I received one of my usual seed catalogues this week and it has prompted me to start thinking about the upcoming season. I've made a list of what I need and have done a bit of shopping and online ordering.
Fortunately I bought in quite a bit of new seed last year and grabbed some things I knew I would need in the sales too. So, not too much to buy this year except the usual potatoes, onions and a few packets of lettuce and some Cobra French beans.
So here's my seed list for 2017 with the idea of not planting too much.
Onion
Leek - Musselburgh
Garlic - Germidor (saved cloves)
Onion Sets - Sturon
Spring Onion - White Lisbon
Brassica
Swede - Wilhelmsburger
Cabbage Summer - Primo II (just a few with maybe a red too)
Cabbage Winter - Tundra
Brussels Sprout - Bosworth F1
Kale - both Black Tusan and Dwarf Green Curled
Legumes
Broad Bean - Bunyard's Exhibition
Runner Bean - Firestorm self-pollinating
Climbing French Bean - Cobra
Dwarf French Bean - Nautica
Root
Parsnip - Gladiator F1
Beetroot - Detroit II
Carrot Large - Sweet Candle F1
Carrot Small - Nantes 5
Potato Early - Rocket
Potato Main Crop - Sarpo Mira
Salad
Radish - French Breakfast
Lettuce - Lollo Rossa and Little Gem
Sweet Corn - Incredible F1
Spinach - Lazio F1
Squash
Winter Squash - Crown Prince
Butternut Squash - Hunter F1
Pumpkin - Big Max
Courgette (gold) - Atena F1
Courgette (green) - Defender F1 (new)
Greenhouse Plants
Tomato - Alicante
Tomato - Super Marmande
Bell Pepper - California Wonder
I've dumped some things too, cucumber, peas, turnip and cauliflower while intending to limit the planting of butternut squash as they really don't store as well (they rot at the stalks and I've thrown out loads this year). I tried Crown Prince last season and they proved tasty, large, easy to prepare and they store well; Crown Prince have turned out to be a favourite.
The weather has been a bit up and down this month; it's been both very cold and icy, we even had a dusting of snow on the 13th and, on the other hand, we've had it wet and mild with temperatures around 10-12 degrees. I've been picking Bosworth F1 Brussels Sprouts which have produced another fine crop and are now my first choice. The leeks are looking a bit tatty but are thick stemmed and I've still got loads of them; I'm picking Kale which has proved useful through the dark months as a nice green and still have parsnips to dig. In storage I've loads of onions and a remaining sack of sarpo mira potatoes as well as beans and sweet corn in the freezer. (Pic - light dusting of snow on the 13th Jan).
I bought my early potatoes yesterday - I've chosen Rocket again - if the weather is kind I can plant them mid-March and will be able to dig them from the first week of June. They always do well and produce a fair number; I was digging them until the middle of August last season. I've ordered my sarpo mira online, I'll stick with the blight resistant variety as they were still growing and putting on weight into October, fantastic.
Well that's it, 2017 season is up and running! Bye for now.
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