planting seeds

hi everyone ,

a question. can i plant seeds straight into the ground on the allotment?

i was going to get some summer cabbage,broccoli, and brussels planted.

also my old man as given me some boccoli and cabbage seedlings which are are about 3 inches high,but they are leggy, can these still be put into the allotment?

thanks.

sometimes worth having a word with the neighbours at your site as they may know what it's like there although there's nothing wrong with sowing direct on the plot but do take some preventative action against slug damage (they just love brassica seedlings!)  Personally I sow at home, pot on until I get a good root system before planting brassicas on the plot so that I can reduce clubroot.

As for leggy brassicas, you can plant them deep so that the soil is at stem level    Don't forget to also put collars round to prevent root fly burrowing in, and arrange to put netting over to stop the pigeons pecking at them, and cabbage white butterfly from laying eggs.

It is suggested to use collars on all brassica plants - cabbages, broccoli, etc.  I buy them (about £3 per 20-30) but they can be made from carpet underlay or other materials. 

They are discs of about 3" in diameter that you place round the stem of the plant when planting, so that the cabbage root fly can't burrow into the soil and lay its eggs.

There have been previous posts on this, if you need more info try a search in this forum.