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Friday, March 15, 2013

Spring Jobs and seed sowing

This is transition time, from the over-wintered crops to preparation time for new sowing and planting, of course some crops for this year were planted in the autumn, garlic, broad beans and so on. The carrots, parsnips, spinach (leaf beet) beetroot are having to make way and the Brussels sprouts, leeks, kale and spring greens will have to give up their beds soon too.

It's also a confusing time weather-wise, alternating between dry frosts (with occasional powdery snow) and today, rain and 8 deg C.

Parsnip, carrots and beetroot ready for use (see the lovely Tête à Tête enjoying the spring sunshine)

The parsnip and spinach (leaf beet) cleared and off-cuts of leaf beet left to rot in.
I'll be putting manure on here very soon  in preparation as one of the potato beds.

These are over-wintered alliums: Elephant and ordinary garlic, onions ans shallots.

One of the broad bean beds, some gaps to be filled by fresh sowing after Jack Frost re-visited

Cabbage (spring greens) just staring to leaf up, so ready for use soon.

The last few leeks (I'd just dug some - we had leek and potato soup for lunch today).

In the summerhouse (easier to keep warm than one of the greenhouses)
celeriac germinated and taken from the cosy propagator 

In the last week or so, I have sown:

BASIL Lettuce Leaved
BEAN, Broad. Aquadulce Claudia (Infilling)

BROCCOLI Tenderstem Green Inspiration F1 (one of my all time favourite vegetables)
BRUSSELS SPROUT Bosworth F1
BRUSSELS SPROUT Revenge F1
CABBAGE Marner Early Red
CELERIAC Monarch
COSMOS Brightness Mixed (helping out Mrs Soggy)
CUCUMBER Bella F1 (A new variety to try)

LEEK Giant Winter
LEEK Oarsman F1
MARIGOLD French (For companion planting with the greenhouse tomatoes)

ONION Salad Performer
ONION Salad White Lisbon
PAK CHOI Green F1
PEA Mange Tout Kennedy  (In root trainers)
PEA Rapido Petit Pois (In root trainers)
PEA Twinkle (In root trainers)
RUBBECKIA Cherry Brandy (helping out Mrs Soggy)
SALAD Leaves Speedy
SPINACH Tirza
SWEET PEA King Size Navy Blue (helping out Mrs Soggy)

I have gone back to root trainer module sowing for the early peas, after experimenting with sowings in plastic guttering last year. The idea is to slide the peas and their undisturbed roots out of the plastic gutter and into the soil; I think there was more root disturbance than with modules.




2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great Blog and posts! Question on cabbage: looks like it has over wintered, Mine too. and It's leafing up instead heading up. This is my first year growing cabbage so I don't know what to expect. Will it never head up now temps are warming?

Anonymous said...

Thanks for your comment, always good to get feedback.
You could give the cabbages some feed, which will support leaf growth, such as a weak solution of sea weed feed. (Search for SM3 here: www.organiccatalogue.com)
Mind you, it does depend what varieties you are growing. Some will tend towards firm heads, but others will be more leafy spring greens types.