Even more sowing...

As March starts creeping away from us, I'm out in the garden even more, sowing as many seeds as I possibly can. Sadly, we're troubled with Covid 19 and the schools are currently closed to help prevent the spread of the virus, so I've enrolled the help of my two children, giving them lessons in plant biology at the same time!

So, today we've started with peas. My kids will pick these and eat them fresh so we're sowing plenty of these to get growing. There's seven varieties that I have and these are:

Avola
Onward
Rondo
Meteor
Hurst Green Shaft
Kleine Rheinlanderin
Kelvedon Wonder

This will be a good test to see which varieties will grow well and which will produce the most peas. It'll be good to compare the claims on the packet to the actual plants.

I always grow peas in toilet rolls, which I collect all year round (much to the annoyance of my husband), as I was told many years ago that peas don't like to have their roots disturbed. Having been told this I have always grown peas in cardboard as I can simply put them out in the soil complete with their pots.
Another way of growing under glass to start your peas off, as a fellow gardener uses, is to sow the seeds in guttering. My friend does this so she can simply push the peas out into prepared trenches, thus not really disturbing the roots too much.
The final way (and probably the easiest), is to sow the seeds directly into the soil where you want to grow them. To do this, you will need to protect your seedlings from birds (especially pigeons). I've done this too and for basic protection I have used netting, until the plants were around 20cm tall. Peas have grown successfully for me this way, but it took more effort with weeding!
Peas will need support once you've got them in place as they are climbers. They're not fussy, so you can use a variety of materials for this. I have used hazel and other wood, bamboo canes and string. As long as whatever you choose to use has the strength to support your peas and is a good height (50cm-80cm is usually what I aim for). Last year I used two stakes and some chicken wire, which was good enough.

From compost filled toilet rolls to tasty peas. 

I also got my children to prepare one of the raised beds in the polytunnel to sow some salad crop. The raised bed was already weeded and there's no need to dig the soil there as it's already in great condition. My son topped the bed with fresh compost to give it some much needed nutrients, raking it on the surface. Next, my daughter used a small hoe to mark out four trenches. The two of them then added seeds. These were radishes, kale, leaf beet and Swiss chard. Both watered (without any arguments) before leaving me to finish off some more sowing.

This year I've opted for growing onions from seed, which is what I used to do when I first moved in with Steve and took to working the garden. I've gone for classic choices in red and white onions: Red Baron and Bedfordshire Champion. I'll be aiming to grow Japanese onions later in the year (sowing usually happens in July/August time), to grow onions in succession.

Onion seeds are small, black and therefore difficult to see once in the soil. I sowed mine in two small trays.

When preparing pots and trays, take care to look for hidden pests. I had a great number of snails and slugs tucked away in various places. None were killed - just carefully placed as far away as possible!

I also took the time to sow kohl rabi, broccoli, cape gooseberry and sweet peppers. All are being kept in the polytunnel until I take out my pots (with tender plants) from the green house and create some space there.

I'm really happy with my tomatoes - several varieties are germinating! I did put these seeds in heated propagators, which are still on. It is still early in the year and last night we did have a frost, so I'm taking my time with plants that prefer warmth. No aubergines or courgettes yet though so watch this space!

Hello babies! I'm really looking forward to these growing on.

A closer look at a tomato seedling.

The broad beans are flowering so I couldn't miss an opportunity to photograph these lovelies. Vegetable flowers can be just as beautiful as cut flowers to me. 

Finally, I'll be trying to work in the garden a little bit every day now, to really get things going. There's still an awful lot to do but while I'm at home, I do have the time to give the garden a bit more of my attention.

March sowing

This weekend I promised I'd start to sow Mediterranean veg so I sorted through my seed catalogue and selected three things: tomatoes, courgettes and aubergines. Despite the fact that it's warming up and forecasts suggest 16 degrees next week, I'm going to use my heated propagators for all three to help the seeds germinate.

That's a lot of seeds! 

Tomatoes:

The whole family love tomatoes. My children prefer simply picking them off the plants and eating them fresh and in salads. My husband and I enjoy them fresh too but we also use them a lot in cooking. In the past I've made passata, which I stored in jars over winter to add to sauces and dishes.

 I've got quite a few varieties sown so here's a list:

For passata - 

• Marmande
• Cour de bue
• Roma
• Red pear

For salads and cooking - 

• Moneymaker
• Harbinger
• Red cherry
• Gardener's delight
• San Marzano red plum
• Yellow perfection
• Ildi
• Gartenperle

For interesting colours and flavours - 

• Noir russe
• Black opal
• Noir de crimee

I've sown five of each variety and am hoping for good germination. Once these start growing on, I'll move them to various places in the garden but will try to keep most indoors - greenhouse and polytunnel (depending on room). 

Tomatoes always seem to taste better when freshly picked! 

Tomato seeds were lightly covered with some compost and then watered.

The heated propagators are covered to prevent heat loss and stop the compost getting dry too quickly.

Courgettes:

Rarely wasted in my garden, courgettes are quite versatile. I've sown one variety only - Black Beauty, but I'm hoping that three plants will provide plenty of food for the four of us and other family members. Courgettes are not something that I store over winter so it's truly a seasonal veg for me. I like to add it in soups whereas my mother has a very simple dish of sliced courgette cooked in passata to add to a main meal. 

Courgettes tend to dislike windy areas, which is why they've always preferred my garden to the allotment, which was too exposed. I'll be looking at where a good site will be for them as I plan the veg garden in the next few weeks. 

I've sown three seeds, into potting compost (peat free), and placed these in a heated propagator too. 

Aubergines:

Two varieties will feature this year, provided they will grow well. I've managed to grow good plants but not always good fruit. Viserba and Long Purple, two classic purple varieties, but there are more out there to choose from. Below is a photograph of some very striking looking aubergines trialled at a local grower's:

They may look very different but these are all varieties of aubergine.

A very beautiful aubergine flower. 

I'll be focusing on potatoes and mushrooms next time. The garden will still have plenty of room for more fruit and veg, which I will have a think about over the week. I'll also be planning what goes where once my seedlings have started to make an appearance. 

Until next time!

  

Fresh start, fresh plot

Well, it's certainly been an interesting winter - mild with barely any frost my way. Aside from the weather, I've made a big decision that will change my garden - I'm giving up my allotment plot. I'll still keep on writing though because now I'll be growing more in my own back garden.

Now that the kids would rather go out than play in the garden (they're old enough to go out the local park and shops etc), I have more garden to play with myself! I've decided to reclaim what was the grow your own patch and add more edibles in pots, leaving plenty of room for flowering plants and shrubs for wildlife. Sadly, due to the recent storms I lost one of my eucalyptus trees but I'm keeping the wood as it's hard and I have a few ideas.

So, to get to the serious gardening stuff: I started early with some seeds to see how well they would do. The plants selected were broad beans, garlic, spring onions and chillies. In short the spring onions didn't do too great so I'm sowing more again soon. Here's the rest:

Broad beans

I used a few varieties, including the Sutton and Aquadulce Claudia, which have done quite well. Back in November about 50 seeds were sown and now after some not germinating and a bout of fungal disease, there's about 30 plants, which is more than enough for a small family. Beans are a firm favourite with my children so there'll be more to come in the shape of runners and French come April time.

Why sow so early? Broad beans are hardy plants and seeds can germinate at low temperatures so you don't need to use heated propagators or bring seed trays into the warmth. In my case I left them in the polytunnel and they did well apart from fungus getting to some of them. To prevent all my plants from dying I simply threw away the infected ones (burning helps kill fungus), being careful not to add them to my compost heap (well, you don't want to spread disease, do you).

The surviving seedlings were transplanted to larger pots (0.5ltr size) to grow on in January and now in early March I've put them outside in prepared beds. Careful not to dig too much as I don't want to disturb the wildlife in the soil, I added home produced compost to the beds as feed for the beans. Once this has been done there's little needing to be done. Broad beans don't need much more care really, which is great for those of us who like the idea of growing our own but don't want to spend too much time or don't have much knowledge of horticulture. Sit back and enjoy picking them when the time comes!

Healthy looking roots of the broad bean.

 One that didn't make it.

The forest of beans in my polytunnel was starting to take over and the plants were getting to close to each other. Now they're spaced out in the fresh air.

 Garlic

I don't know a lot of people that grow garlic and to be honest I've not always done very well in growing it, but this year I changed my method. I took to growing it in pots. Two pots were prepared and nine are growing quite well. Like other members of the allium family, garlic doesn't like invading weeds so growing in pots is easier to control, provided you give them sufficient space. Garlic for growing can be purchased in the early winter months and the coldness can wake them up, which means another job out of the way before March, but remember to keep the weeds out! Finally, on garlic, here's a strange tip: my mother would put two or three cloves of garlic in water and let that sit for a couple of weeks. She would then dilute that garlic water in a watering can and use it to hydrate her roses. I don't know if it was just a coincidence but the roses watered with this would have a stronger scent than those that didn't! Maybe I'll give this a try this year and let you know.

Garlic growing wonderfully in pots! Not a weed in sight so these guys should be comfortable.

Chillies

Not usually the type of veg you'd think of starting as early as November but I took two varieties to the test: Apache and Jalapeno. Apache is a variety that can be sown in November, Jalapeno didn't do too well - out of 6 seeds sown only two germinated, whereas 5 Apache are growing nicely. Typically, most seeds need daylight and warmer soil to kick start germination. Extra light wasn't given to my seeds but they were left on a window sill inside the house, above a radiator. Repotting has only just been done (using 0.5ltr pots again) to give their roots more room and more nutrition. I've also given them support with 30cm sticks. Not daring to leave them in the greenhouse just yet, they are back in the house on the same window sill for now. I'll move them outside once the weather warms up and repot them once more into larger pots.

New beginnings - I was skeptical at first sowing in November!

0.5ltr pots with peat free compost.

Now transplanted into those pots to grow on. I'll be moving them to bigger pots again in a month or so, depending on their growth.

Some gentle support by means of loosely tied string to aid the plants.

And finally...

...I'm also adding horseradish to my herb patch. I purchased a packet of two thongs by Taylors, which cost £2.99. I don't think that's a bad price, especially as when looked after, the horseradish should carry on growing for years as it is a perennial plant, so I shouldn't have to buy any more. Carefully digging the ground and freeing it of weeds, I planted the thongs with 5cm of soil above their tips. I'm hoping to see some growth in about three-four weeks.

This caught my eye at a local garden centre and as my husband loves horseradish, why not?

You can see here that the thongs do show some life. Alternatively, if you know someone who grows this they can always dig some up for you to plant in your garden instead of buying any but beware of pests and diseases in this case.

It's seemed relatively easy work so far this year but I know that there's hard work around the corner. Next week I'm hoping to sow some Mediterranean fruit and veg (think aubergines, tomatoes) and work on my plants and shrubs. Don't let the weather put you off - we sometimes allow ourselves to be trapped indoors over winter but now the days are getting longer and warmer so get on out there!

Till next time x