Seed packets often say that sowings can be made from February onward. Unfortunately the unwary beginner soon finds that sowing seed outdoors gets few seedlings because they don't germinate or, if they do, they get picked off by rot, pests or frosts. The soil is just too cold and wet in February and, in my neck of the woods, seems to be the month that generally gets snow too. For most of the UK, February is often colder than January. February is seldom the time to sow outdoors, even with cloche protection.
However, there is no doubt that this winter, while extremely wet, has been very mild with only the odd heavy frost. I took a picture of my unheated greenhouse thermometer today at 2pm and it was reading 10C (50F). Very mild indeed. With this in mind I decided to sow some cold tolerant vegetables, namely leeks.
The leeks I'm sowing are an old favourite called 'Musselburgh', a variety that has been around for many years. I've tried a few different leeks but I keep coming back to good old Musselburgh because they stand well throughout the winter and seem to put up with frost and snow without any trouble, lasting well into March-April before going to seed. They have a decent blanched shaft if transplanted deep enough and taste great.
I've sowed some leeks into a small seed tray this week and have placed them in an electric propagator to germinate. I usually start my leeks relatively early and, as soon as they have established, I transplant them into a larger, deeper tray to grow on for a few months in a cold greenhouse. Despite leeks being able to tolerate cold, they'll be covered with horticultural fleece if frosts are forecast. The leeks will eventually be hardened off outside and will planted out in June.
My plan this year is to get my broad beans in early - harvest them all for freezing by mid-June so my leeks can go in the same spot on the allotment. This is the first time I've attempted to do this. While the time scales appear to work, the weather will probably cause issues. Still, let's see what happens, I'll let you know if it works or if it doesn't! (My 2014 seed list and planting plan are in my January 2014 posts).
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