Vegetable Diary
January
•	Lift & frost rhubarb crowns for forcing 
•	When digging, apply lime to the surface at 100g per square metre (3oz per square yard) especially if you grew brassicas the year before 
•	Box up seed potatoes with the rose end uppermost 
•	Sow broad beans
February 
•	Plant onion sets & shallots 
•	Sow seeds for early carrots, parsley & parsnips 
•	Plant out autumn sown lettuce 
•	Check potato sets for any signs of rotting. Remove diseased tubers
March
•	Sow early celery, peas, broad beans & spinach 
•	Plant out autumn sown onions 
•	Hoe frequently for weed control & soil aeration 
•	Clean & weed asparagus bed 
•	Add manure or fertiliser in final soil preparation.
April
•	Sow onions, beet, winter cabbage & Broccoli 
•	Sow your first carrots 
•	Start succession sowing of peas, beans, lettuce & radish 
•	Finish planting of late potatoes and earth up earlies 
•	At the end of the month plant cauliflowers
May
•	Continue with successive sowings of lettuce, French beans, Carrots, turnips etc... 
•	Sow beans 
•	Plant Brussels sprouts 
•	If early potatoes are through protect them by earthing up the soil around the crowns 
•	Thin lettuce, onions & turnips 
•	At the end of the month plant out tomatoes, marrows, cucumbers, spring cabbage, celery & cauliflower 
•	Pinch out the tips of broad beans to help prevent blackfly 
•	Stake peas & beans
June
•	Continue successive sowings 
•	Asparagus can be cut until the end of this month & then left alone 
•	Plant out sprouts, cauliflowers, marrows, tomatoes & leeks 
•	Stake & pinch out runner beans & tomatoes 
•	Earth up late potatoes 
•	Thin out rows of vegetables when overcrowded 
•	Hoe soil to necks of vegetables and water to help prevent cabbage root fly & carrot fly
July
•	Sow beet, carrot & lettuce 
•	Plant out broccoli, winter cabbage, leaks, sprouts and kale for winter use 
•	Protect summer cauliflowers by bending leaves over the curd 
•	Lift shallots 
•	When early crops are lifted and used, replace with winter vegetables 
•	Keep an eye out for potato blight (early yellowing of leaves), and remove and dispose of any infected material
August
•	As early crops are used, dig & fertilise the ground for replanting 
•	Sow spring cabbage, winter lettuce, onions & spinach 
•	Plant winter green crops 
•	Earth up kale, leeks etc 
•	At the end of the month lift onions & expose to sun to dry 
•	Feed asparagus beds 
•	Remember to pick your vegetables regularly
September
•	Lift & store root vegetables before they loose their quality 
•	Leave the roots of pea & bean plants in the soil to increase fertility 
•	Sow main crop or Japanese onions 
•	Trim parsley to encourage fresh shoots 
•	Earth up celery & winter greens 
•	Break up new soil for next years crop 
•	If there are signs of slugs or wireworm lift potatoes

October
•	Continue to plant winter lettuce and spring cabbage 
•	Continue to earth up celery & leeks 
•	Protect cauliflowers by bending a leaf over the curd 
•	Hoe between vegetables & check for slug damage & disease 
•	Cut over asparagus beds 
•	When storing onions remove loose scales as this is where mould begins 
•	Remove old plant remains for composting. Burn any diseased crops
November
•	Lift celery, leeks and sprouts 
•	Remember to pick sprouts from the bottom up and removing any dead or yellow leaves 
•	Collect stakes and beanpoles, wash & store for next year 
•	Dig over unused soil. Manure if necessary 
•	Sow broad beans for an early crop 
•	Think about next years rotation 
•	Collect material for composting
December
•	Continue to use winter vegetables 
•	Check vegetables in storage and discard anything rotten 
•	Dig ground when frost free but do not add fertiliser 
•	Continue earthing up leeks & celery 
•	Sow some broad beans in a sheltered spot