Selfsufficientish.com

Hey there!

I'm not an allotment-er, but thought I'd just post what we're growing in our garden this year. It's the first time we've had somewhere large enough to do vegetables at all, so it's just possible that I may have gone slightly overboard....!

So far:

Sprouts, courgettes (two sorts - one very excitingly with sculpted sides), marrows (or 'marrers', as they have become known here), sweet peas, aubergines, nasturtiums, borage, camomile, tarragon, basil, parsley, red onions, all sorts of lettuces, tomatoes, runner beans, French climbing beans, chives, garlic, squashes, pumpkins, hokkaido squashes, and last but not least some 'taters.

Oh, also, I have a question: my basil is showing remarkably little inclination to come up; anyone else had similar problems? New seeds, from a good source, in a reasonable situation (propagator in greenhouse) with me being quite restrained with the water for fear of rotting them!

Well, some say that basil needs light for germination - so if you've buried them too deep, that might be a reason. On the other hand, we tried that out last year and found not much difference between light and dark germination (I think the ones I didn't cover germinated earlier, but the others caught up in the end). Might depend on variety, too.

Hi Kitchenwitch
I'm growing sweet basil at the moment (first time ever). In my enthuasm I sowed them indoors in February at 20 C. I remember covering them lightly. They came up after five or so days. I spoil them somewhat, epsom salts and seaweed extract, they reward me by looking a bit pale. My fault, they are naturally drawn, since I started them so early. I've lost a few on the way but with all honesty I can say that these victims were struggling anyway. They are outside in the growhouse now and have survived a full ten hours outside without the plastic cover. Let you know how they get along now that they are outside.
What type are you growing? I've got another packet to go: spice boys mixture - eight varieties. All mixed up though, unfortunately. May get round to some this weekend. Ah, for time and compost.

Hmmm. Think I might give another lot a go - maybe I did put them down too low. Worth a try, anyway - basil will be mine!