Up until 1970, many gardeners and growers throughout the country would purchase their vegetables for the coming season from their local farmers' market or directly from neighboring farms. These plants were bare-rooted brassicas grown in a field for several months until they developed sufficient roots and leaf canopy. When it was time to be transplanted into gardens, they were already acclimatized to the outdoor environmental conditions and mature enough to start taking up nutrients immediately.
From 1970 onwards, advances in technology developed the concept of producing plants from the seed in individual plastic modules, also known as plugs. Growing times are reduced to a matter of weeks under controlled greenhouse conditions, using hybrid varieties such as ‘Advantage F1’ and ‘Duncan F1’. This method has multiple benefits for large growers over the traditional techniques; for example, whole crop synchronization in flowering, which enables uniformity to meet strict requirements when supplying supermarket demands.
They are also more aesthetically appealing and easier to look after, with greater control of weeds, pests, and diseases. However, as with all intensive processes, there are disadvantages, such as higher input costs from labor, electricity, and materials when building the infrastructure to grow hundreds of thousands of plants.
Bu hikaye Kitchen Garden dergisinin April 2021 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye Kitchen Garden dergisinin April 2021 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
SEPTEMBER SPECIALS
This month, with sweetcorn, figs and blackberries on the menu, Anna Cairns Pettigrew is not only serving up something sweet and something savoury, but all things scrumptious
FLAVOURSOME FRUIT AUTUMN RASPBERRIES
September - is it late summer or the start of autumn? David Patch ponders the question and says whatever the season, it's time to harvest autumn raspberries
SOW GREEN THIS AUTUMN
Covering the soil with a green manure in winter offers many benefits and this is a good time to sow hardy types, says KG editor Steve Ott
A HISTORICAL HAVEN OF FRUIT AND FLOWERS
KG's Martin Fish takes time out from his own plot to visit a walled garden in Lincolnshire which has been home to the same family for more than 400 years
RESTORING THE BALANCE
The phrase regenerative gardening is often heard in gardening circles, but what is it? Can it help you to grow better veg? Ecologist Becky Searle thinks so, and tells us why
WASTE NOT, WANT NOT
Garden Organic's Anton Rosenfeld shares his expertise on using compost made from green bin collections with handy tips on getting the right consistency and quality
Celebrating Organic September!
In this special section we bring you four great features aimed at improving your crops and allowing nature to thrive
SEEING RED
Do your tomatoes have a habit of remaining stubbornly green? Or perhaps you're lucky to enjoy lots of lovely fruits - just all at once. Either way, Benedict Vanheems is here with some top tips to ripen and process the nation's favourite summer staple
NEW KIDS ON THE BROCCOLI!
Rob Smith is talking broccoli this month with a review of the different types available and suggestions for some exciting new varieties to try
A NEW kitchen garden
Martin Fish is getting down to plenty of picking and planting on the garden veg plot, while Jill is rustling up something pepper-licking good!