the skins of the tubers to thicken and become less easily damaged. Once harvested, these tubers will store for longer in sacks, so don’t be tempted to dig too early.

For those who grow pumpkins and winter squash, it’s also time to start getting the fruit ready for storage by allowing it to cure (produce a thicker skin). This again will allow fruit to be stored for longer once harvested. In fact, some squash will store for eight to nine months if looked after and kept cool, but frost free.

Remove any leaves which are causing shade to the fruit, the sunlight will help cure them more; it’s also good to stand the fruit on a brick or tile as this will keep the fruit from sitting on the wet soil, thus preventing damage or rot setting in. Along with courgettes, squash plants can now start to suffer from mildew which shows up as white fuzz or powder on the leaves. At the first sign of this I like to remove the affected leaves and put them in the household waste to stop the problem spreading.

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