08 Mar - Spring? Nah! Snow.

The first week of March has been cold but fine. I've managed to make a start on some of the allotment beds. There's been very little rain this winter (which is a worry) so my clay has been fine to work, even the winter bed that had no cover. Anyway, I've prepared a bed for the Sturon onion sets which will be going out in a fortnight or so and I've started to prepare an area for salads. Both have been dug, weeded and fertilizer added.

Then today I woke up to snow. I don't mind a bit of the white stuff but around December, not bloody March when I'm looking forward to seedlings and spring! Oh well, every thing's on hold for a few days. (Pic 08 Mar 23).

In the greenhouse I've transplanted my leeks (Elefant) from the small seed tray they were sown in, into a much larger tray. I've spaced them out and hopefully they'll grow on now for a few months before being planted on the plot in their final positions early summer(ish).

The small selection of tomatoes (Roma & Moneymaker) have been re-potted too. While the leeks can take a bit of cold in the unheated greenhouse, the tomatoes are still on the windowsill in the house - it's just too cold for them anywhere else at the moment.

Likewise, the early lettuce I sowed in February are inside too. I've thinned them out to a few per cell as soon as they developed true leaves. I've also sown a few more in a pot as part of my plan to successively sow salad this year. The early salads will go into the plot as soon as the weather permits though initially with protection.

In the heated propagator I currently have a few capsicum peppers (germination has been poor so far), a second pot of lettuce and some salad onions (I'm trying the clump in a cell method). Well, that's it for now, there will be a lot more going on this month as soon as this cold snap passes and we can all get on with spring.

Bye for now.

12 Feb - Early Seed Sowing

We're finally into the middle of February and the end of winter is in sight. Yes, there'll be frost, flurries and frustration to come yet but spring is on the horizon nonetheless. (Pic - a frosty, early morning looking across the site).

This is the month I break out the propagator and warm it up in the house. The first seeds sown are some tomatoes, this year I've gone for some Roma plum type and Moneymaker which I haven't grown for a few years. I've had problems with 'dampening off' in the past so I now raise seedlings in single use bio degradable pots with a decent seed compound. That way I reduce the risk of any fungal nasties attacking the small plants; I find this can happen when the tomatoes are being raised early in the year.

I've also sown my leeks, trying Elefant for the first time this year. I've sown them in a half sized seed tray and I'll transplant into a wider and deeper tray when the plants are big enough to handle. They'll grow on there for a few months before being planted out into their final positions.

The other plant that I always get under way in early February are sweet peppers. They can take up to three weeks to germinate even with bottom heat and the plants take a fair time to develop. This year I'm growing Romano mixed for the first time, a more elongated fruit rather than a bell shape - I've done the usual Californian Wonder and the lovely Torro Rossa (bull's horns) in the past. If I've got the space I'll stick a plant or two in the greenhouse but I've had peppers with the plants out on the plot so most of them will go there.

 

As the propagator is on, I've sown some lettuce seed. Lettuce doesn't like particularly warm conditions to germinate (sowing in a hot, summer greenhouse can cause failure) so I'll keep an eye on them. If there's no sign in 10-14 days I'll put them somewhere a little cooler. It's a little early for lettuce but I hope to pop the plants out with protection at the end of March or, if it's still really cold, I'll pot them up in the greenhouse for an early protected crop.

The lettuce is part of my plan to make more of an effort with salads this year. I always sow too many, end up with a glut then forget to re-sow. This year I want to sow little and often and hopefully I can crop for a much longer part of the season. I've sown two basic types of lettuce, Webbs Wonderful and Little Gem, both have served me well in the past, not particularly exotic but they work. I've also put some White Lisbon salad onions into cells and will plant each cell out in a clump - they seem to do well that way because I thin the clump as I pick them, letting the others grow on. Again, I'll be re-sowing throughout the season.

I've taken the Rocket seed potatoes out of their bags and have stood them up in a couple of seed trays to chit. The shoots, which will become the green part of the plant, are already beginning to sprout. If you leave them in the net bags they grow through and you end up breaking the shoots when trying to get them out.

OK, that's it for this post. Things are getting under way despite it still being firmly winter. Still, let's look forward to spring.

Bye for now!