Loyalty Scheme Root Vegetable Growing Guides
Dig out your Quadgrow Root Vegetable Planter and grow 4 varieties of your favourite vegetables in this best selling planter. Specially designed to keep root veg perfectly watered up to 14 days.
Thanks to its generous 30 Litre SmartReservoir your veggies will only take water up as and when they need it meaning your plants are never over or under watered. Goodbye soggy spuds or forked carrots.
What Root Veg Can I Grow?
Our Quadgrow Root Vegetable Planter is perfect for growing Potatoes, Carrots, Chard, Leeks, Baby Turnips, Beetroot, Onions and more. Here's our Gardening Angels top picks and a few handy tips.
Crop: Carrots
When to Sow/Plant: February - November
Gardening Angels’ Favourite Varieties: F1 Maestro, Nantes Early, Autumn King 2, Purple Sun
How to Grow: Sow 15-20 carrot seeds per 1 metre row. After 3-4 weeks of sowing, thin plants to 10-15 per row, then start your second row.
5-6 weeks after sowing your second row, thin plants to 10-15 per row.
Carrots thrive in hot conditions. Water every 7-14 days as appropriate
When to Harvest: Earlies – 12 weeks after sowing. Maincrop – 16 weeks after sowing
Gardening Angels’ Top Tips: If growing late into the year, a frost will make your carrots taste sweeter, so don’t be afraid to leave them a little longer before harvesting.
Crop: Potatoes
When to Sow/Plant: February-August
Gardening Angels’ favourite Varieties: Home Guard (First Earlies), Maris Peer (Second Earlies), Rooster, Sante (Maincrop), Vivaldi, Maris Piper (Latecrop)
How to Grow: Begin by chitting your potatoes for 6 weeks.
Then, plant potatoes around 30cm apart, or between 2 and 5 potatoes per pot if growing in a Quadgrow Root Veg Planter.
If you want potatoes in time for your Christmas dinner, sow them by the end of the first week in September.
Find out more about growing potatoes in our comprehensive potato growing guide.
When to Harvest: May-December
Gardening Angels’ Top Tip: Always plan ahead: work out what you want to grow and when you want to grow it for to determine with you start planting. Once you have harvested your spuds, store them in a hessian sack to keep them fresh for longer.
Crop: Leeks
When to Sow/Plant: April-July
Gardening Angels’ Favourite Varieties: Musselburgh, Neptune, Lyon, Northern Lights
How to Grow: Sow 15-20 leek seeds per 1 metre row.
3-4 weeks after sowing, thin your leeks to 10-15 per row, then start your second row.
5-6 weeks after sowing your second row, thin plants to 10-15 per row.
Keep your leeks well watered over the warm summer months and consider covering with mulch to help them retain water.
When to Harvest: July-October
Gardening Angels’ Top Tips: Watch out for leek moths, these pests love nibbling on your leeks. Make sure you keep your leeks perfectly watered so they grow strong enough to defend themselves.
Crop: Onions
When to Sow/Plant: March-April
Gardening Angels’ Favourite Varieties: Ailsa Craig, North Holland Bloodred, Sturon
How to Grow: When growing from sets, space sets 10cm apart and gently push into the ground so only the tip of the bulb is showing.
Find more information about growing from seed in our comprehensive onion growing guide.
When to Harvest: July-September (when foliage turns yellow)
Gardening Angels’ Top Tips: Not sure whether to grow from sets or seeds? Growing from seed provides more variety and is more cost effective, whilst growing from sets is a lot easier.
Crop: Chard
When to Sow/Plant: March-August
Gardening Angels’ Favourite Varieties: Rhubarb Chard, Lucullus, Rainbow Chard
How to Grow: Sow 15-20 seeds per 1 metre row around 2.5cm deep.
Chard seeds will typically produce up to 5 smaller plants, so thin out weaker plants after 2-3 weeks.
When to Harvest: May-October (When leaves reach 15-20cm)
Gardening Angels’ Top Tips: Birds like nothing more than pinching your chard seeds from the ground, so make sure you keep them protected by covering the soil with Horticultural Fleece.
Crop: Beetroot
When to Sow/Plant: March-July
Gardening Angels’ Favourite Varieties: Boltada, Monetta, Chioggia
How to Grow: Sow 15-20 seeds per 1 metre row.
After 2-3 weeks, when seedlings start showing, thin to 10-12 plants per row.
Water your beetroot every 7-14 days during dry periods.
When to Harvest: June-October
Gardening Angels’ Top Tips: Make the most of your versatile beetroot. In addition to the beetroot itself, you can eat the leaves as part of a fresh salad. Some people even use them for food colouring and medicinal purposes!
Crop: Parsnips
When to Sow/Plant: March-May
Gardening Angels’ Favourite Varieties: White Gem, Javelin F1, Tender and True
How to Grow: Sow 15-20 parsnip seeds per 1 metre row.After 3-4 weeks of sowing, thin plants to 8-10 per row, then repeat the process for your second row.
When to Harvest: October-December
Gardening Angels’ Top Tips: Parsnips will thrive in evenly watered, loose soil, so try not to use heavy compacted compost and make sure they are watered consistently.
Crop: Baby Turnips
When to Sow/Plant: March-July
Gardening Angels’ Favourite Varieties: Hakurei, Purple Top White Globe, Purple Top Milan
How to Grow: Begin by sowing 15-20 seeds per 1 metre row.
After 3-4 weeks of sowing, thin plants to 8-10 per row, then repeat the process for your second row.
These grow best with good access to sunlight.
When to Harvest: June-November (When measuring around 1 inch in diameter)
Gardening Angels’ Top Tips: Baby vegetables pack an intensified flavour due to their small size. By eating them on the day they are picked, you can enjoy the optimum flavour!
General Growing Tips:
If you are growing root vegetables from seed, make sure you follow these 4 simple steps:
- - Use a dibber to create rows before sowing your seeds.
- - Gently cover seeds with a fine layer of compost using a compost sieve.
- - Firm and level compost with a tamper. This will ensure even germination and remove air pockets.
- - Evenly water compost using a watering can with a rose until the compost is moist but not saturated.
If you are growing from plant or have already started seedlings in a Vitopod Heated Propagator, follow these steps to ensure plants are safely transplanted into your Quadgrow Root Veg Planter.
- - Make a hole in the compost large enough for your plant.
- - Place your plant into the compost. Firm compost down gently around the plant.
- - Water compost using a watering can with a rose until the compost is moist but not saturated.
If you have any more questions about growing your own vegetables or what varieties to grow, please feel free to get in touch with our Gardening Angels on 0845 602 3774 or drop us an email on info@greenhousesensation.co.uk. We’re always happy to hear from you.
