[Heres_Johnny]

On a whim I picked up some seed potatoes at the weekend, while researching what to do with them I became inspired to try my hand at growing a lot more. I've got a good sized garden to work with, but it is currently a bit of a jungle so I'm planning to initially grow things in pots/bags until I can tame it.

The potatoes are currently sat in an egg box on the window sill in the coolest room in the house, I'm looking to get some cucumber and tomatoes sown, which I'm going to get a plastic growhouse for (just until I can get a permanent greenhouse in place). Finally I'm hoping to have the garden sorted out in time to get some parsnips and brussel sprouts in for Christmas. If any of this turns out to be edible I'm sure the family will start requesting stuff (the wife has already asked about sweet peppers).

I'm totally new to this and while I've already learnt lots from looking around this site I would appreciate any advice anyone has to offer.

Cheers

John

[Yorkie]

Welcome to the site 

I'm going to move your questions across to the GYO board so the growing peeps can have a look at them.

Feel free to pop back into the Welcome board and introduce yourself for a proper welcome    It will also help if you could add your general location to your forum profile as it's often relevant when discussing growing questions.

[Yorkie]

OK, now we're over in GYO 

You're doing the right thing with the spuds by leaving them in a cool, light place.  They can go in any time from end of March to probably late April / early May (depending on which variety / type they are).

Parsnips often don't germinate well when sown too early.  You'll find that packets say they can be sown from Feb.  I don't bother before April, particularly if the early spring has been cold and wet, as the seeds can just rot off instead of growing.

The small plastic greenhouse won't provide sufficient thermal insulation for tomatoes / cucumbers if you're aiming to get an early start.  In reality, unless your greenhouse is properly heated, it's not worth starting things off early in it because of the risk of frost and stunting any plants that do start off.  I see you're in Wigan; it is certainly too early to start anything off yet.  I suggest you post a separate question about this in the Growing in the greenhouse board.  Sweet peppers are also likely to be far better in the greenhouse than outdoors.

[Heres_Johnny]

The spuds are Swift, the guy I bought them from told me I should be able to start eating 6-8 weeks after planting.

I was planning to hold off on the parsnips till around late April, hopefully by then I'll have the garden under control. Speaking of which, there's a lot of foliage to get rid of, would this make a good start to a compost bin?

As for the plastic greenhouse, if I hold back with the cucumber/tomatoes til April again would they do ok in there?

Cheers

[Nobbie]

The spuds are Swift, the guy I bought them from told me I should be able to start eating 6-8 weeks after planting.

I was planning to hold off on the parsnips till around late April, hopefully by then I'll have the garden under control. Speaking of which, there's a lot of foliage to get rid of, would this make a good start to a compost bin?

As for the plastic greenhouse, if I hold back with the cucumber/tomatoes til April again would they do ok in there?

Cheers

6-8 weeks seems a bit optimistic for the potatoes, I'd say 8 minimum . Mid to late April for the parsnips should be fine. With the tomatoes, you would need to start them on a sunny windowsill in April and then pot up so they are ready to go out mid to late May depending on the weather. If you sow them in the greenhouse in April, they probably won't germinate as they like it warm.

[Yorkie]

Nobbie's right, you can't realistically grow the tomatoes etc outside until the risk of frost has passed.  That is early June where I live, but it might be slightly earlier (not much) for the North West of England.

They will sulk and possibly not recover if the temperature drops below 10C either during the day or night.  Cucumbers are notoriously keen on dying off, and the seeds are expensive.  It's not worth the risk for them, in my view.