[Jullienne]

I have heard that you should have sown all vegetable plants by July, certainly not in August. I was wondering whether it would be too late to sow squash plants at all?  Would it be too late to, say for example, sow butternut squash now, what sort of time would I be expecting a crop and would they ripen?

[suziequeue]

My advice? - just do it and see what happens.


Certainly Dot from Viable Self Sufficiency advises not to be put off by planting and sewing instructions on seed packets etc.


She says you'll be amazed at what you can get away with so - crack on and let us know what happens.

[Fleecewife]

I would say for squash it depends on whereabouts you live. Up here there would be no point sowing butternuts at this time of year - they would be taken by frost before they had grown big enough to produce flowers.  I start them off in mid-April, and protect them from frost and wind until they can be planted out.  Butternuts are slower growing than other squashes, which I don't routinely start til May1st.  For courgettes I'm sure you will get a crop if you sow them now.  If you're in a cold location you may need to protect them towards the end of the season.
You can also grow early peas (early just means they reach maturity quicker than maincrop), early potatoes, quick carrots, beetroot, lettuce, kale (the quickest of the brassicas), dwarf French beans.  I wouldn't bother with chillies, sweetcorn, tomatoes etc all of which require an earlier start under protection.

But as Suziequeue says - if you don't try it you'll never know 

[doganjo]

Didn't know about carrots and beetroot - will try those today, damn pigeons have scoffed all my lovely multi coloured lettuce so i'll try them again too.  really warm to day and wet so they should get a headstart 

[Ina]

Everything had such a slow start this year (cold etc) that in fact what I sowed late is getting on better than early sowings... Just got some more runnerbeans on, as for whatever reason the first lot osn't thriving. Last year I planted kale seedlings very late ( I think it was October! - had forgotten about them, and thought why not...) - I'm picking kale now. Almost given up trying to stick to "normal" planting routine.

Oh - and it's always too late up here to sow butternut squash! 

[PK]

Now is an ideal time to sow chinese cabbage and pak choi.

[cloddopper]

Didn't know about carrots and beetroot - will try those today, damn pigeons have scoffed all my lovely multi coloured lettuce so i'll try them again too.  really warm to day and wet so they should get a headstart 

 Get all your seed packets and make a spread sheet list of crops & when to start & latest sowing for a crop
 Realise these times are usually for Derbyshire , as it's nigh on middle of the UK add an extra 14 day to start & to finish date  if you are below or close to the M4 corridor and if you live above or close to the A66 take off 14 days before & after the suggested times as it's usually a lot cooler .
 
 I set up my sed lists 16 yr more years ago and each year update thiungs  I made an excell planner that indicated each wek from jan firtst toll first wekm nof NOV  running across the page then add the =crops in in alphabetical order going down
 on any given wek I can readily see if I either need or can make sucessional sowing of a few more seeds so that over the cropping year I get as many spaced crops as possible .
Rather than massive gluts like when in our early days together ( Alison had never done gardening nor did any of her family )  Alison  sowed a whole pack of 1,000 carrot seeds in a six foot long row  and two packs of kohlrabi in the adjacent row to them .


 You can also give yourself an amazing head start by  cutting up inch squares of kitchen towel , laying them on the lid of a Pyrex dish and wetting them well.
Then pop a single seed in the middle of each square  . Put the rest of the dish on upside down and slip it in the airing cupboard .
 So long as there is a reasonable heat in the airing  cupboard the seeds will l get optimum germination in a very shortened time  .
 
Check the dish each day first thing in the morning , as soon as you see the seeds have germinated ,  set the seedling complete with the square of paper towel in a pot of fine sieved compost & cover to a depth of to a depth of 1/4 " .
Then water them with room temp rain water that's had one drop of tomato feed or Baby Bio added to a single pint of the rain water .  You only need a very weak amount of feed just to ensure that the germinations have all the nutrients needed to grow on ,  ready for planting out in a week or so's time .

Place the potted seedlings out in a sheltered sunny area but not in a sun trap , water them gently each day early on and as soon as the sun starts to go down . In a few days you'll be able to use a dessert spoon and scoop out each plant and pop it in a prepared hole .
 
If you use the Mychrozial ( sp ?) fungi pellets in each planting hole as advised these new plantings will develop amazing root balls and grow like hell .

[doganjo]

Get all your seed packets and make a spread sheet list of crops & when to start & latest sowing for a crop
 Realise these times are usually for Derbyshire , as it's nigh on middle of the UK add an extra 14 day to start & to finish date  if you are below or close to the M4 corridor and if you live above or close to the A66 take off 14 days before & after the suggested times as it's usually a lot cooler .
 
 I set up my sed lists 16 yr more years ago and each year update thiungs  I made an excell planner that indicated each wek from jan firtst toll first wekm nof NOV  running across the page then add the =crops in in alphabetical order going down
 on any given wek I can readily see if I either need or can make sucessional sowing of a few more seeds so that over the cropping year I get as many spaced crops as possible .
Rather than massive gluts like when in our early days together ( Alison had never done gardening nor did any of her family )  Alison  sowed a whole pack of 1,000 carrot seeds in a six foot long row  and two packs of kohlrabi in the adjacent row to them .


 You can also give yourself an amazing head start by  cutting up inch squares of kitchen towel , laying them on the lid of a Pyrex dish and wetting them well.
Then pop a single seed in the middle of each square  . Put the rest of the dish on upside down and slip it in the airing cupboard .
 So long as there is a reasonable heat in the airing  cupboard the seeds will l get optimum germination in a very shortened time  .
 
Check the dish each day first thing in the morning , as soon as you see the seeds have germinated ,  set the seedling complete with the square of paper towel in a pot of fine sieved compost & cover to a depth of to a depth of 1/4 " .
Then water them with room temp rain water that's had one drop of tomato feed or Baby Bio added to a single pint of the rain water .  You only need a very weak amount of feed just to ensure that the germinations have all the nutrients needed to grow on ,  ready for planting out in a week or so's time .

Place the potted seedlings out in a sheltered sunny area but not in a sun trap , water them gently each day early on and as soon as the sun starts to go down . In a few days you'll be able to use a dessert spoon and scoop out each plant and pop it in a prepared hole .
 
If you use the Mychrozial ( sp ?) fungi pellets in each planting hole as advised these new plantings will develop amazing root balls and grow like hell .

Far too complicated for me and I'm accountant 

[benkt]

We're still sowing here, early carrots and beetroot, cabbage, runner beans, lettuce. Will keep going with this lot for another month or so then start in on the winter greens like pak choi.

[farmers wife]

Well my 1st sowing of spinach and rocket failed in the ground back in May so sowed more a few weeks ago.  In the meantime I just chucked a load of seeds in a tray in the polytunnel and these are coming up super - you can get the same effect on the window sill.  They plant out later.  Lettuce is good. kale, cabbage, broccoli, chard, herbs. This is my first year of growing and I'm doing ok.   

[devonlady]

If you can get to a farmer's market or a car boot sale you may well find well grown plants which will give you a good return.