IT WAS mainly wet conditions that forced me to delay sowing many vegetables.
So our main root crop went in only less than a month ago.
The soil was warm and because the bed had been fertilised the previous year - producing a massive crop of potatoes - I didn't bother using any more fertilisers. After all, most root vegetables don't want much and do better on slightly exhausted soil.
It was the warm, moist conditions that did the trick.
The carrots were up and moving in just over a week. The swedes have been amazing. I've never seen such growth. Even the parsnips are looking unusually cheerful - after all, while still tiny seedlings they do tend to sulk a bit.
And the reason why all these plants have jumped ahead so rapidly is because of ruthless thinning of seedlings.
It used to break my heart to pull out little plants and throw them away - it seemed such a waste - but no longer.
Those left behind don't have to compete and their new freedom sends them berserk with happiness.
Carrots are thinned so there is about the width of three fingers between those left in the ground.
This not only stimulates growth, but it allows me to carry out a second thinning a few weeks later.
But this lot are not chucked away.
By now they are thumb-sized and brilliantly-delicious - that's the only way I can describe them.
And munched raw after a quick swill under a garden tap makes them the very essence of gourmet eating.
The interesting thing about properly-thinned root crops is the bigger they grow, the faster they grow.
More leaves mean more of the sun's energy is put to use. And even better, the more foliage they produce the less attractive they are to foraging birds - although bigger plants can cope with a bit of crafty nibbling.
I've raved in these pages too often about the magical effects of boron, especially on beetroot.
Such a tiny amount is needed too - a couple of small teaspoons added to a brimming watering can (10 litres) of water.
And I prefer to sprinkle this heavily-diluted micro-element directly over newly-sown beetroot, (also swede, turnip and cauliflower seeds), so it is instantly absorbed into them as they swell during germination.
Beetroot plants love the stuff.
If they cannot get boron, the seedlings remain small, wobbly and miserable.
Despite being regularly watered they also look as though they need a drink.
I gave my beetroot seeds a reasonable sprinkling when they went in during late November and you should see them now!
They are leaving all the other root crops for dead.
The growth has been truly astonishing despite having no added fertilisers.
There is one exception among root vegetables when it comes to nutrition.
Leeks prefer a richer soil.
With a weekly application of diluted fish emulsion they grow to a large size, yet remain tender.
I'll also mulch them heavily to extend the white parts of the shanks and keep weeds down.
I always plant root crops such as leeks, carrots, onions, beetroot, parsnips and red, salad onions adjacent to each other, but in alternate rows.
It's called companion planting because they all help each other without competing with each other.
And because they look and smell different, pests get confused and go elsewhere.
