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By Mrs FM
Hartley.
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& Old
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Alan J Hartley
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Seed
Sowing Again.
I normally grow one batch of
Broad Beans that I sow directly in the ground at the back end of Autumn
each year, but last season I put a second batch in, in the following
Spring, after Winter. Both sowings did well and allowed me to put
another crop in consisting of Leeks, afterwards, so the space was well
used. With this success I put my usual sowing of beans in at the end of
last October and have just sown some more, in trays, in my green house.
I could have put them in the ground, but Mice really love to eat them
before they start shooting and then, when they do shoot, the Mice will
leave them alone. Apart from protecting them from Mice, the added warmth
of the green House should get them into growth a bit more readily as
they are also prone to rotting if they get too wet when they aren’t
shooting.
When sowing seeds, and rooting cuttings in pots and trays to grow for
their Allotments, people often use old compost and sometimes even garden
soil, but this practice really is not to be recommended. It is always
worth using proper, bought in, new, potting compost whenever starting
things off in pots or trays. The difference you will see in germination
and growth is dramatic and the cost of a large bag of Potting Compost
compared to buying a few trays of well grown seedlings is very small.
The same does not go for empty seed trays and pots however. New trays
are quite expensive to buy and old ones can readily be recycled, but
here the crucial thing is to wash them before using them. Not only will
this remove any diseases that may be existing in bits of compost stuck
to the pots and trays, but slug eggs and dormant snails could well be
hiding in crevices and may well come back to life with a bit of warmth
and moisture. More to the point, after they have emerged they will find
the seedlings that you have carefully grown, irresistible.
Using some recycled trays I have also been sowing several other things
throughout this month. Some, like the Cape Gooseberries and Leeks, have
been for myself, but the Parsley, Asparagus and Globe Artichokes were
put in for the Fundraiser in late Spring. As we had an unusual amount of
cold weather at the start of February I put most of the trays of seeds
on the Kitchen Windowsill, a few of at a time, to give them a bit of a
boost until they germinated before transferring them to an unheated
Propagator in my Green House. Seeds of some of the hardier plants went
directly into unheated Propagators in the Green House though. On my
Allotment I have, or at least I am hoping I have, a couple of bunches of
Chives, although they are not shooting yet. I was going to divide them,
but have decided to put some seed in, instead a little later in the
Month. Later on, when we next have a moist and milder spell, I will also
be sowing some Parsnip seeds directly in the ground in my Plot.
This Winter I decided to run an extension cable out to my Green House to
power a thermostatically controlled Fan Heater. Most years, I would only
need to have it on for a few odd nights during the whole of Winter, so I
just put out the cable when needed, but this year we have had lots of
cold, frosty and Snowy spells throughout most of January and into
February. Extension cables are fine for use on odd nights, but are not
safe for regular outdoor use and indeed are not legal for permanent use.
So, I really will have to consider having a proper, reinforced,
underground cable, professionally installed by an electrician to provide
permanent power to my Green House. If I do I will be able to use
electrically heated Propagators as well and maybe even install a soil
warming cable to make a proper propagating bench.
Garlic bulbs are still on sale in some shops, but late planting in the
Spring and not having a cold spell after planting, is said to be the
main reason why Cloves sometimes don’t develop properly and form new
Bulbs that are properly divided into Cloves. They really should be
planted at the end of Autumn before the Winter sets in.
Onion Sets and Shallots are also on sale now, but these are alright to
go in for some weeks yet. On the subject of Onions, I have just moved
and replanted my Egyptian and Welsh onions, although the Welsh Onions
are not really shooting yet so I am hoping they will be all right. They
have been put into the new raised bed that I installed amongst my Fruit
Bushes and Strawberries next to the beds with some more permanent
plantings of vegetables that include Sea Kale, Globe Artichokes and
Asparagus.
The Onions will need to be divided and re-planted from time
to time, but otherwise don’t need to be re-sown/propagated each year so
they too are permanent plantings. As the Chives come into growth a
couple of clumps of those will be joining them because they go from year
to year as well. There may be room to put in a little patch of Oca that,
although they are dug up each year to harvest them, can be left in the
same place year after year. Indeed if they aren’t dug up very carefully
they will self set quite happily as do the Jerusalem Artichokes that I
grow in another bed elsewhere. There aren’t too many of this type of
vegetable that goes from one year to the next in the same spot, but they
are most welcome and make planting and organising my beds so much
easier.
Elsewhere, my Rhubarb, another permanent planting, is just starting to
shoot and I should be able to start picking soon. Some people like to
“Force,” this as I do the Sea Kale, to make it sweeter. With the Sea
Kale I just use an upturned Bucket, but for Rhubarb you need something
much bigger. You can buy proper, pottery, Rhubarb forcing jars, but they
are horrendously expensive and to be honest an up-tuned old plastic
dustbin can be used, although it is a bit of over kill!
Next month, March, more things
will start into growth and a lot more seeds can be sown including things
like some Brassicas, Beetroot, Turnips and Swede although tender things
like Runner Beans, Corgettes and Tomatoes will be a few weeks yet.
 
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