Growing vegetables is both a pleasurable pastime and a guaranteed method of providing tasty, nutritious nutrient for yous and your family. It is too a great way to salvage money on your shopping bills. Check in every month to find out which vegetable has made the cutting, as well as some useful tips on when to institute and harvest.

This month, the chosen champion is the infant carrot–the underdog of the carrot family, merely withal a high contender for nutrition and delicious taste.

Bodacious baby carrots

The 'Babe Chantenay' Pour F1 baby carrot diversity tin can be sown and grown outdoors from Feb to July. Their reduced size makes them perfect for growing in small spaces and ideal for containers. Sow the seeds at a depth of 1.5cm in rows spaced 30cm apart.

If you are sowing them in early on February, make sure y'all cover them with a cloche to protect them from cold weather condition and also encompass with an insect-proof mesh to protect against carrot fly, which are almost active between May and October.

Go along the growing area well-watered and take care to remove whatsoever weeds that spring up.

Once planted, seedlings should begin to appear inside 14-21 days and will be ready for harvesting between May and November, depending on what month they were planted.

You can tell they are prepare to be lifted when the roots accept reached 5cm. Consult my ever-handy Vegetable Planting Calendar if you need more data.

Codename: Carrot

Carrots have a rich and interesting history. One of the better-known facts is that the orange carrots we see today, were created past the Dutch in the 17th century who supposedly cultivated the orange carrots to honour the colour of the contemporary Dutch flag.

Carrots comprise an antioxidant known equally beta-carotene, which converts into Vitamin A in one case eaten. It can contribute to lung wellness, cognitive ability and can help to prevent costless-radical damage, which is sometimes linked to causing cancers.

Loftier doses of beta-carotene, alongside other vitamins and minerals can besides help to reduce macular degeneration, which is an age-related disease that causes a turn down in vision.

That brings united states on to the next interesting part of the carrot's history–the myth that it can help yous see in the dark.

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While carrots can promote normal eyesight, their power to assist you meet in the dark was actually a decoy invented past the British Air Ministry during the Second World War.

The myth was spread to convince our enemies that nosotros could see their budgeted planes because we'd eaten saucepan-loads of carrots—masking the true fact, that the British had installed advanced radar systems across the coast and were tracking the High german planes with technology, rather than superior eyesight.

Despite the source of the myth, it has remained a popular belief e'er since!

What to harvest early in the new year?

If you already have your vegetable garden established, then it may be time to begin harvesting vegetables you planted over the previous months. February is the ideal time to begin harvesting rosemary, kale and leeks that were sown in the summertime. In the mean-time, begin planting your babe carrots and yous will be in for a delicious treat when harvesting flavour comes around!

Recipe for your Feb harvest: Kale and Leek Quiche

This simple recipe is quick and piece of cake, plus its perfect for incorporating the tasty vegetables harvested this calendar month. To make this delicious culinary delight, you lot volition need:

1 chopped leek

½ bunch of chopped kale

2 pressed garlic cloves

3 eggs

1 tbsp of oil

1/3 cup of milk

1/three cup of cream cheese

¼ tsp of table salt

¼ tsp pepper

Rolled shortcrust pastry or savoury pastry instance

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Heat the oil in a pan and melt the leaks until they are softened. Then add together the garlic and kale and cook until garlic is fragrant and the kale has wilted. Add the cream cheese and cook until the ingredients are mixed and remove from the hob to cool. Scroll the pastry into an oven-proof dish or prepare the savoury pastry instance. Pre-oestrus the oven to 220 Celsius. Take a large bowl and mix the eggs, milk, cheddar, seasoning and cooked mixture and pour this filling into the prepared crust. Bake the quiche for 25 minutes until the filling has set and let to cool for 10 minutes earlier serving.

baby carrot
growing leeks
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