Portugal: Growing Fruit and Vegetables in March

The monthly diary of growing my own fruit and veg continues…

– What grows well (God grant me the serenity to accept dispite my best efforts SOME vegetables will not grow well in my garden)
– What to plant and when. (Next year I must leave space for broad and green beans and NOT fill the whole plot with cabbages and leeks).
– Quantities (I need to stagger planting times)
– How quickly can I harvest.(I’m impatient and short of space)
– Crop rotation? (I need some advice please).
– Bugs and diseases (If they’ve not already discovered my patch of terra, knowing my luck they soon will!).

So what’s happening on Piglet’s Plot this month?

Well, just as I thought I was on a winning streak and I’d overcome the root invasion problem I discovered white cabbage mold  had attacked a couple of the green cabbages. A quick search on the internet revealed once Sclerotinia rot is in the soil the crops I wanted to grow, will be affected, so not good news. However, a couple of my blogging buddies came to the rescue and suggested covering the soil with black plastic for a couple of months. This would UV treat the soil and hopefully solve the problem. 

Once I have harvested my existing crops I will certainly try this method. Replacing all the soil is not an option and Mr Piglet is not keen on keeping a pig or chickens.

The red cabbages are growing extremely well. The centres are beginning to form and are the size of tennis balls. However, thanks to my cabbage buying frenzy last December I will have far more red cabbages than I can eat in a short space of time. I’ve never pickled red cabbage before any one else tried or do you have other recipe ideas?

I have 12 red cabbages and 12 green 9(2 3 have now succumbed to the white cabbage mold.  I know cabbage is good for you, but there is a limit how many cabbages one can eat. At this rate I will have enough cabbage for the next six months at least (if the final few survive that long)

Lime tree
Since feeding my lime tree with Sintex foliar the leaves have turned green again and the tree has several flowers plus one baby lime. For some reason limes are really expensive in the supermarkets so if I can grow my own that will be great!
Lemon Tree
Loads of fruit, buds and flowers and although growing in a pot seems to be doing well. Now has a monthly feed of Sintex foliar and banana skins.
Orange Tree
The winter fruiting orange tree we bought at the market and planted in February is still alive. It initially lost loads of leaves when it was first planted, but fingers firmly crossed it seems to be holding. Feed monthly with Sintex foliar.
Olive Trees
They are still there, but no sign of any olives.
Fig Tree
Still a dead looking twig. I love figs and this is my 3rd or 4th attempt! Fig trees grow wild here without any care or attention,. I wonder what I’m doing wrong.
Nespera Tree
Growing well with lots of new leaves.

Fruit and Vegetables in pots

I’m going to cover these in a separate post.

HARVEST

I am delighted with my crop of carrots and continue to follow the tips offered by Hortophile. Rather than grow the carrots in a line I contained in a small square which certainly makes watering far easier. The carrots have grown exceptionally well so I will be doubling the size of the carrot area.

Unfortunately, I planted the leeks randomly between the cabbages and broccoli. Next year I will plant in a square the same as the carrots. Hortophile mentioned they are thirsty veg and I need to water well. A friend looked at the leeks yesterday and said I’d also not planted them deep enough.

My broccoli have grown well, but unfortunately the heads began to run to seed very quickly. Next year I must stagger the planting so they are not all ready at the same time.

Notes for reference

Leeks, cauliflower, brocoli, carrots planted beginning of December – harvested from mid March onwards.

Red and green cabbage – harvested and shredded young outside leaves from mid January to make Calde de Verde soup . We now have this once a week!
NB Don’t plant 24 cabbage seedlings at the same time. Stagger planting along with broccoli and caulifower

Spinach, rosso and green lettuce – harvested leaves from mid January.
Radish – planted at three-week intervals between slow-growing crops. Excellent results.

Strawberries continue to fruit, however I will need to increase the quantity of plants if they are ever going to yield more than one bowl full at a time.

Physalis continue to yield fruit and I’ve grown several plants from seed to bring on this year. However, due to the invasive nature of this plant I will continue to grow in pots!

Related posts:
Portugal: Growing Fruit and Vegetables in February
Portugal: Growing Fruit and Vegetables in January
Portugal: Growing Fruit and Vegetables in December

Can you help?

My leeks are more leaf than leek. The edible white part (technical name, unknown) is only couple of inches long – any tips to improve productivity?

What veg rotates well with carrots and leeks?

I also need some recipes to use all the red cabbage I’m growing – suggestions please!