The Veggie Table

Well! What a month – not very conducive to being out in the garden. But there are a lot of things waiting to be done.

I’m told that Good Friday is the traditional day to plant potatoes, though my governor used to say it was time when you could sit bare-bottomed on the soil without discomfort. That, of course, might be never, in these parts. I think the best and most reliable potato variety to use is Cara, or for fine flavour, Pink Fir Apple – though the Arran varieties are always good to bear in mind.

Lettuces can now be sown, specially loose leaf varieties for ‘cut and come again’ cropping. Lollo Rossa and Oakleaf are both tasty and decorative. For a heart lettuce, my favourite is the stunning Marvel of Four Seasons, or for a crisphead variety, try Saladin, which is slow to bolt. And don’t forget the endives, which can add zest to any salad. Sow successively in small amounts.

When the soil has warmed it will be time to sow peas – personally, I prefer Sugar Snap and Mangetout varieties, which are so much less fuss than a podded pea. In a couple of weeks, carrots can be thinly sown, along with beetroot. Try Fursno and Boltardy.

If your ground is clear of snow, tidy up the strawberry bed, clearing away old leaves. And go out at night with a torch and collect slugs and snails before they start breeding. Don’t just throw them next door, which is nasty for your neighbour and no good for you, either – it’s a proven fact that a determined slug will travel ‘home’ from up to half a mile away!