Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat

Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: Babstreefern on January 02, 2011, 21:40

Title: Start of the new growing season
Post by: Babstreefern on January 02, 2011, 21:40
Have now started.  Went today to the allotment, and buried my garlic (really, really late this year) :(, and moved the goosegog bushes to their new positions :D.  Weather permitting, will be moving my cherry and apple trees to their new positions next weekend.

Now all I have to do is go through my seed packets and put them in my diary of when to start them off.  I really used to hate this time of year when its dark in the morning and dark at night - now I can see its not that far off from Spring - and all my seed trays should be full of greenery. :D
Title: Re: Start of the new growing season
Post by: TheSpartacat on January 03, 2011, 01:38
Know how you feel... i'm itching to start sowing something!!! Have rearranged my seed packets a gazillion times... I made up little baggies of seeds, each with sowing instructions (all handwritten coz i've no printer!) for my brother who's just taken on his first allotment too!! Just to get him started.. that was the "frugal handmade" part of his crimbo present. (The other half of his present would fit better in a hip flask... LOL)
Now I'm writing lists of things i might need.... like debris netting, and labelling sticks, and string, and canes, and.... draw up the sixth or seventh version of my plot plan....

... six weeks til its safe to start sowing indoors d'ya reckon?


Title: Re: Start of the new growing season
Post by: DD. on January 03, 2011, 05:13

... six weeks til its safe to start sowing indoors d'ya reckon?



Depends on what you're sowing. That's about right for my tomatoes though.
Title: Re: Start of the new growing season
Post by: Mash Mad on January 03, 2011, 13:23
Ive got a number of things/tasks to be getting on within the next few months to prepare for what im growing.....  :) im looking really forward to it aswell..  Im thinking of putting in some garlic but since its a bit late im thinking of planting the bulbs into pots in the greenhouse and plant them out when ready :) assuming thats ok  :unsure:

a huge part of the season started for me when i sowed my exhibition onion seeds on Christmas eve  :) about 10 have come though at the moment.....  I use a grow light and have them in heated propagators in a homemade growing chamber  ;) otherwise theres noway without these that they'll germinate in such a quick time
Title: Re: Start of the new growing season
Post by: TheSpartacat on January 03, 2011, 16:20
Ive got a number of things/tasks to be getting on within the next few months to prepare for what im growing.....  :) im looking really forward to it aswell..  Im thinking of putting in some garlic but since its a bit late im thinking of planting the bulbs into pots in the greenhouse and plant them out when ready :) assuming thats ok  :unsure:

I would have thought you would certainly get away with still planting your garlic. But must be planted outdoors- they need a cold frosty snap to make them split into cloves, else you'll get a garlic shallot of some description!
The garlic farm shop say that Isle of Wight garlic is sown Oct to Feb on their website.
I still have 2 bulbs I've not planted yet (and refusing to panic about them- they're going in the ground next week! One's in the cupboard, the other is pretending it's Winter in the fridge.... lol .. will see if it makes any difference to them)
http://www.thegarlicfarm.co.uk/garlicgrow.aspx

Some yrs when I've sown garlic v early, they started shoots and then stopped growing completely over the cold period, like they're in suspended growth.... and then put on most of the growth after the frosts. When i've planted them later, they've not put out any shoots until about Feb- but they were still a good harvest, but maybe a little later?)

The later you leave it, the more risk of not catching sufficient cold weather... Don't panic, just stick em in the ground!! :-) (thats my motto for everything green!!!ha ha)

Depends on what you're sowing. That's about right for my tomatoes though.

Yup. Was thinking tomatoes and chilli. I used to start them a bit later, because i would grow on in my sheltered wee (very wee) garden, and they'd never get blight - but now i've got a plot- they all got hit with blight before most of the tomatoes were ripe!  :( ... so want to be harvesting earlier!!
Worried about them getting long and leggy though- but will pop em in the tent polytunnel in pots in April May, i'm hoping...

Also chilli peppers- got quite a few rarities I'm trying this year from real seeds- Purple Venezuelan, Pretty in Purple Rainbow Chile, And Dedo de Mocha (which is a chilli without the heat- technically a different species), along with the usual Anaheims and Santa Fe... quite excited!!!  (hopefully by Autumn I'll be foisting seeds on everyone!! ha ha)
Title: Re: Start of the new growing season
Post by: solway cropper on January 03, 2011, 21:51
For the last few years I've begun to feel that the new season starts as soon as Wilko's clear the Christmas stuff off the shelves and start putting out the seed packets  :)

I'm ashamed to admit I bought three packets I didn't need just because it was buy two get one free.

Now, what's the number for seedaholics anonymous?
Title: Re: Start of the new growing season
Post by: WeedfreeWill on January 03, 2011, 22:11
I am getting all excited also, the past month i have been going mad with catalogues and sales (yes at wilkos too).

Need to get my garlic in asap, my New years resolution was to stop procrastinating but I've already started, thats not a pun by the way!
Title: Re: Start of the new growing season
Post by: Christo on January 04, 2011, 18:24
I'm itching to get back to it! I've got the last of my digging to do this weekend, then I'll start my preparing for my first plantings and sowings! Very excited. I might nip out and get some garlic. Never tried that before.  :)