Sowing and Planning

For the first time ever I have an allotment plan!  Although it's not to scale and may well be changed, it is really great to have a plan to go by, and will be fantastically useful in years to come I'm sure.  Beautifully drawn out by Hazel!

As April was rapidly approaching and the sun was shining deliciously, it seemed like the right time to get sowing.  I had various seeds lined up which I'd bought earlier in the year (BC - Before Corona) on a shopping trip to Lidl.

Others, as I realised I wouldn't be popping out on casual shopping trips again, I found online from Ebay retailers mainly.  Then, one morning the most marvellous package arrived from my sister in law - a padded envelope full of all sorts of seeds, many of which I hadn't yet bought.

The porch to my shed rapidly became full of trays and pots as it has a plastic roof, ideal for seedlings to shoot up in.  The lovely warm clear days often meant very cold winter nights, so I made use of a little oil filled radiator a few times, set on super low, to encourage my seeds to get sprouting.

There are plenty of trays of flowers too, so I hope I'll have a pretty garden at home also.

Although I have the whole allotment for growing, I thought I'd try and get some early salad leaves and spinach growing, so sowed seeds in these really long window box troughs.  I've had time to read quite a lot of interesting information from other blogs lately too, so am definitely going to get some pea shoots growing for salads.

As the porch became full I decided to use the caravan at the end of the garden as a temporary nursery.  Usually I would be looking forward to friends coming to stay in it at this time of year, but the virus means that's not happening.  Silver linings I suppose - more space for food growing.  Rather have my mates down though.  

Some of the seeds are from stuff I grew last year - sunflowers, nasturtiums, dill, poppies and hollyhocks.  I really do plan to collect more of my own seed this year - it always gets too late, or I'm busy at the best time, but this year I've got time to read up on how and when is best - is it too late after a frost for instance?

One of the nice things about buying my seeds online was that I could choose different varieties from my normal supermarket bargain brands.  I remembered Turks Cap squashes were grown really well years ago in North Wales by a friend's dad - and he had such a glut he gave them away and they were really delicious - so searched some of those out. 

Repurposed pot noodle tub.  I never seem to have anything suitable to mark out my seedlings, let alone a pen to hand so this is a big improvement! 

Likewise, I managed to find some Queensland Blue, which I first came across when my dad bought some seeds back from Australia in the 80s and successfully grew these scrumptious squashes in his Southampton garden. 

I love that summer 2020 is an unwritten chapter at the moment, I'm full of hope that it may be long, sunny and glorious, and perfect vegetable ripening weather.  In this positive vein I've just bought some sweetcorn seeds, although the only time they've really been successful is when I grew them in my long lost polytunnel.

Meanwhile on the allotment

We worked to get some beds ready for planting.  The first ones I don't have much option but to double dig, as I just need to get them weed-free enough to sow some seeds directly into, and I just can't afford the ton of compost needed to start with no dig.  

I have two beds which I covered in cardboard at the end of last season and they should be ready for planting up with courgettes, sweetcorn, squashes and beans a bit later in the year.  One we have smothered in grass cuttings from the first allotment cut, and the second has had a layer of straw type stuff collected from the beach, some actual seaweed, and now a layer of grass cuttings.  I will empty my home compost bin to add another layer and use some bought manure when I plant it up.

I won't use this bed, but I've covered it in cardboard ready for layering up next year.

Oscar and Hazel tidied up the strawberry bed and sowed some Welsh onion seeds between them,

and Oscar planted the three jostaberry bushes I've been given and mulched round the bases.

It was lovely to smell the gorgeous aroma of fresh mint on the plot, and great to see those fresh shoots coming through.  The old mint is also nice to break down and use to mulch round the base of new plants.  I picked enough for a pea and mint soup for supper.

And Finally

My most recent visit to the plot this week saw me finally sowing some seeds into the ground.  Following the plan, I have sown a row of spinach down one side of this first bed, a row of radishes down the other, and four rows of peas across the middle.  I used a whole bag of compost to start them off and the trimmings from pruning the pear tree as pea sticks ready to support the peas.

It was time to harvest the rest of my broccoli as the first tiny yellow flowers were appearing on one of the plants.  There are still parsnips and leeks lurking in the ground over there, and it's comforting to know that next years broccoli and leeks are already sown in trays in the caravan.  

The next job is to get some parsnip seeds into the ground, very late this year, but I don't expect to be eating them until at least Christmas, so plenty of time to grow!

At last - it has begun - there is potential food in the ground, and I feel altogether better.

Things I have learned and in some cases had confirmed by reading other blogs this week:

1.  Urine is a great source of nitrogen if watered down 1 to 10 parts water. Easy peasy!

2.  Cardboard egg boxes and toilet roll middles are not such a great idea as they seem (my broccoli plants were crap in toilet roll middles last year) as they use loads of nitrogen (I think?) during their own decompostion.

3. Seaweed is wonderful.  Never go to the beach without getting a carrier bag full.  It can be chopped up for mulch, added to the compost bin or steeped in a bucket of water for a month, then used 1 to 10 parts water as a nutritious tea (for plants).