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February 15, 2015
Feb 2015 early sowings

What to sow now, some into modules and some in trays for pricking out, seeds or sets for onions,  preparing no dig beds for planting, winter veg to eat now, winter salads, a shed for Homeacres compost loo, and our trip to Dublin.

Seeds to sow now

Outdoors you can sow broad beans now, although if mice are around its best to sow in modules undercover. All other sowings at this time of year are undercover-only, because it is still too cold outside and even when early outdoor sowings do germinate, they often struggle to make worthwhile growth.

I have just sown lettuce and cabbage in seed trays for pricking out, and in module trays I have multi-sown spinach, onions, peas for shoots and radish. How many seeds per module depends on how large you want the harvests to be. For large spinach leaves I sow two seeds per module, for pea shoots two or three, for salad spinach I sow four or five. Onions grow to a medium size with four or five plants in a clump, so six seeds is about right, shallots are better with three or four seeds as each shallot is then subdivided, and for radish I sow four per module.

All my current sowings are on the conservatory windowsill, stacked up while germinating Then today (15th) we shall fill the greenhouse hotbed with fresh horse manure and move all the sown trays onto that. The photos are from last year, it should be very similar.

Filling a plywood enclosure with fresh horse manure – fresh means less than a week old


After trampling on the manure, a pallet supports the trays


Seeds sown in different module trays

 

Why bother with pricking out?

The numbers of seeds for direct sowing into modules are a guide only because there are so many variables, from compost quality to temperature to seed freshness. Some of these unknowns can be balanced out by sowing seeds in trays, for pricking out.

In particular, the germination of lettuce and brassicas is often uneven, so pricking out allows you to choose the strongest plants, and saves having empty modules from direct sowing of non-viable seed. Sowing in trays means that precious space in the greenhouse or on the windowsill is germinating many more seeds. also its easier to sow tiny seeds such as celery in a tray, where they often take a fortnight or more to germinate.

Sow now in seed trays: early brassicas such as cabbage, cauliflower, calabrese (all for cropping in early summer - its still early for sowing autumn and winter brassicas), lettuce, spinach (not leaf beet or chard), celery without compost on the seed, preferably with a glass over the tray, parsley, dill, coriander, tree spinach, sorrel. Also chilli, pepper and aubergine if you have somewhere warm to put the tray, at least 20C. For tomatoes, I suggest waiting until early March.

 

Lettuce, typical germination pattern of old seed


The best seedlings pricked out into module trays, its almost as quick as direct sowing


On left is biodynamic dill seed, then Mr Fothergills, & coriander on right

Onions, shallots

Most garden onions and shallots are grown from sets, most onions you buy are grown from seed. Both methods are good, but growing from seed is cheaper, and from now until mid March is the time to sow. Use larger modules, say 4cm wide and/or of good depth, because alliums are greedy plants. Having said that, they are also very tough and if your module seedlings start to yellow while still small, from lack of nutrients, its possible to plant them out in March, with a cover of fleece on top.

Sets on the other hand do not want planting yet, otherwise they are checked by cold soil and then are more inclined to flower in June. Once that happens, you cannot have a bulb, so its worth waiting until mid March before planting sets, and even later for red onions. Last year I planted sets of Red Baron and Sturon on April 26th and the harvest in early August was excellent. 

Onion seedlings on right are small but I planted them successfully, with fleece over for a month


Left back, onions from sets planted last April


Same onions in early August, Red Baron, already interplanted with beetroot & chicory


Harvest of multi-sown modules, average five onions per station at 35cm (14 inches)

Bed preparation

Do keep beds weed-free, any fine days now are good for hand weeding. If you have winter weeds such as bittercress, groundsel, goosegrass (cleavers), chickweed, speedwell and annual meadow grass, they all risk setting new seeds at this time of year. Perennial weeds such as couch grass want removing with a trowel, to extract some root, but if your soil is thick with perennial weeds a light-excluding mulch is worthwhile, see here.

When there are no weeds and in dry weather, undug beds with compost on the surface can be lightly raked or forked, in a horizontal way and through the compost only, to break up lumps and create an even surface for sowing and planting. Winter frosts this year have helped to soften the compost. If you are spreading compost now, break up lumps larger than say an orange, before spreading it, using a fork or manure fork. If it is mushroom or municipal (green waste) compost, this is not a problem as the compost is fine already. 

This is 2 year old cow manure spread last December, then lightly raked in February


Mustard green manure has been killed by frost and I am about to rake it off to the compost heap


This is 2 year old cow manure spread last December, then lightly raked in February


Then I spread 5cm (2in) municipal (green waste) compost, and cow manure on the furthest bed

Winter salads

Over many winters I have tried different lettuce varieties, sown in September and grown undercover, and Grenoble Red is always the winner; even outdoors it often survives and then grows healthily from March. This year all the cos and oakleaf varieties are succumbing to mildew and slugs.

Forced chicory is a banker but its a lot of effort for few leaves; they look and taste excellent. 

Winter salads growing in boxes of 2 year old cow manure in the greenhouse


Witloof chicory, toots harvested December, grown in a dark cupboard


Navara lettuce also failed after looking healthy in November, leaf radish at back


In front are Grenoble Red, then some rotting Winter Gem, then Green-in-the -Snow mustard

Eating now

Its approaching a leaner time of year for vegetables, but for now there are still plenty of winter roots and leaves. I am picking Brussels and Flower sprouts, kale and leeks, with parsnips still to harvest, and plenty of stored vegetables, including onion, garlic, squash, celeriac, beetroot and swede. Apples have kept well too, although they win no prizes for looks, with wrinkled skins. The flavour has concentrated however!

Outdoor greens are scarcer than normal after pigeons ravaged the perennial kale while I was away in January. It is difficult to net because of being so tall but I have rigged up a structure with water pipes, threaded into sticks in the soil. 

Apples kept in a box in the house, Ashmeads Kernel on left, Suntan on right


Flower sprouts are giving fair harvests, the size is variable


Outdoor land cress has grown steadily all winter, without a cover

Flower sprouts are giving fair harvests, the size is variable


Compost toilet

Homeacres now has an almost-ready compost loo, designed and created by Dave Readman of Cotna in Cornwall, and his friend Dave Barker. Its a 6x8 foot shed with compartments for pee-only (half a straw bale to soak it up) and for poo at the other end. Dave has still to cut holes in the floor and make the seats in a couple of weeks. Meanwhile he and Sara are at Cotna in Cornwall, a beautiful haven of organic  smallholding and holiday homes - and compost toilets!

When I arrived at Homeacres two years ago, this area was covered in huge brambles and shrubs. After clearing much of that, I saw why it was not pasture, because its the site of an old septic tank (Homeacres is now on mains sewage).

From this side the shed is screened by remains of forsythia, on the far side I plan to plant some sticks of willow viminalis, a fast grower. We chose this spot because it is redundant ground and there is a slope to accommodate the poo-bins under one end. 

Homeacres November 2012 when I arrived, spruce trees on left


Homeacres February 2015, new shed is top right


Before starting, its the site of an old septic tank


The two Dave’s applying finishing touches, compost areas at bottom

Our trip to Dublin, February 9th 2015

Steph and I were impressed to find a new, no dig garden in the heart of Dublin, created on an area of rubble and buddleias by Tony Lowth and his team, which is Martin the gardener helped by volunteers from the nearby National College of Art and Design, who own the land.

Tony is a “guerilla composter”, from wastes he collects around the city, so the beds are simply compost on top after clearing the buddleias, brambles and their main roots. Its still early days, with a plan to supply city outlets with fresh vegetables, especially salads.

I gave a lecture in the college which attracted a lively audience and there is a good feeling about the place, so its one to watch.ù

Before starting the site was overgrown and messy – this is after clearing top-growth of buddleia and bramble


Tony and Martin make beds very simply, with compost on the levelled rubble. Some have wooden sides, most don’t.


Tony and I climbed to the top of his compost heap! It is full of worms, a force of nature.


Steph on left, Tony to right of me then Martin, with volunteers

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