[Zippy]

Can anyone say what was used for seeding and potting on in the war years? Presumably peat based composts were scarce or not available at all? Did people use their own home grown compost heap stuff to sow and pot on with and how did it fair?

We seem these days to use our bin compost as a soil conditioner but was there a time when it was the only sowing medium available I wonder?

[mobilekat]

I think from what I was told, you would sterilise soil (pour boiling water over it)
Let it dry and sieve it.

But most things were sown directly.

Well thats what my grandad did to the end of his days and his garden was great.
And he never rotated his crops either!
All he ever grew was Runner beans (sown from his own seed), peas, carrots, onions, beetroot, a few lettuce and spuds.
I was allowed a row of radishes.
A good double digging of manure and a row of holyhocks for the bees and Gran.
Everything in the same place every year. and a regular hoeing!

[DD.]

Like mobilekat's Grandfather, mine was pretty much the same.

Brassicas were raised in a seed bed in his home garden then transferred to the plot.

You have to bear in mind that there wasn't the choice of the more "exotic" veg - for want of a better word - that needed more TLC. Sweetcorn was unheard of in this country, for example, just maize, the tougher version for cattle feed. The only things he grew were the hardy "staples".

As for F1 hybrids................

[Growster...]

And I read somewhere, that the compost heap wasn't really valued anything like what it is these days, probably because there was more stable/cow manure around then?

Again, reading older books, I've seen that seed beds were the norm, and I really should try it sometime...

[operabunny]

My nan used to tell me about people running out to shovel up behind 'Old Ned' as she travelled around on the cart with her dad.

[mumofstig]

I remember mum buying plants from the market stall..bunches of runner beans cabbages etc. with most of the earth shaken off and wrapped up in a bit of damp newspaper
Obviously grown in large earth seedbeds for selling on........
we can still buy them in our local market ( but beware of buying brassicas this way, as you can import club root )

and yes fresh horse dung from the coalman's and scrapman's horses

[aelf]

I have a WW11 Ministry of Agriculture book on growing your own veg at home. I'll try and remember to look it up tonight (that's if I don't open the wine first  :blink: ) and let you know what the official advice was.

[Kristen]

The John Innes formulations were developed in the 1930's ... dunno if lack of Peat or any other ingredients for the Base fertilizer meant it was realistic to use during WWII ?

[aelf]

Right, my book says nothing about seed compost, just talks of light, well drained soil for the seed beds. As for potting soil, it recommends leaf mould or soil from old pastures which has been stacked for a year and turned regularly with the addition of soot. I wonder when seed compost became a necessity?
Time for the wine now... :happy:

[mumofstig]

Aaah! that'll be why parts of my garden veg area has earth that is nearly black with soot 

[Zippy]

I think its fascinating to hear of how things were done in those times. Thank you for the replies friends.