Thursday 27 February 2014

The Start Of The Gardening Year

I may have already spent time tidying up the garden and pottering on the allotment, but I class the start of my gardening year as the day when the first seeds are sown. That day was last Saturday when I sowed my sweet peas, stocks and also some broccoli - Summer Purple. The seed trays may not look like much at the moment, but I'm hoping that there'll soon be little green shoots appearing through the compost.


The sweet peas I'm growing are from a collection of different varieties. They're left overs from previous years, and as I'm trying to whittle down all the packets of opened seed in my collection, I thought these would do nicely. The varieties (and descriptions on the packet) are White Ensign (beautifully scented, large flowers in a classic pristine white), Noel Sutton (large fragrant flowers in a stunning rich blue), Air Warden (perfumed, large flowers in a vibrant scarlet-red), Mrs R. Bolton (beautifully scented, large flowers in a very pretty, bright pink) and Beaujolais (large, fragrant flowers in an elegant, deep burgundy-maroon). I also had a few seeds left in the New Horizons Mix packet so I sowed those too.

I've always thought of stocks as biennials, but the ones I've sown are Dwarf Ten Week Mixed. These should flower from twelve to fourteen weeks after sowing.

Both the sweet peas and the stocks are being grown for cut flowers, so I shall plant them out at the allotment. I hate cutting flowers from the garden for the house, but I don't mind if they're being grown on the plot.


I love purple sprouting broccoli, and as I didn't have any this winter, I thought I'd grow some to be harvested in summer. These seeds can be sown during the first three months of the year and should be ready to harvest between June and September.


I also got my onions and shallots planted up in to modules to get them started. Once they've put out some green shoots, they can be transplanted in to the ground. In previous years, I've had to wait quite a while before the allotment was in a decent enough state to get them planted out, the plot held on to so much water which the onions wouldn't have liked, they'd have likely rotted. The soil on my new plot seems to be in a much better state. We've already been able to do some digging, even with all the rain. It seems to drain so much better.


We don't tend to use very many onions or shallots as Mick is very fussy about the dishes he likes onions in, and there aren't many. Daniel doesn't like onions at all. Therefore, I don't tend to grow many, yet they still last for quite a while. I've got just short of a full seed tray of Turbo onions, that's slightly less than forty and just over a full seed tray of Red Baron, just over forty. I'm growing two different kinds of shallots, Yellow Shallot and Red Sun, they take up a seed tray between them with slightly larger modules, twenty three shallots in total, though of course I'm hoping to harvest more than twenty three shallots once the sets have split and produced more bulbs.


The flower seeds are residing on a sunny windowsill at the moment, but the onions and shallots have had to be put in the porch until the greenhouse is fixed. There's so many panels missing due to the high winds that it's not doing its job of protecting plants from the elements at all. We've ordered some new polycarbonate to replace the panels which have blown out and that should be delivered today. We knew we'd be needing some soon anyway as it doesn't last forever, it does wear with age.

I'm hoping that the snow forecast for this weekend stays away from here so that Mick can get it all put back together again, I've been without my greenhouse long enough now.

44 comments:

  1. Oh my goodness I'm excited to see all your plans. I live in a flat with no garden but oh how I long to grow my own. I only grow herbs on my very small balcony and it thrills me every time to cut from these pots. I cant wait for your progress

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    1. Thank you for visiting my blog and leaving a comment. There are plenty of things you can grow on a balcony. Before I got my allotment, I used to grow everything in containers in the garden, it's surprising how well some things do in the smallest of spaces. Herbs is something I haven't grown many of in the past, but I bought a few different plants last year and I'd like to add to my small collection this year.

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  2. We started planting seeds at the weekend as well, it makes spring seem so much closer.

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    1. It's so exciting at the start of the gardening year. I'm being very good and not watching the seed trays too closely, I know it won't make them germinate any quicker.

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  3. I am going through those lovely gardening starts too ... Spring WILL come !

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    1. I've noticed a little more strength in the sun this past week, a sure sign that spring is on the way.

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  4. You have been busy Jo! Nothing doing here yet but I may just try the summer purple broccoli you mention. I had a cutting bed in the garden last summer but it looked so pretty I was loath to cut them for the house! x

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    1. I've sat on my hands for as long as they could take it, they were itching to get in the compost bag. I love purple sprouting broccoli, though I'm never all that successful with brassicas so I hope I can get the plants to grow well enough. I know exactly what you mean about cutting beds, that's why I'm growing my flowers for cutting at the allotment, I don't think I'll mind cutting them so much there.

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  5. You seem very organised indeed with your sowing. I think I will try sweet pea this year - I usually struggle with it as it tends to grow into a tangled mess but suppose I shall try again. I'm eager to sow soon but I'm holding off another week or so.

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    1. I love sweet peas, their scent is just beautiful. They're fabulous for cutting, their fragrance fills the house. I had a perennial sweet pea in the garden which always grew in a tangled mess. I tried to dig it up, but it's a thug and I'm still not rid of it yet. I keep pulling out all the new growth but it just grows back.

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  6. lovely post Jo you have been busy I might try the purple broccoli I as well have a lovely week

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    1. I love broccoli, though I associate purple sprouting with winter usually. It will be great if I manage to grow some in summer.

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  7. I'm hoping to get some seeds planted this weekend and can't wait. It makes summers feel a little closer I always think.

    Our green house has lost a few panels too, we seem to be for ever fixing it after the windy weather we had.

    X x

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    1. I think it does make summers feel closer when we start sowing seeds. I think the reason being, we tend to look forward to harvesting time. Sorry to hear that your greenhouse has been in the wars too, I hope you manage to get it all put back together.

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  8. I still haven't sown any seeds yet, I really must do them at the weekend. I was debating whether to try summer purple. I haven't got any PSB for this spring. It's nice knowing you have made a start, I'm feeling slightly panicky!

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    1. I'm sure you'll get some sowing done, just as soon as you get the compost out the boot of the car. I haven't got any broccoli this spring either, I really must do better with my winter planting. Don't get panicky yet, it's still very early in the season. I only sowed these as I couldn't sit on my hands any longer.

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  9. Trying to start pot gardening too :)

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    1. I hope you're successful. Before I got my allotment, I grew all my veggies in containers and it worked out fine. It's amazing how small a space plants actually need.

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  10. Yeeeay - it always makes you feel so good when the first seeds go in :) Here I'm starting slowly and have sown some beetroot and like you Jo have planted shallots - 'Longor, 'Red Sun' and 'Golden Gourmet' in seed trays - 45 in total but we love 'em! Hope that the snow does not materialise and interfere with your gardening plans for the weekend.

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    1. I certainly feel as though I've made a start now. I've never started beetroot in modules before, but I've heard people have great results doing it this way, so I might just follow suit and sow some this weekend. I'd have liked to have tried some of the long shallots but can't find them in the local garden centres and nurseries. I'm loathe to pay what they ask for postage when ordering online. I can't see it snowing here, it's still very mild at the moment, long may it continue.

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  11. All those seed-trays and things lined-up like that are a sight to please sore eyes! I hope you manage to get some broccoli. My PSB is looking very small this year, so I don't anticipate a big crop. If you want some broccoli quickly, you should try Tenderstem, which is VERY prolific and matures rapidly. I strongly recommend it

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    1. It's great to have the seed packets out again, I shall be sowing a few more things before too long. I remember your post about Tenderstem now you mention it, I might pick up a packet of seeds, it sounds good.

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  12. I hate picking flowers from the garden too other than to dead head, I also hope the snow doesn't materialise. We are still waiting for our polycarbonate sheets for the greenhouse roof to arrive so we don't want a greenhouse full of snow!

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    1. I like to enjoy flowers where they've grown rather than pick them for the house, apart from when they've been grown on the plot. No snow here yet and it doesn't look as though we're going to get any, it's quite cold today though.

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  13. Interesting to see your summer sprouting broccoli, might give that a try because I haven't had much success with the winter type over the last couple of years. I've had a couple of handfuls this month, but not enough to justify the space they take up.

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    1. I'm never particularly successful with brassicas so I don't know if this Summer Purple broccoli will do any better, time will tell. I hope it does though because I love the stuff.

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  14. I love this time of year.. I still get excited every time each seed germinates :o)

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    1. Me too. It doesn't matter how many years I've been gardening, the magic never disappears.

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  15. How lovely to see the start of the planting. I've got leftover sweet peas to be sown as well. I always run out of windowsill room at this time of year. I hope your greenhouse is mended soon, it must be so useful to have one.

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    1. I always run out of windowsill space too, though I'm lucky to have a greenhouse so that I can move some seedlings in to there once the weather warms up a little. My greenhouse is only 6 foot by 4 foot, I could do with a bigger one, but I know I'm lucky to have it as some people don't have one at all. It's definitely better than nothing.

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  16. Your onion seedling makee so jealous. I fail again in growing alliums. To wet and to hot. Oh please...

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    1. It's a shame that onions don't do very well for you. If it's any consolation, they don't always do well for me either.

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  17. Gosh, you've been busy. I'm itching to get started too, maybe this weekend?

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    1. I was itching to get started too. I thought that by sowing a few things, it would satisfy my craving, but now I've started, I want to sow more. I might manage a few more things this weekend.

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  18. It's good to get started again as you have.
    I sow my onions direct, as with most things, as I don't have room to start them off like that.
    I've not sown any seeds yet but it won't long before I do.
    I hope that the weather there is good over the weekend. Flighty xx

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    1. It won't be long until we're all sowing in earnest. There's little difference really between sowing onions direct or starting them off in modules. I just think they've got some root doing it this way, so they tend not to get disturbed once they're planted out. I think I'll get some more seeds sown over the weekend, particularly if the weather's fine.

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  19. I know what you mean about now feeling like the real start to the year. I sowed my first seeds the other weekend and the sweet peas have just started to poke through. I'm excited to hear you're devoting some space to cut flowers. I'm hoping the snow doesn't amount to anything as well. It's so cold here but it definitely feels like spring is on the way. Have a lovely weekend.

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    1. I don't know how I've lasted so long without sowing anything, I'm itching to get more seeds sown though now. I keep saying every year that I'll have a cutting patch but I never seem to get round to it, I really need to make more of an effort. There's no snow here yet but it seems to have got colder, I though we might have missed it for one year, I hope we have.

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  20. If it stops raining I am hoping to get going this weekend, unless of course I end up bailing the water out of the allotment! Xxx

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    1. I hope the rain's stopped for you. It's a lovely sunny day here, though very cold.

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  21. I think we might have had the same bumper pack of sweet pea seeds, Jo! I have a few left over but have also sowed (last week) a new batch of S Raven seeds, an impulse buy last autumn. I also have the same broccoli seeds - I eat so much broccoli, I have to make space for it this year!! Lovely to be able to start sowing, let's hope spring really is on its way!

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    1. Great minds think alike, eh? My broccoli has germinated, so far so good. I just need to keep it going now. It's great to be sowing again, all that promise of things to come.

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  22. It's lovely to see the beginning of your gardening year, and have a peek at what you are growing, it's such an exciting time. My sweet peas are already up, along with the lettuce and spinach, I think it's because the weather is so mild.xxx

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    1. I've only started a few things off so far, I was hoping to get some more seeds in this weekend but it didn't happen, still plenty of time yet. The seeds I sowed last weekend are now germinating, it's a very exciting time.

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