[the great composto]

It feels too cold to sow seeds without a heated propogator but the clocks go forward in a couple of weeks so are you sowing any seeds this week?

My early broad beans are going in today

[Fleecewife]

    The only thing I've sown outside is Broad Beans, but I also have some in pots in the tunnel, and another variety to sow in pots.    It's partly that all is frozen solid here and we expect plenty more, but also because the ground isn't prepared adequately yet.  I will sow some suspended lengths of guttering with peas this week, in the tunnel.  Also early carrots in containers.  I have beetroot in modules which haven't germinated yet.
 
In my heated propagator    I have tomatoes, chillies, cucumber, aubergine, butternut squash (which I sow earlier than other squash types) and various flowers, and on the window sills I have lots of different lettuce, some herbs and more flowers.  The herbs and the butternut haven't come up yet, and the chillies are being sporadic  but most things are up and at the seed leaf stage.
 
I had real problems last year and the year before with pyralid (weedkiller) residue in the seed compost I bought in (deformed tomatoes and no bean crop) so this time I am trying my own home made composts, using molehill soil, seaweed meal, sieved garden compost or FYM (depending on the amount of nutrition I need), a bit of wood ash and    some peat.  I haven't touched peat for years because of the environmental impact of extraction, but I have no leafmould so I've decided that the tiny amount of peat I am using doesn't compare with running a power station on it and will make the difference between me getting crops and not.  If only we had some fallen leaves I could make leafmould for next year.......   

[ellied]

Nothing, the snow hasn't finished melting yet and I've had the lurgy all week so all there is in the ground here so far is the garlic..

I have major polytunnel envy 

[fairhaven]

I'm also waiting for the weather to improve, ground is frozen solid here in Norfolk too     Will then be planting Swiss Chard  (A new one for us, we've never tried it!)   Dwarf beans, Courgettes and Spinach.  May also try Scorzonera again...     We tried it last year & lost the lot in the rain as a week after planting our whole veg plot got flooded out.
 Indoors we're going to try alfalfa in jars, the seedlings / sprouts are supposed to be really sweet & crunchy, like beansprouts so the kids should like them        

[HesterF]

Hoping to get the first potatoes in this week if the ground clears. Inside I'm about to pot on the chillies, peppers and aubergines (plus various flowers) that have grown in the heated propagator and then I'll be sowing leeks, sweetcorn, tomatoes, brassicas and maybe start off some peas and beans. Am already running out of pots - doh!

Third batch in the heated propagator will then be the pumpkins and squashes come end April/May time.

H

[deepinthewoods]

I'm also waiting for the weather to improve, ground is frozen solid here in Norfolk too     Will then be planting Swiss Chard  (A new one for us, we've never tried it!)   Dwarf beans, Courgettes and Spinach.  May also try Scorzonera again...     We tried it last year & lost the lot in the rain as a week after planting our whole veg plot got flooded out.
 Indoors we're going to try alfalfa in jars, the seedlings / sprouts are supposed to be really sweet & crunchy, like beansprouts so the kids should like them        

swiss chard is a great plant to grow. its one of my favourites, such a big yield theyre less prone to bolt than spinach, and they'll stand a peroper frosting well. i had 1 plant that lasted 7 months last year.

give them loads of nitrogen in the compost, they love it.


im really behind. i would have had stuff in by now, but we had a hard frost last week and it would have killed stuff off.

im going to plant less sweetcorn this year and grow more spuds, but thats as far as ive got!

im still eating fresh from the garden, leeks kale purple sprouting and cabbage.

[fairhaven]

   Thanks for the advice DITW  -  can't wait to give it a go, will add nitrogen as I haven't done that,  All being well we're hoping for that to be our main crop for gate sales this year. 

[the great composto]

mmm swiss chard - i love that stuff lightly steamed - somebody gave me some last year and i found i liked the yellow stems more than the red ones.

[northfifeduckling]

I only managed radishes in the tunnel so far, cheated with planting in there lettuce plants from Lidl as well. I am waiting for my pepper seeds to germinate indoors but might be already too late for those...basil on the window sill. 

[Clarebelle]

This afternoon has been lovely here so made the most of it and got out in the garden for a bit, didnt do too much though as the snow is due at the end of the week!

Planted some trays of grass seed mix for my rabbits/quail.

Planted on some basil and parsley that I had in the propagator.

Planted some coriander and lemon balm in the propagator and planted some sweet pepper and cabbage seeds on the widowsill.

I'm trying to get rid of all my old seed packets this year and am not buying anymore until I've used them all.  planted some leek seeds about three weeks ago and only one seed germinated so I have one leek this year He's doing very well though and I'm getting rather attatched to 'him' 

[Backinwellies]

Still permafrost here!   Have dug it some FYM on few defrosted days... but planting will wait!!

[sabrina]

Nothing just now as we have snow and strong winds. Not the ideal gardening weather that's for sure.