Too Chit or not to Chit! gibney's chicken and pea stew. planting early peas. soil preperation

Too Chit or not to Chit!

So with the days getting longer and the weather warmer, it’s time to start getting plans into action.

Chitting potatoes for planting in March, sowing early peas and beans. Preparing the soil to give your veg the best chance of giving you a bumper crop.

Chitting potatoes this is a funny one, while commercial growers don’t chit and they get a successful crop the small holder and backyard gardener mostly prefer this extra step. There is evidence that it helps to produce a stronger plant with bigger potatoes. But for me it’s a little tradition that signals the start of the season, rows of spuds in egg boxes on the window sill spring is really here!!!

Peas and Beans

A lot of people will say that direct sowing is the only way to go but with the weather to take into account, it’s worth looking for ways to help improve the chances of a good crop. In the past I have both planted out early under plastic, and planted into small individual cell trays with mixed success so this year I’m going with the trays for all my early planting. I will run through pea and bean planting in a few weeks when I am plant my second batch direct in the soil.

Soil preparation

Getting the soil ready for the year is a really important step, to ensure a great crop, with heavier soil this was best done in the autumn, but it’s never too late to make a positive difference.

I would say it’s too late to add manure at this stage, but there are other things you can add to help like, compost, leaf mould, composted bark, mushroom compost. These will all help loosen the soil and make for a better environment for strong root growth.

But at this time of year the one unbreakable rule is never dig if the ground is too wet, a simple test of walking across the soil and if big clumps stick to your boots  it’s too wet leave it alone!

How to dig

The depth of your topsoil, quality of drainage and whether or not your plot has been previously cultivated, will all determine the digging method required. Single and double digging are the most effective and labour-efficient digging techniques. Before digging, make sure the site is clear of all persistent weeds.

Single digging

Adopt this method on regularly-shaped plots, where it's important that the soil has an even texture. Single digging is also useful when large quantities of organic matter need to be incorporated.

•Dig out trenches to a spade's depth, known as a 'spit', and about 30cm (12in) wide.

•Place the soil from the first trench on the ground in front and work backwards along the plot, turning the soil from each subsequent trench into the one in front.

Double digging

Double digging is useful when drainage needs to be improved, or if the ground has not been previously cultivated. This is a time-consuming process but is worth the hard work and will result in good soil.

•The soil is worked to a depth of two spades, rather than one, and it’s essential to keep the two layers of soil (subsoil and topsoil) separate. In order to do this, the lower half of the trench can be dug over in situ.

•Remove the soil from the upper and lower spits of the first trench and from the upper spit of the second, placing it aside on the ground in three separate, clearly marked piles.

•The soil can then be transferred from the lower spit of the second trench to the base of the first trench, and from the upper spit of the third trench to the top of the first. This ensures that the topsoil and subsoil remain separate.

•Continue digging trenches in the same way, until you reach the end of the bed where soil saved from the first trench can be used to fill the appropriate layers in the final trench.

Simple digging

This method of digging is suitable for cleaning the soil surface of any debris and non-persistent weeds. This is often the best option for working with irregularly-shaped beds or around existing plants.

•Simply lift a spade of soil, invert it and drop it back in its original position.

No dig method

If you suffer from a bad back you may prefer this method over other digging techniques. It's useful for vegetable plots which need organic matter added.

•Ensure your soil is weed-free and level.

•In late autumn, spread manure or compost over the surface of the bed and worms will do the work of incorporating it by taking it down into the soil.

•Further mulch can be applied during the growing season. Repeating this process annually will keep your soil fertile.

Preparing soil for seed

A 'tilth' is a fine soil surface which is essential for seed germination. A surface tilth should guarantee good contact between seed and soil, so that moisture can easily be absorbed.

•Prepare seedbeds about one month before sowing by digging the soil and then leaving it to weather.

•Just before sowing, break up any remaining clumps of soil with a rake, level the ground by lightly treading on it, and rake the surface to give it a fine tilth.

So with a hard days digging done, my mind turns to the potatoes in the egg boxes, the peas in the trays and the dishes that I can’t wait the try out, so I’m not going wait after raiding the last of my stored potatoes (stored in sand) and a few bags of peas from the freezer I’m looking forward to a well-earned hearty meal and a nice cold beer.

Gibney’s  Chicken and pea casserole

Ingredients:

25g/1oz butter

150g shallots, peeled but left whole

5 garlic cloves, crushed

150g streaky bacon, cut thickly

Sprig of fresh thyme or a good pinch of dried

350g button mushrooms

350g of frozen peas

500ml good red wine

500ml chicken stock

2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar

2 tbsp. Worchester sauce

1 free range chicken, cut into 8 serving pieces, on the bone but skin removed (or 6 chicken thighs)

Small bunch flat leaf parsley, chopped

Salt and crushed black pepper

Preparation method

1. Heat a thick-bottomed casserole dish on the stove; add almost all the butter (reserving a knob of the butter) and the shallots. Cook until just browned; then stir in the garlic. Add the bacon and thyme and cook for 2-3 minutes.

2. Add the mushrooms, turn up the heat and add the red wine, chicken stock, vinegar and Worchester sauce. Add the chicken pieces, bring the sauce to the boil and then simmer gently for about 30minutes or until the chicken is tender and cooked through. Add the peas about ten minutes before the end. For a thicker sauce, remove the chicken once it is cooked and keep warm. Cook the sauce over a high heat for a few minutes until the volume of liquid has reduced. Return the chicken back to the pan.

3. Add the parsley, together with the reserved knob of butter. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and serve with buttery mash or crusty bread.

so after a hard days work the garden ready for planting and my belly full with a hearty stew. I have time to sit back and think about the coming weeks and months. It looks like and interesting summer ahead!!