Muintir na Tire School Garden Competition

  Broccoli, Sprouting Sprouting broccoli is a different vegetable to the standard broccoli that we get in the shops, which is actually called calabrese. Sprouting broccoli produces small florets in purple or white varieties and is traditionally harvested in winter and spring. It is a fantastic vegetable to grow as it will provide plenty of food at a time when there’s very little else available in the veg patch (from February to April). SOWING Sprouting broccoli should be planted in a soil that has been well-manured the previous autumn. Alternatively, you can add compost or manure and/or a general fertiliser one week before sowing/planting. Do not grow sprouting broccoli anywhere that you have grown any member of the cabbage family the last three years (cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, kohlrabi, collards and kale). The best way to manage all these veg is to create a crop rotation scheme prior to growing. Sprouting broccoli should be sown in May. It can be sown outsi...

  Beans, Runner Runner beans are incredibly prolific, incredibly attractive looking, and easy to grow. Runner beans plants will grow up to 10ft tall and a row of them growing up a cane wigwam will make a great feature in the summer vegetable patch. The beans themselves are tasty and freeze well. In fact, the only downside to runner beans is that you will have to pick them every other day in the summer months – so don’t be tempted to sow too many of them. A single plant will produce up to a kilo of beans. SOWING Runner beans like a fertile soil, so ideally add compost and a general fertiliser a week or two before sowing/transplanting. Seeds can be sown direct in the soil or in module trays ready for transplanting. Runner beans are frost sensitive and grow poorly in cold weather, so don’t sow indoors until early May. You can sow/tranplant outdoors in late May or early June. Sow 5cm deep in pots or direct – they are big seeds that grow quickly. If sowing direct space plants 30cm apart...

  Swede & Turnip Swedes (or yellow turnips) grow well in Ireland. They are not particularly fussy about the soil they grow in, though they will fare better if the soil is manured. White turnips are a quick growing crop – in contrast with the swede turnip, which is a long season crop. Turnips can be sown from March until August. The early sown crop is susceptible to bolting and they are more commonly sown in July and August for an autumn crop. Sow direct, thinly at 1cm deep in rows 25cm apart. SOWING Swedes and turnips will grow in most reasonably fertile soil, but best results will be obtained from soil that has had compost and general fertiliser added a week or two before. Swedes can be sown direct or in modules for later transplanting. If sowing direct, sow in late May or June, very thinly 1- 2cm deep in rows 40cm apart. If sowing in modules sow 1 seed per module in May. Turnips usually grow better when sown direct, but they can also be sown in module trays. Sow one or two se...