Like an expectant parent

Once you have carefully sown your seeds you have covered them up with the last thin layer of compost then there is the wait. It seems forever but really it's only been a week a gardener is like an expectant parent waiting for there child to appear for all the world to see you are constantly telling everyone what you sowed. Even if they are not the slightest bit interested you still tell them you even tweet a pic of the pot full of compost all your gardening followers like or comment on the pot full of compost. (we are a strange bunch us gardeners) Then there is the checking you are looking at the pots daily even several times a day willing them to grow making sure the temperature is right and that they are not too wet or dry. After several days you then start poking the compost with the label just to see if they are begging to grow. But then the day arrives when you notice a slight bulge in the compost finally they are growing the new plant is pushing its way out of it's seed shell and compost. You are then off to tell everyone again that all those seeds that you sowed a week ago have germinated they are still not interested but you tell them anyway. You take another pic and tweet it and every one congratulates you on the germination of your new plants (as I said we are a strange bunch) some folk even have a celebratory drink to wet the seedling's head. But then why not as it is a new life being brought into the world and it will have to put up with a lot during it's lifetime how ever long or short it will be.

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.

Rain rain go away

Well I was completely and utterly rained off today although it was forecast I was hoping the weather man would get it wrong. But it did give me a chance to sort through my seed box and pull out the seeds that need to be sown this month it also reminded me that I still had not cleaned out the greenhouse. It is still stuffed full of pots, seed trays and half rotting pumpkins that I forgot about from last year.

At least it was dry in the greenhouse I put the barrow by the door and chucked everything in it while trying to keep dry. once cleared I gave everything a brush down and even managed to sieve a bag of compost ready for sowing in the morning. Well lets hope the weather is slightly better in the morning than it was today.



Self Sufficency - Saving seeds for the future.

One of the main aims of being self sufficient is being able to produce as much produce as you can and being able to produce all the resources needed to do that from your own land. So there is a continuous cycle with very little, if no input form the outside world. So to continue the vegetable garden cycle we need to produce as much of our own seeds as possible. This is not as easy as it sounds as there are many problems that you can come across such as cross pollination from similar crops.

So you need to do a bit of careful planning to prevent similar crops flowering at the same time but there are some crops that don't cross with other plants. Such as peas, beans and tomatoes there are couple of good websites that give lots of information that will help you a lot http://www.howtosaveseeds.com and http://www.realseeds.co.uk/seedsavinginfo.html . Real seeds are a great seed company not only do they only sell open pollinated seeds they are the only seed company that encourages you to save your own seeds. Instead of buying seeds from them every year and they also have some great variety's that you can not buy anywhere else.

In the planning you also have to take into account the fact that some are biennials and some are annuals. So they could take up space in your garden for two years where as the annual variety's grow flower and set seed in the same year. Another alternative is to grow some crops in pots that way you can move them around the garden you can also put them in the greenhouse to protect them at the beginning of the year and help them dry out at the end of the season.

I have left lots of plants in the ground this year so I have lots of my own seed to sow next year just one or two plants left to go to seed. Will produce more than enough seed for your own needs and still have lots of seed left to give or swap with your friends.

One point I have not mentioned yet is the fact that you can not save seeds of F1 hybrids, well you can but you will not get the same plant as you grew. This is due to the way they are bred to start with one other point I should make is that F1 Hybrids are not GMO'S which I hear occasionally. They are bread using natural pollination the only different is they are carefully selected and crossed in controlled conditions. This guarantees you get the same shape, size and colour every time and they also tend to harvest at the same time as well which is not what the home gardener really wants. 

Beans and peas are one of the easiest seeds to save they do not cross with other peas and beans so you can grow lots of variety's and get pure seed off them. All you need to do is leave some of the better pods to grow on the plants to mature and dry on the plant.

Dry all your seeds well after harvesting them to make sure they are completely dry then store them in paper bags/envelopes. Making sure you have labelled them with the date of harvest and store them in a dry place and depending on the variety will keep for a couple of years.

 



Preserving your produce for winter use

It is that time of year when there is more produce in the vegetable garden than you can possibly eat fresh.

It dose not matter how well you plan your garden you always end up with lots of one crop at certain times of the year. Mine at the moment is courgettes and runner beans I just cannot keep up with them and you end up being a bit fed up of eating them. So my new preserving bible is Keep it Fresh which came free from DT Brown seeds it is written by Rachel Cole. I keep this book in the kitchen now as I use it so much at this time of the year when I have so much produce coming in from the garden. I am not sure if it is still in print any more I can not find it on there website but it may be worth contacting them to see if it is still in print as it is such a good guide. I want to preserve as much as possible for use through the winter when there is limited fresh vegetables in the garden. I would not normally recommend frozen veg but the veg you freeze your self is so much better than any you can get from the supermarket.

 

 



Wordless Wednesday

Seed Sowing



Wet day

Well its been a bit damp outside today but although any activity out side was off the cards. But there is always plenty to do indoors I started the day buy getting the seed box out and having a sort through picking out what I need to sow this month and what seeds I haven't got and need to get from the garden centre.

Sprouts is what I need so I will pop out in the morning to get a packet and will probably come back with several other packets. I think a may be a Seedaholic no matter how many seeds I have I just can not resist another shiny seed packet to put in the box. I shall set about sowing a few bits in the greenhouse tomorrow Tomatoes, Brassicas etc. the greenhouse is unheated so I will bring the Tomatoes indoors and place them on the window still so they get a bit of heat. But the main job of the day was tidying up the garage it's a job that I have been putting off for the last two years. But when you can no longer get in the garage you realise it's time for a sort out. I did not quite get it all sorted today as I did make a trip to the tip with a car full of broken bits and bobs. So it turn out to be quite a productive day even if I did not do what I had originally planed.





It's all getting a bit seedy

It's seed swaps I am talking about there are lots taking place this month up and down the country. The home of seed swaps is in Brighton over 14 years ago and has now grown into a massive event. Thousands of keen gardeners, growers, and food lovers come together to swap seeds share hints and tips and make new friends. This Saturday was the first one to take place in Northampton it was held in The Looking Glass Theatre in the centre of Northampton.

The event was run in conjunction with Fruitful Abundance which is a Northampton based group which was set up to prevent food waste, encourage more people to grow there own food and generally live a more healthier life style.

The event opened it's doors to the public at 11am there was a steady flow of public all day all where heading straight to the seed swap tables with hands full of there own seeds eager to swap. The way it works is you hand over the seeds you want to swap to one of the lady's they then put them in the different category's Cabbage, Beans etc. Then just help your self to the new seeds you want to grow this year and if you haven't any seeds to swap you just give a donation for what you take. 

There was lots of seeds available to swap thanks to the generosity of Thompson and Morgan, Suttons Seeds, Unwin's Seeds and Marshalls Seeds. Also some local growers donated lots of heritage variety's so there was a good choice of variety's on offer something for every one.

There was lots of talks taking place through out the day on seed saving, urban gardening, bees and eating weeds

Seedy Saturday also saw the first opening of Elsie's Café which is a pay as you feel Real Junk Food Café. There was lots of cakes, biscuits and light lunches all made from food that would have other wise ended up in land fill. So why feed the tip when you can feed belly's come the end of the day there was just a few crumbs left so the food must have been good.

It was a great day and I'm looking forward to next year's already.



January sowings in the Greenhouse

It's cold, wet and there is even snow on the ground but there is still lots to do in the greenhouse to keep the gardener sane. So that is where I have been for  few hours today I needed to do a bit of tidying up of the greenhouse first I haven't been in there for a while. So there was lots of pots on the benches and there was still a couple of pumpkins in there as well that where well and truly past there best.

First on the agenda was Shallots I potted up my 1" shallots into 3" pots using a mix of multi purpose mixed with top soil. These are for the village show in September so fingers crossed they grow well and we get the red card.

Now I missed the boat with the peas and beans last November so I have made a sowing in some module trays in the greenhouse. I should point out that the greenhouse is unheated so they will take a while to come through but they will be good hardy plants when they are big enough to plants out.  I also sowed some big pots with spinach, rocket, lettuce and radish so we get an early crop. I will be sowing lots of other crops carrots, beetroot etc. in big pots over the next few weeks to get lots of early crops from them.

January is also a good time to sow slow growing crops such as Chilly's Peppers and Aubergines although I sowed them in the greenhouse I did move them on to the window sill. To get the heat from the house to help them germinate I will grow them on the window sill until the temps start to rise enough to put them in the greenhouse. It's always great sow a few seeds it encourages you on to get the garden ready for when the whether warms up and we can sow outside it won't be long nw.


Growing The Seeds For The Future - Self Sufficiency

As part of going self sufficient next year one thing I am going to have to start doing is trying to produce as much seed as I can. Now I am by no means going to be able to produce all the seeds in all the variety's that I will need this will be impossible. The space it would take to producing all this seed we also have the problem with cross pollinating.

 But if we can produce some of the more easier variety's then we could save a pound or two over the year. I have saved lots of peas and beans through the summer as well as cucumber, tomatoes and several other vegetables in varying quantity's. So I have made a good start to being partly self sufficient in seeds next summer one veg we do grow in large quantity's is onions. So i have selected four of the best 'Red baron' onions as well as the best of my 'Kelsea' onions that I grew this summer. I potted them up in the greenhouse one bulb per 3lt pot in multi purpose compost. Growing them on in pots helps with two things the first is I can move them around the greenhouse as they grow and also place them outside during the summer. But one of the main reasons is if you suffer from white rot in your soil you can use clean soil to grow on your new stock disease free. Oh there is a third reason as the seed begins to ripen if the whether turns wet you can pick them up and pop them in the dry of your greenhouse.

I use a similar method for root crops such as beetroot, carrots, parsnips etc. but you will need bigger pots to take the shape of the roots. Put about three roots per pot making sure they are not touching to prevent rot and grow on the same as the onions they will flower the following summer. Only put one variety to seed each year to prevent cross pollination between the variety's for more information there is a great website to get more info http://www.howtosaveseeds.com/ .



It's Been a Very Beany Weekend

I managed to get out in the garden this weekend which i have not been able to the last couple of weekends. Now Saturday was not a good start to the weekend as it rained most of the day and when it wasn't raining the ground sodden. So Saturday became a right off now Sunday was a completely different day the day started off with the sun shining through the curtains (i don't get up too early on a Sunday). There is always lots to tidy up at this time of the year whether it's leaves or cutting back those perennials or in my case Beans. My runner beans are well and truly over now and the frost we had last week finally finished them off they where looking very sad for themselves. But before i get rid of them there where lots of dry pods full of beans as part of my bid to go self sufficient next year part of that is to produce a lot of my own seed. 

So i have been saving lots of seed this year from various vegetables in particular peas and beans as they are great for the the home seed saver. As most are in breeders which basically means they pollinate themselves before the flowers open but this is not true with runner beans. They can cross pollinate with other runner beans but there are many self fertile variety's now coming on to the market. I have got lots of french beans and runner beans drying in the greenhouse i spent a good few hours shelling them all ready to store away till the spring when we start the growing season again. 

But we don't have to wait till the spring to do a bit of bean sowing November is an ideal time to sow Broad beans to over winter in the outdoors. I managed to get a row of The Sutton in, this is a small podded variety and also dose not grow as tall like other variety's i must admit that i am not a huge fan of broad beans but do insist on growing a row every winter.

Marshalls Seeds new Catalogue

The Marshall's catalogue is one that i can remember from being a boy my dad would spend many hours flicking through the pages. Deciding on what he was going to grow in the garden next year as kids we always got to open the parcel when it arrived excited to see what was in it. Back then the seed packets where very simple sometimes they just had the name written on the packet things have come on a long way since then. Marshall's seeds only used to be a mail order seed company but they have expanded there range and are now in most good garden centers. 

There are many new variety's on offer this year as well as all the Marshall's favorites that you would expect. There front cover features the new Garlic 'Red Duke' it is a hard neck variety it has lovely big fat reddish cloves. With a good garlic flavor it is also buy one get one free at the moment so well worth a try i have planted it in my new raised bed already I'm looking forward to seeing how it performs over the growing season.

My Garlic cloves 'Red Duke' waiting to be planted.

Another good one to try is going to be Celery 'Blush' this is a British bread variety with a lovely blushed pink stalks will look great in the salad bowl. Courgette 'Lemona' not only is it almost spineless produces a prolific crop of lovely long yellow Courgettes up to 20cm long. another garden staple is the pea and Marshall's have introduced the new vaverity 'Twin Set' it is a very productive variety producing two pods on each node with each pod containing 10 peas with good disease resistance.

To get your hands on your own copy of the new Marshall's catalogue just order through thee website www.marshalls-seeds.co.uk or view on line hear.

Suttons Seeds new catalogue

Suttons seeds have out done them selves again and bring us another great catalogue with many new variety's on offer for you to try in 2015.

The Front cover features the new and improved Carrot 'Rainbow F1' the picture really shows off the great mix of colours that there are in the mix. They also have a lovely new Artichoke 'Purple de Provence this is a fantastic new purple variety that would be fantastic in the flower border. It is said to have a finer flavor than the green variety's only £2.99 per packet with 45 seeds in there will be enough plants to give one to all your friends. The pink banana shallot 'Simiane' apparently a favorite amongst Michelin started chefs it is torpedo shaped and has a lovely rose colored skin. Now a Suttons seeds catalogue would not be complete without The Home Grown Revolution seeds from James Wong. There are some great new variety's on offer ever wanted to produce your own mustard well now you can this variety has been bred by Coleman's Mustard. The leaves and flowers are also edible so you can get a mustard sample before the seeds are ready to harvest. Another must grow next year is Liquorice contains a chemical 50 times sweeter than sugar harvest the roots between September - November ideal for making your own Pontefract cakes. There are so many other great new variety's to try out in 2015 too many to mention.

To order your own copy of the Suttons 2015 Catalogue just go to there website http://www.suttons.co.uk/CatalogueRequest.aspx

or phone 0333 400 2899

Time for a bit of late season sowing - Self Sufficiency

Although the leaves are starting to fall it dose not mean that the growing season is over just yet. There are still lots that can be sown in the garden at this time of the year to give a good autumn and spring harvest.

Now we will need to give some of the crops some protection from the weather either in the form of a cloche or fleece. A polytunnel would be the ideal situation but i don't have the luxury of one of them so a cloche it will have to be.

September is a great time to so seeds as the soil is still warm from all the summer sun (yes we did get some this year) and in a normal year we would have some rain to help them along not this year though. My intital plan was to sow a whole raised bed dedicated to all the winter crops this idea has been put on hold as i have not built the bed yet so plan B it is. Fill up any gaps i have left i the raised beds i did build and the rest in the open borders and some in pots that can be brought in the greenhouse when the worst of the weather hits. This way their (fingers crossed) should be something to pick in even the worst weather conditions. From the pots in the greenhouse a window ledge will be just as good if you have not got a greenhouse. What are we going to sow well it's mainly leafy salad crops that we can pick at through the winter months. It is also a good time to sow one last crop of green manure i am planting Phacelia from T&M which should over winter keeping any weeds suppressed. Phacelia is very good for adding humus to the soil and is good on poor dry soils which is ideal fro the bed where i intend to grow it. This will be dug in during the spring leaving enough time for it to rot down before needing to replant the bed.The green manure is just scattered over the bed, raked in and given a water.

Making drill for some Raddish

All the other seeds we will just make a drill with the how and thinly sow with the exception of the Lettuce as i prefer to so in module trays and then plant out. This is so i have some to plant in pots and the rest takes it's chance under the cloches.

Seeds sowed today where.

Lettuce 'winter density' from Suttons
Spinach 'Bordeux f1' from T&M
Spinach 'Perpetual' from Mr Fothergills
Land cress 'American' from Suttons
Mizuna from Mr Fothergills
Raddish 'bacchus f1 from T&M
Raddish 'French breakfast 3' from Aldi
Rocket 'Cultivated' from Moles
Lambs Lettuce 'Valeriana' from Franch
Pea 'Douce de Provence' from Suttons 

This will not be the last of the sowing for this year we still have Broad beans and another sowing of Peas. These will be sown in November to over winter so we have a (fingers crossed) good harvest in the spring. We will also be starting on the micro veg soon although they can be grown all year round. I do prefer to save them for the winter months when there is not a lot else to pick at and you also get to keep sowing seeds which is the best bit.

New seed on the block

Last week while visiting GLEE which is the country s main Garden and Leisure trade show i came across i seed company i have not come across before. Bavicchi seeds they are an Italian seed company but they are by know means a new company. Bavicchi have been producing seed since 1896 in Italy there English distributor is G Plants from Preston.

They have a great range of vegetable seeds on offer 117 variety's of vegetables and 9 variety's of peas and beans. All packet are in lovely full colour packets with a nice glossy photo of the variety on the front with full growing instructions on the back. Now the Italians know how to produce good quality seed so you know you will be off to a good start. So look out for Bavicchi seeds in a shop near you and give them a try this year.

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

T&M New Catalogue

It's that time of year again when all the seed catalogue's start dropping through the door. Dare i say it they are the Porn Magazine's for the gardening world many a gardener has spent the night drooling over the latest flower and veg introductions. Longing for spring when they can dust off there dibber and start sowing there seeds. The first to fall on my door mat this year is the Thompson and Morgan catalogue.

It is packed full of all the usual T&M favorites and lots of new releases for 2015.

The front cover features the new Nasturtium 'Phoenix' which has taken over 10 years of breeding to produce it's unusual flower shape. They come in shades of orange and red and will add a splash of colour to any garden they have also named it flower of the year for 2015.
2015 is also the Year of The Sunflower so they have two full pages packed full of sunflowers. everything from variety's suitable for hanging basket up to real giants reaching 4.2m (14ft) tall with flower heads up too 45cm (18in) wide. There new Sunflower 'Helios Flame' is exclusive to T&M lovely bronze/orange bi colour flowers on stem's up to 1.8m tall (6ft) tall.

There is also some great new veg on offer Runner bean 'Jackpot' this is a British breed dwarf bean ideal for growing in pots and containers. with red, white and pink flowers followed by a good crop of string less beans. Colored carrots have become popular over the last couple of years T&M have got some limited stocks of Purple Sun F1 which has an intense purple colour flesh all the way through. With good disease resistance and great flavor what more would you want. It is also believed to be a favorite of the Prince of Wales so if you want to keep up with the royals then this is the carrot to grow in 2015.

There are so many many more new introductions to wet you appetite so why not order your own copy today.

www.thompsonandmorgan.com 

Tel :- 0844 573 1818 

Self Sufficient - Lots of Sowing

It's been another busy week trying to get the garden ready for the self sufficient challenge there has been lots of sowing taking place. We have also put in a fourth raised bed made out of recycled materials i am hopping to have enough recycled wood left to be able to build another 3-4 raised beds. Of course it is also dependent on how much soil and compost available to fill them up with. 

Seed packets laid out

We have sowed a mixture of crops salads for late summer and autumn, Brassicas to crop from autumn to spring and over wintering onions.

Veg we have sown in raised beds

Spinach America - Franchi Seeds

Lettuce Mix - T&M seeds

Mizuna - Mr Fothergills seeds

Red Mustard - Own saved seed

Raddish French Breakfast 3 - Aldi

Rocket Cultivated - Moles seeds

Rocket Wild Fire - T&M seeds

Land Cress American - Suttons seeds

Lambs Lettuce verte de cambrai - Franchi seeds

Parsley gigante de napoli - Franchi seeds

Kale dwarf green curled - Mr Fothergills seeds

Cauliflower all year round -  Mr Fothergills seeds

Cabbage savoy January king 3 - T&M seeds

Cabbage April spring -  T&M seeds

Broccoli autumn spear - Suttons seeds

Cauliflower romanesco precoce - Franchi seeds

Chard Rhubarb -  Franchi seeds

Leek Pennine F1- T&M seeds

Leek gigante d inverno 2 - Franchi seeds

Onion Japanese senshyu -  Suttons seeds

Raddish Seedlings 5 days old 

 Thanks to the good warm weather lots of the salad seeds where poking there heads through the soil within a matter of days. So fingers crossed we will be picking some salads from the new beds soon.