PLANTING / S0WING NOW?

[Compo]

Hi All I wonder if we could keep this thread going for a while stating what we are sewing at the moment, all I have done to date is to put some more broad beans (Bunyard's exhibition) I have prepared a bed for some early shallots, at the end of the month I will put some internatinal kidney seed potatoes at the back of my large cold frame.

I have also prepared some ground under a cloche for some early sowings of carrots and will soon start some parsnips on kitchen paper as advised in earlier threads.

I think if it works well it will give newbies and not so newbies an idea of what others are sowing and when.

Compo

[oldherbaceous]

Good morning Compo my dear fellow.

This week i sowed the last of my Super Aquadulce broad beans, early shallots and will be planting the first of my potates and also carrot seed, the second of which will be under cloches.
And also another early type of pea, what type i haven't decided yet.

My Parsnips will be sown in about two weeks time weather permitting, i always sow directly outside, sowing in stations of about six inches apart and four or five seeds per station.
These will be thinned to the strongest seedling once they have come through.

[richard p]

morning , i spent some time yesterday doing the autumn tidy up in the polytunnel, there is self sown pac choi and mitzuma showing through, a potatoe about 6 inches tall and the strawberries are showing signs of life, the greyhound cabbage and lettuce sown in pots a fortnight ago are also up, though the masterpiece longpod broad beans in trays are not showing yet. things are starting to move, though there was a heavy frost last night , when its warmed up a bit ill see if the potatoe survived, if it has a few early spuds will go in today. i guess this week the rest of the broad beans will go in, eleven in a supermarket mushroom tray, probably direct sow a few early nantes carrots and maybe some beetroot. Its still too early to sow outside, but its probably time to cover the carrot baths with plastic to warm them up a bit, probably sow the first arround the end of the month. must go the missus is demanding sprouts ....

[Monika]

WE have had hard frost the last three nights (down to minus six last night) and parts of the allotment never thawed out today, so sowing anything outside is obviously not on, but I have sown our onions (Rijnsburger and Southport Red Globe) in root trainers in the house and they are coming through nicely. The sweet peas are also growing well.

Although the greenhouse has been beautifully warm during the last few days in the sunshine, we have taken the chitting seed potatoes in during the night because the temperature sank to below freezing even in there.

[Chantal]

I have lots of sweet peas in the greenhouse along with some onions, indoor tomatoes, salad crops and other sundry flowers. The shallots have now mostly sprouted and are well rooted.

I have also set a load of parsnip seeds to germinate

[mandylew]

I've this week sowed banana shallot seed and roscoff onions inside in my propogator, seed donated kindly from folk here, and outside in the greenhouse 4 gutters of douce provence peas. 4 gutters each 80cm long sit nicely in the plastic tray bottom of an old rabbit cage.When planted out they make a complete row and i can sow the next lot. I had a bit of trouble planting out the gutters, then i accidentally dropped one and it slid out really easily, so thats my plan for this year

[Mike Vogel]

Today I soweed some peppers and aubergine in little modules.

I have early and early maincrop spuds chitting in a cool room and I think i'll put them in a Multigrow frame once this cold spell has finished. I will expect to have to take them in at night if frost is forecast.

Some dahlias are showing shoots. I will spray them with liquid seaweed mix to encourage them.

I put some broad beans into pots about a month ago and they are looking healthy in the greenhouse [cold]. These are for filling gaps in the autumn-sown rows.

Garlic which I kept back for ringing the root beds has been very quick to appear, given that I only put it in round about Jan 25.

I would be sowing carrots and parsnips in toilet roll inners in the greenhouse if other things didn't impose on my time. I suppose I could do it now in the dark, but I can't be bottomed.

mike

[Colin_M]

Well, I've just sown Celery, Celeriac, Sprouting Broccoli & Radishes this weekend.

Some peas I started last week in Rootrainers have shoots peeping above the soil (thanks Mandylew). In the greenhouse are Aquadulce broad beans (thanks Cevenol J) and Banana Shallot seeds (thanks Chantal), plus some leeks and Cabbage.

We put a few Masterpiece Broad Beans plants out in January and some Feltham First pea plants last weekend (each raised in greenhouse over winter).

Hope this survives the frosts - there are some quite wide temperature swings at the moment from day to night.

Colin

[Compo]

Hi OH, what variety of parsnip do you use, and do you have a particular supplier?

[oldherbaceous]

Morning Compo, for the last few years i have grown Gladiator F1, i have been ordering from Wallis seeds.
But i have grown different varieties over the years, and they have come from a number of different seed companies.

[Peejo]

Mornin` all,

I planted Aquadulce last November but that black little underground slug has seen off half of them.

Yesterday I planted 20 metres of early peas grown in 12 modules of 84 plantings in a tray. About 60% of the sowing of Meteor and 70% of Feltham First were successfull. They were sown late November and started in the greenhouse and transferred outside when about 3/4 weeks old. When I planted them yesterday they were over two inches tall with some of them twice that size. I used my tiller to make a two line trench and popped them in. I am supporting them with old raspberry canes and netting hooked over the canes to protect the plants against pigeons and rabbits. I have tried growing peas this way before and would have been very successful had it not been for above named pests which destroyed the crop when I was away on holiday. When planting peas directly into the soil I have had total failure and I am not sure whether this is because of pest including mice/eelworm but I think more likely due to wet clay soil.

Peejo

[Primrose]

This morning I have sown peppers, aubergines & chillis in individual pots, to germinate on my lounge windowsill.
If I have time this afternoon I plan to sow some leeks and celeriac in the deep see-through plastic containers which supermarkets use to sell tomatoes & grapes, in the hope that the compost depth will be deep enough to keep them going until the seedlings have grown sufficiently to plant out.
And I'm going to be extremely restrained and NOT SOW MY TOMATOES UNTIL APRIL !!!

[Mike Vogel]

I mean to sow some toms at the beginning of March and others mid-month. There is a T&M variety for hanging baskets [which was one of last year's freebies with the magazine], which I'lll sow in April. Celeriac I'll sow mid-March, but I won't grow celery because I don't get enough access to the plot to guarantee keeping it wet. I thought I'd lay off peas for the same reason, but I've decided I'll grow some maincrop in gutters, so they too will get sown in early March.

mike

[Compo]

I sowed some shallot sets and onion sets today, and some international kidney in the back of the large cold frame today, as they have been chitting in a similar temp in the cold greenhouse, so fingers crossed, it is so mild here at the moment.

Compo

[gowerbass come gardener]

i done loads myself today,probably being over eager!
chilli peppers two varieties
toms five varietys
onions bedford champions to go with 100 alisa craig that were sown overchristmas and are doing well,as well as my ordered red baron sets.
beetroot in mushroom trays.
more parsnips
leeks
brussel sprouts(sp)
sage thyme and mint
and cosmos,sweet pea and poppy flowers



i was bored mind you


have i been a bit naughty in sowing somethings early