[DavidandCollette]

Ellied I saw a top in amagazine for parsnips.  Lady seed on damp paper and only plant the ones that germinate. I will be trying it this year. We also start carrots off in plastic Guttering suspended in the polytunnel to stop the mice eating the shoots. When they have sprouted give them a good water and slide them into a prepared trench. Hope that helps

[muddypuddle]

I think I am going to try and limit the range and stick to what we eat more of or what is expensive to buy, I also find a lot of home grown fruit and veg tastes much better than shop bought. Potatoes, carrots, parsnips (none germinated last year), runner and French beans, giant pumpkins the first year we had great success - more for novelty than function, courgette (just not 10 plants this year!), sweet corn, leeks, butternut squash, tomatoes, chillies and salad.  Possibly cabbage and sprouts but they usually get attacked by caterpillars regardless of how much netting they have. We have a big rhubarb, raspberries and a strawberry bed as well as quite a few fruit trees and a very large selection of weeds! I would like to get some flowers growing too.

[Q]

I love growing all sorts of everything - I can never resist a seed or variety that I havent grown for a while so my answer is ALL of the above and to an unprecedented level of excess.
I just need try harder to force feed any one who happens to cross my path at harvest time.

[macgro7]

-Rhubarb;
-Squashes - spaghetti (was brilliant last year!), uchiki kuri, big blue ones (forgot the name), marrows, small courgettes;
-loads of strawberries - 5 different varieties all moved in to a new bed this winter;
-raspberries;
-garlic;
-Welsh onions;
-globe artichoke;
-jerusalem artichoke;
-sunflowers;
-sweetcorn;
-cabbage;
-salad greens - perpetual spinach (fantastic! Plant it once, cut it and it grows back!), different types of mustard and lettuce, perennial rocket;
-alexanders;
-mint;
-lemon balm;
-tomatoes - 2-3 varieties;
-cucumbers;
-apples, pears, cherries, plums - from trees planted last winter (2014/2015);
-buckwheat;

I need to start planting some seeds soon but first finish the raise beds!

[Bert]

Hi everyone not been around for a while. Busy growing veggies 
This year I'm growing this little lot 



Herbs 16 varieties
Runner bean 4 varieties
Pea bean.           
Peas
Swiss chard
Spinach
 Kale
Cabbage 4 varieties
Cauliflower   
Broccoli
Brussel 3 varieties
Courgette 7 varieties
Marrow
Pumpkin 5 varieties
Squash
Swede
Turnip
Leek
Beetroot 6 varieties
Parsnips
Carrot 10 varieties
Onion red, white, shallots and Spring
 Melon 3 varieties
Tomato 18 varieties
Chilli 20 varieties
Sweet pepper 5 varieties
Cucumber paska.           
Aubergine moneymaker     
Lettuce 8 varieties
Potatoes 4 varieties


Monkey nuts. 


Edible flowers
 

[Fleecewife]

No Sugar Snap peas ?

[waterbuffalofarmer]

What do you do with all that veg? I am going to be growing.....

Runner beans
Sugarsnap peas
Maungtout
tomato, 4-5 varieties
sweet pepper 2 varieties
chili pepper
basil
french climbing beans
dwarf beans
aubergine
cucumber
squash 3 varieties
courgette 2 varieties
a variety of mixed herbs
sweetcorn 4 varieties
garden peas
rocket
possibly melon not sure!
and that is all i can think of for now.

[Bert]

No Sugar Snap peas ?

Hi fleecewife how are you?
No! I never have. I don't know why    because I do like them. How very lapse of me 

[Fleecewife]

No Sugar Snap peas ?

Hi fleecewife how are you?
No! I never have. I don't know why    because I do like them. How very lapse of me 

Hi Bert  good to se you back on TAS.

I only grow ordinary podding peas for pinching straight from the vine and eating in the garden  .  I can't be bothered with podding enough for a meal, hence sugar snaps.  You still have time to get a packet 

[Bert]

I've only been back 5 minutes and your leading me astray already 

[Jukes Mum]

Thought I should wake this thread up and see how everyone's getting on.
Last weekend I planted seeds in the greenhouse (toms, courgettes, leeks, peas, beans etc). Didn't have any labels but thought "I'll remember which are which". Bet you can guess the rest!
After planting potatoes in every spare bit of ground last year, I now have nowhere which didn't have potatoes last year, so thought I might just plant a few in pots/bags this year.
I planted some asparagus in pots in the greenhouse last year.
I have just potted them on and they look very happy, but what's the next step? Do they go out in May and then left undisturbed?

[waterbuffalofarmer]

I have sown courgettes, 2 batches 1 of which is potted on, sugarsnap peas, pumpkins, marigolds and cherry toms. Still waiting on the seed order which hasnt arrived yet.

[cloddopper]

I spent a couple of half hours out inthe log cabin using my seed sucker & individually sowing a few seeds of a lot of species /variety in my tube opots ..
Now lots of them are coming through in the bottomless tube pots  it won't be long before I start planting out the small plants exactly where I want them
 
 Having just a few plants of each type means it's easy to plan ahead for sucessional sowings & knowing I've planned the harvesting periods through out the year rather than  have massive gluts of crops you cannot easily handle /deal with . It also allows you to eat top of the range stuff all the time.

 This year in my tube pots I have sown :-
 
All year round cauli  ( you can with care plan to have one cauli every 8 days .
 Ball cabbags , greyhound pointed spring cabb
 Collards
chou d 'benton ( perennial Kale cuttings )
 Two types of leeks .
celery
 various herbs
 mange tout
 marrowfat peas
broad beans

Inn ht next session I'll be sowing :-
toms
aubertgines
mini chilli's
 cucumber
 courgette
 marrow
butternut squash ( stores well if they grow )

 More  big eyewatering Sturton  onions  ( but not red ones as they tend to bolt too readily if it's a wet year)
 Shallots ,
 more leeks , a couple of very curly letuce
 a short row of mixed cut & come again salad stuff

 Out in the raised bed one foot squares I'll be direct sowing a couple of square feet of  carrot varieties that are good for this time of the year.
 parsnips
beetroot
khol rabi
celeraic
fennel bulbing
I might start the sprouts off in a small 3 inch long drill if they are due sowing as well .

 There's bound to be a shed load of flowers to sow as well as starting to plant up our six hanging baskets and six geranium tubs ( had to buy geranium plugs as the sodding slugs ate all of the geraniums in 30 tubes each with six 1" tall seedlings in them ) .

[MAK]

Not a lot is my answer.
Each March my neighbour's son ploughs all the veg patches in our hamlet and he then returns to rotavate. I wrongly assumed that his recent poor health would prevent him from driving up from the south to fire up the old tractor and that someone  from the next village would take up the task. I spread muck a while back and with spring sprung I started to dig overs and plant.  I planted a kg of onions and some shallots only to learn that our veg plots would be ploughed last weekend.
Given that I had planted so much I elected to decline the good deed and am now digging like mad. ( I do have another veg plot that is mostly full of garlic and the winter survivors of swede, parsnips and leeks)

[waterbuffalofarmer]

But MAK why does this happen? Can't you complain?