Garden And Gardener

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Price reductions at Crocus

by Sarah - December 13th, 2013.
Filed under: Crocus, Price Reductions.

Reduced price on items today at Crocus

carrot 'Early Nantes' (carrot)

carrot ‘Early Nantes’ (carrot) was £1.29 now £0.64
Position: full sun Soil: humus-rich, moisture retentive soil An extremely versatile, fast-maturing variety that’s one of the best and most popular for early sowing. Easy-going enough to grow in troughs and containers, it produces long, blunt-nosed roots which are well-coloured and have almost no core, so the texture is light and crunchy, with a rich flavour that’s all a carrot should be. Growing Instructions: Sow sparingly direct into shallow drills and cover lightly with soil. Cover early and late sowings with cloches. Thin seedlings carefully to 2cm apart, watering beforehand to avoid disturbing nearby roots, and working in the evening when carrot fly are less numerous. To further avoid carrot fly attacks, grow crops under horticultural fleece. Sow half a row every three weeks, with early and late sowings protected under cloches, for a continuous crop from early summer till the first frosts. Sow: February-July Harvest: June to August Approximate quantity: 900 seeds.

cabbage 'Durham' (cabbage)

cabbage ‘Durham’ (cabbage) was £0.99 now £0.64
Position: full sun Soil: fertile, well drained, moisture-retentive and firm A classic spring cabbage variety for picking loose-leafed as greens, or leaving to heart up and produce a large, handsome pointed head with an outstanding flavour and crisp texture. As the name suggests you can start picking this versatile spring vegetable particularly early in the season, providing a welcome harvest when there’s little else around. Growing Instructions: Sow seeds in late summer into well-prepared seed beds in shallow drills 1.5cm deep. Keep well watered and thin seedlings to 5cm apart as they appear. Once plants are 10cm tall, transplant to their growing site, planting them 35-40cm apart and about 1.5cm deeper than they were in the seedbed and firming well. Protect from slugs and net against pigeons. Growing spring cabbage under horticultural fleece or mesh will prevent caterpillar damage. Sow: July-August Harvest: April-May Approximate quantity: 450 seeds.

pumpkin 'Jack O'Lantern' (pumpkin)

pumpkin ‘Jack O’Lantern’ (pumpkin) was £0.99 now £0.69
Position: full sun Soil: fertile, humus-rich, well-drained but moisture retentive The perfect pumpkin for a Hallowe’en crop, producing bright orange fruits every bit large enough for carving but also sweetly-flavoured and excellent in pies, stews and soups. The plants are vigorous and hefty, but more compact than many pumpkins, scrambling over the ground without taking over the plot, making this an excellent choice where space is more limited. Growing Instructions: Sow two seeds to a 10cm pot in late spring in a greenhouse or on a sunny windowsill. Pot on seedlings as they grow, then harden off carefully and plant out in a sunny, sheltered spot once all threat of frost has passed. Leave 90cm between each plant and protect from slugs. To keep pumpkin plants in bounds, lift up wayward shoots before they make it out of the veg bed and guide them around the plant in circles. Sow: April-June Harvest: September-October Approximate quantity: 15 seeds.

chives (chives)

chives (chives) was £1.49 now £0.74
Position: full sun Soil: fertile, moist but well drained Delicious evergreen herb that will come back year after year. The slim, elegant dark green leaves can be snipped with scissors and used as a spicy addition to salads, or in soups, stews and curries. The pale mauve pompom-like flowers, which are also edible and look wonderful when sprinkled over a summer salad, are produced in early summer, This is a very decorative addition to herb or vegetable garden. Growing Instructions: Choose a rich soil in sun or part shade and sow sparingly into shallow drills in spring. Cover lightly with more soil and water well. Can also be sown in seed trays full of potting compost: pot on seedlings as they grow and transplant outside allowing 10cm between plants. Keep well-watered and snip off flowers to keep plants producing new leaves. In late summer after flowering cut all leaves down to about 5cm above ground level to encourage a new flush of young growth. Sow: March to May Harvest: July to September Approximate quantity: 300 seeds.

radish 'French Breakfast 3' (radish)

radish ‘French Breakfast 3’ (radish) was £1.49 now £0.74
Position: full sun Soil: humus-rich, moisture retentive soil For quick results there’s nothing better than growing radishes, and this is a real classic: within four weeks of sowing you can expect to be pulling the peppery round roots with their characteristic red shoulders and white tips. Reliable, trouble-free and outstanding quality, they’re uniformly tender and crunchy and a delicious way to pep up your summer salads. The flowers are edible too. A heritage introduced before 1885, this variety was a favorite among French market gardeners. Growing Instructions: Choose a sunny, sheltered spot with free-draining soil and sow sparingly direct where they are to grow, in shallow drills. Thinning is not necessary: taking care not to disturb other roots, pull out the largest as they reach the size of a marble, when they’re at their tenderest. The rest will grow to fill the space they leave. Don’t sow too many radishes at once, or you’ll have a glut: instead, sow half a row every two or three weeks to have just the right amount to harvest all season long. Sow: March-August Harvest: April-September Approximate quantity: 1200 seeds.

dill 'Dukat' (dill)

dill ‘Dukat’ (dill) was £1.49 now £0.74
Position: full sun Soil: fertile, moist but well drained A particularly fine-flavoured variety of dill that’s well known for its generous leaf production, selected to produce more foliage before running to seed than most. Dill provides a delicious flavouring to pickles or with vegetables, salads and fish dishes, and the pretty, feathery foliage looks at home anywhere in the garden, making a lovely foil to your flowers. If it is allowed to flower, then these can be eaten too. They have a similar flavour to the leaves. Growing Instructions: Sow direct where it is to grow, as dill has a long taproot and dislikes being transplanted. Choose a sunny, sheltered spot and when the soil warms in spring, make a shallow drill and sow sparingly along it, covering lightly with soil. Alternatively, simply broadcast-sow over a wider area of dampened soil and rake in. Sow a short row of seed every few weeks to make sure you have a constant supply throughout the season. Sow: April to May Harvest: June to September Approximate quantity: 500 seeds.

parsnip 'Tender and True' (parsnip)

parsnip ‘Tender and True’ (parsnip) was £1.49 now £0.74
Position: full sun or part shade Soil: humus-rich, moisture retentive soil A very popular variety for its reliability and its excellent flavour, sweet and rich and at its best roasted slowly alongside the Sunday joint. The long, elegant, tapering roots grow straight and true given a stone-free soil and are favourites for the show benches. They’re also canker-resistant and have very little core, so there’s more for your plate. Parsnip seed doesn’t store well though, so sow a fresh crop every year for best results. Growing Instructions: Parsnips need a long season to grow well and do best started early in the year. They also dislike being transplanted, so sow direct into shallow drills and thin seedlings to 15cm apart, or pop two or three seeds in at 15cm intervals, nipping out all but the strongest once seedlings appear. Crops are ready from autumn onwards. Sow: March-April Harvest: October-February Approximate quantity: 800 seeds.

leek 'Prizetaker' (leek)

leek ‘Prizetaker’ (leek) was £0.99 now £0.79
Position: full sun Soil: fertile, neutral to slightly acidic sandy loam As the name suggests, this is a superb variety that has been excelling on the show benches since Victorian times. Long, thick white stems are topped with mid-green leaves, producing tall, elegant and fine-flavoured plants which reach maturity early for an autumn crop. They are also very hardy, staying in good condition in the garden right into winter. Growing Instructions: Sow direct into shallow drills in a well-prepared seedbed in spring, and thin seedlings to 1cm apart. When seedlings are about pencil thickness, transplant to their final growing place, leaving 15cm between plants. For the longest white stems, dib a hole for each plant 15cm deep and drop the seedling in before filling the hole with water. If you’re growing for show, start your leeks in seed trays in a greenhouse in January to give them the longest possible season. Sow: March-April Harvest: September-October Approximate quantity: 300 seeds.

Nigella damascena 'Oxford Blue' (love-in-a-mist)

Nigella damascena ‘Oxford Blue’ (love-in-a-mist) was £1.99 now £0.89
Position: full sun Soil: any well-drained soil Rate of growth: fast growing Flowering period: July to September Flower colour: deep blue Other features: excellent cut and dried flowers Hardiness: fully hardy Throughout summer extra-large, deep blue flowers appear amid the decorative, finely-cut foliage. This tall love-in-a-mist is perfect for a sunny, well-drained cottage-garden border or wildflower meadow. It is extremely easy-to-grow, and the dried seed-heads are valuable for use in winter flower arrangements. Garden care: Best sown in situ, 5mm deep. Prepare the seedbed by incorporating some composted organic matter, remove any stones and rake to a fine tilth. Sow in autumn if you want early flowers the following summer, or in mid spring for a later crop. Thin them out when they are large enough to handle allowing 30cm between each. Deadheading regularly will help prolong the flowering period into autumn. Support the plants with twiggy branches in exposed gardens. Sow: September-October or March-May Flowering: June-September Approximate quantity: 500 seeds.