Seed planting for lunch

Took an hour off for lunch to plant some seeds before it gets too late.

Tomatoes  

    San Marzano    Look like plum tomatoes, good for space apparently
    Alicante    Look like normal tomatoes

If every seed germinates and grows I'll be giving a lot of plants away in a few days (hmmm - or maybe selling them!)

Chili Peppers

    Gusto Puprle


And managed to get something in the 'raised bed' that I built recently


Spring Onions   White Lisbon

Rocket

Scarecrow Repairs

Regular visit from the Scarecrow builder, Elisa, meant that we could do a few running repairs and get her (the scarecrow, not Elisa) positioned to scare pests from the broad beans.

I actually think we need to work on a scare-slug design for this year.

Broad beans and sweet peas

The broad bean strategy in Y3 is more sophisticated than ever before.

Planting. In batches of 10, germinating on warm window-sill and the transferred to greenhouse before eventually into the ground.  I can sense the slugs lying around at the side of the plot just waiting for it to all kick off (do they lick the lips?  I imagine so)

Here's' the first batch in the greenhouse.  Underneath are the sweet peas, 3 varieties - Rosy Frills, Gwendoline and Beaujolais - there's 5 seeds in each of those pots.  Not quite sure the photo is a little blurred - blame the iPhone 5C.  (Mmm, "5C" - "5 seeds")

Potatoes Chitting in the distance, not that well actually. I think it may be a little too cold

More garlic

It's official - I'm addicted to growing garlic.  Another row in today, this time Solent Wight.  That's probably enough now.

Here we go again

The snow seems to be hanging around for ever in Sheffield but there's signs of soil showing now. 

Garlic showing through like snowdrops!

And a bit of Chitting underway.  First earlies, Maris Bard, and second Earlies, Nicola, which did so well last year.  Not sure exactly where I'm going to plant them this year the third year of crop rotation after which I can return to the first site again - apparently.

Still not too sure about this chitting game.  Tried it in the house last year but I think it's a bit too warm.  The 'books' say greenhouse so that's what I'm going with.  As long as their isn't a frost - apparently.

(Note to self - Maris in the distance, Nicola closer - in the egg boxes)

Leeks

Took a few leeks today for leek and potato soup.  Not as thick as last year's which were bought as seedlings - this year's all from seed (Real Seed Co.).

Next year I think I'll do a bit of both.  

Soup tasted good though, with the Nicola spuds from earlier this year.  Almost at the end of the spuds now and they seem to be sprouting a bit even in the dark garage in a sack.

Garlic planted on Shortest Day

Tradition is that you plant on the shortest day and harvest on the longest.  So that's what I'm going to do, even though the guy in the local garden centre said that was a load of rubbish and I should plant in February.

It's the a Shortest Day today and quite mild so I've managed to get them in.  2 varieties this year, Thermidore and Cristo.  Seem to be 'better' winter varieties although I'm going to get some more in early next year anyway.

45 Thermidores and 30 Cristos nicely planted.  Soil seems a bit wet but we'll see.  It's nice to plant something . . . anything.