Lets get sowing

There is nothing better to lift your spirits on a dull gloomy day than to sow some seeds in the greenhouse. Although it is still too early to sow most crops there is still lots that could be sown especially if you have the protection of a greenhouse even if it is not heated.

I have not heated my greenhouse for years now and have not had any problems to date yes I have to sow a bit later for some crops. But that dose not matter as the crops always catch up eventually but I have noticed that the harder you grow the plants the better they perform when you plant them out. But at this time of the year there are some crops that once I have sown them I bring them indoors and place them on the window sill to get a bit of heat. Tomatoes, chillies and aubergines all need an early start and a bit of heat to get them off to a good start so they are all put on the window ledge. but brassicas, lettuce, peas are quite happy being sown on the unheated greenhouse if it is going to get really cold I just through a bit of fleece over them for a bit of extra protection. I also start off a few pots of salad leaves, radish and first early potatoes in the greenhouse so we get some early crops before we start cropping outside. It is forecast to rain again tomorrow but hopefully the weather man will get it wrong again and we have a nice dry day so I can do a bit more outside.

Mr Fothergill's New Catalogue

The clatter of the letter box and the post comes tumbling through on to the mat. The girls rush to pick it up it's full of the normal rubbish Electric bills etc but at the bottom of the pile was the new Mr Fothergills catalogue.

It is packed full of all the Mr Fothergills favorites that you would always expect. But new in the catalogue this year starting with the Veg is the new Runner bean 'Firestorm' which is the first self fertile scarlet flowered runner bean. Beans will set in poor weather or in high temps is a good cropper and stringless.In the brassica department is Cauliflower 'Amsterdam F1' is a big mid to late season variety with pure white curds. Pepper 'King of the North' this is a great variety for northern growers or outdoors in the south as it is one of the best cool tolerant peppers well worth growing. Another new introduction in the pepper section is 'Sweet Sunshine F1' which is a unique trailing variety ideal for hanging baskets or your window box it is a sweet pepper but with the look of a chilly pepper ripens an orange/yellow colour.
There are some great new flowers on offer as well Aster 'Valkyrie mixed' with its quilled slender petals in a mix of pastel colours growing to 75cm (30") tall. Coreopsis grandiflora 'sundrops' is a new perennial that flowers in it's first year from sowing with it's lovely weather resistant bright yellow flowers defiantly worth growing in 2015. As it is the year of he Sunflower Mr Fothergills have many new variety's on offer as well as the old favorites. 'Infared F1' a lovely coppery bicoloured flowers growing upto 180cm (6ft) 'Buttercream F1' a multi branching variety with creamy yellow flowers ideal for cut flowers. there are so many more new variety's you need to get the catalogue to have a look they have the largest collection of sunflowers on offer out of any seed company.

To order your own copy just go to there website

www.mr-fothergills.co.uk

Tel :- 0845 3710518