Summer planting

I’ve just cleared out three of the raised beds in the back garden (some failed crops – no sign of turnips this year; some that are over – broad beans and winter lettuce) and need to plan my summer planting. To the seed lists!

• Greens:
  • Pak choi
  • Tatsoi
  • Tsoi sim (a good catch crop as it is only 3 wks to harvest)
  • Mixed and oak leaf lettuce
  • Winter lettuce from August
  • Rocket

  I also have broccoli raab and mustard greens, but previous experience suggests that we just don’t eat these, so there’s no point in growing them. I’m actually a little ambivalent about the lettuce, but I’ll give it another go.

• Veg
  • Carrots (til end July)
  • Petrowski turnip

To avoid the perils of the monoculture, the planting plan looks like this:

• NW bed: rocket, lettuce, pak choi (all broadcast)
• SE bed: carrots, pak choi, tsoi sim in between the rows (to come up in 3 wks to make more room for the other veg as they grow)
• SW bed: turnips, tatsoi, lettuce between the rows (to come up as microgreens / mini greens to make more space as the other veg grow)

Normally I’m all about the succession sowing, but I think this time I’ll get it all in at once, and see what’s come up and where there’s space in two or three weeks, and decide then whether to plant more.