What are you sowing ?

[skeast]

Started some tomatoes, salad, spinach today, broad beans, peas and mange tout a couple of weeks ago. Heated propogator [well, cable in sand tray] is set up ready to fill.

Love this time of year, it is so exciting, so much potential Snowdrops are out, crocus nearly there, as are daffs.

What is everyone else starting off now ?

[GeorgeSalt]

Chillies are up in a takeaway tray on the windowsill, I'll need to prick them out of the vermiculite and into some compost as soon as the first true leaves appear.. I found the germinated very quickly stood on the lid of the aquarium for some bottom heat.

For tomatoes we usually rely on the magic compost from the dalek (the tomatoe seeds always survive) and trading with other plot holders. TOH has sown a small sample of saved lettuce seeds as a germination test and they've all woken up.

[Minnesota]

I sure wish we were near seed sowing time in Minnesota...but not quite yet. I just ran out and took this photo of my garden.

[doofaloofa]

Sowed a packet of Meteor peas under my cloch

http://www.selfsufficientish.com/forum/ ... 38&t=27502

[bonniethomas06]

Basil, corriander and chives in the conservatory (now a greenhouse until the autumn, tee hee!)

little gem and mixed leaves in seed trays inside (may just chop the mixed leaves as seedlings)

Broad beans, radish and swiss chard ready for the next dry/sunny day out in the mini patch.

I bought plug toms, peppers and chilli's this year and potted them up into 3inch pots. Yay for the growing season! Was going to give myself a total rest from it this year, but couldn't resist. It's in our genes!

[diggernotdreamer]

I have actually nearly sown myself into a coma, why do I buy so many seeds, why do I alway go completely mad this time of year, few months down the line, I will be drowning in plants demanding to be dealt with ......... but I love it

[doofaloofa]

You have in your draws since Candlemas Day,
All the seed packets you daren’t throw away,
Seed Catalogue cometh as year it doth end,
But look in ye drawer before money you spend.

Throw out ye Parsnip, ‘tis no good next year,
And Scorzonera if there’s any there,
For these have a life that is gone with ye wynde
Unlike all ye seeds of ye cabbagy kinde.

Broccoli, Cauliflower, Sprouts, Cabbage, Kale,
Live long like a farmer that knoweth good ale:
Three years for certain, maybe five or four,
To sow in their seasons they stay in ye drawer.

Kohl-Rabi lasts with them and so does Pei-Tsai,
The winter ‘cos-lettuce’ to sow in july,
But short is the life of ye Turnips and Swedes
Sow next year only enogh for your needs.

Mustard and Cress for when salads come round,
Sow for three seasons so buy half a pound,
Radish lasts four years, both round ones and long,
Sown thinly and often they’re never to strong.

Last year’s left Lettuce sows three summers more,
And Beetroot and Spinach-beet easily four,
But ordinary Spinach, both prickly and round,
Hath one summer left before gaps waste ye ground.

Leeks sow three Aprils and one hath gone past,
And this is as long as ye Carrots will last,
Onion seeds keep till four years have flown by,
Buts sets are so easy and dodge onion-fly.

Store Marrows and Cucumbers, best when they’re old,
Full seven summers’ sowings a packet can hold.
Six hath ye Celery that needs a frost to taste,
So hath Celeriac before it goes to waste.

Broad Beans, French ones, Runners, sown in May,
Each hath a sowing left before you throw away,
And short Peas, tall Peas, fast ones and slow,
Parsley and Salsify have one more spring to sow.

Then fillen ye form that your seedmen doth send,
For novelties plenty, there’s money to spend,
Good seed and good horses are worth the expense,
So pay them your poundies as I paid my pence.

Lawrence D. Hills
1963

[daz101]

I sowed latah super early toms, pak choi, and 2 sorts of basil along with lots of other stuff but those 3 came up in 2 days! am looking forward to the lovage and tree spinach (Chenopodium giganteum) this year too, have a butchers at the spinach, its max height and spread is 8ft by 18in...
http://theceramicgardener.com/wp-conten ... h-tree.jpg
Also Dolichos purpureus (Hyacinth Bean), edible leaves bean and roots....
http://georgeweigel.net/wp-content/uplo ... .pole_.jpg
I reckon these'll look nice either end of my shed on't new allotment?

[123sologne]

Nothing started yet, but really want to get on with it this week-end maybe, with tomatoes, courgettes, aubergines and artichokes at least...

[The Riff-Raff Element]

I've sowed peppers, aubergines and beans, but only four varieties of tomato to date: I need more window sills!

I'm trying a form of hot bed this season - I've three-quarters filled a couple of big wooden planters with fresh horse sh1t and I'll be putting some good compost on top of this. I'm hoping that the heat from the rotting manure will help warm the compost up a little and speed along the lettuce and (later) cucumbers I'm planning for them.

Oh,and I'm not growing potatoes this year. I'll use the space for more melons.

[oldjerry]

I,ve got me F1 Toms about 3'' high under the lights,ditto a dozen or so aubergines,and same in jalapenos.Gardeners delight are a bit behind this.Sowed the first Roma yesterday,will do the second lot at the end of the month.Plus first leeks.I've done the first 20 spud buckets last Friday,hopefully my friendly greengrocer will have a dozen or more spare buckets tomorrow(after Mothering Sunday). Will sow first lot of Runners (Enorma) today(no heat) and some more early peas,and some salad leaves,and Basil........Busy time innit?

Anyone had a bad germination with their onions?Mine are crap,so I've had another go with the left over seed,just to check if it's me or the seed.(Bought a load of sets just in case).

[Odsox]

Oh,and I'm not growing potatoes this year

I'm just the opposite.
I gave up growing maincrop a few years ago, but the money they want for a bag of spuds is getting silly and the quality is going down the pan, so I might as well start growing my own again.

Anyone had a bad germination with their onions?Mine are crap

Yes so are mine. I multiple sowed some Rjinsburger early in polystyrene cells and less than half germinated.
I think I will have to get some sets.

[123sologne]

I've done all I wanted to do yesterday, plus some artichokes and some lettuces! I now have a big table near the window in our main room covered with little pots. I just have to wait and see what comes out.
Today I replanted; well separated; one of my aloes and I now have 9 new pots. No room though to deal with number 2...
As for potatoes, this year, I am planning, Charlottes, King Edwards and Desirees, so this way I cannot mix them up when I later pull them off as they are 3 different colours, yellow, pink and red+white. They should fit all my needs and keep well next winter. As long as they don't get sick... of course.

[doofaloofa]

Just done some toms and peppers on the window cill

[oldjerry]

Anyone had a bad germination with their onions?Mine are crap

Yes I multiple sowed some Rjinsburger early in polystyrene cells and less than half germinated.
I think I will have to get some sets.

D'you think that's because last summer was so wet the flowers never really matured so the quality of the seeds suffered?..lets face it you're never going to get the seed companies to admit anything about variable germination,they just don't acknowledge it.I don't collect my own seed,but that's the way I'm moving.

Maincrop spuds ? Gold dust more like.