Apparently the seeds are a lot happier this time around. They are sown in a layer of coir over compost (the compost to make sure they have nutrients available in case I miss a seedling for a bit – they shouldn’t starve this way) and have not seen so much as a drop since the initial watering.
Today I’ve potted up 1 Red Robin, 1 Tigerella and 1 seedling of unknown variety.
When I was trying to figure out what had gone wrong I dug out the cells that had seeds and put the compost into empty ones as I removed it. Well, one of those unlabeled cells of discarded soil has produced a shoot. It could be a Greyhound cabbage, Red Robin tomato or PattyPan squash – but as I’ve never sprouted any of these things before – I really have no idea which it might be. Fun!
Last weekend I spent a bit of time on the plot. Recently I’ve usually there alone, but Sam came this time and was a huge help. We’ve sown up almost a full bed (the second of 8 ) with potatoes, 3 varieties of carrot, a single fennel, some parsnips, some Matador spinach, 3 varieties of onion and one spring onion.
With her supervision I was able to get plenty more done too.
I’ve pulled up about 15 miles of mint roots that were spreading out from the patch I’ve inherited (and intend to keep), pulled out a fair few weeds, become a wee bit disheartened about the vast number of horsetail poking through the top of the small pile of manure and soil I need to shift and am generally starting to get more on top of things.
More news on the seeds and seedlings as the story develops.
William,
I have a little spot in my front yard that gets morning sun. I will try to plant some cherry tomatoes among my flower bed and see how it goes. I don’t think I want to venture in seedings yet. Maybe next year when I am more confident about yielding anything edible. I am envious that you have so much sun and yard space to grow your own food.
That sounds like a great idea. I’m still on my first season with tomatoes and even then they’ll be growing in full sun so I don’t know how they’ll do in shade, however one of the varieties I’ve mentioned above, Red Robin, is a really small variety which can apparently set fruit inside a sunny window in winter. It is only a small one but it might be worth trying – especially if you can fit a few in.
I’m not sure how easy it will be to get that variety as a young plant in a garden centre, but I’m sure there are others that would fit the bill too.
As for my yard, oh I wish it was. In the UK we have small parcels of land called allotments (hence the name of the blog) which are rented, for the purpose of growing food or for raising certain kinds of livestock, from landowners or the local council.
I’ve got one of those and it’s 2.5 miles from my house. Happily I’ll be able to grow a rather large amount of food on it and expect to be giving a heck of a lot away.
It certainly gets a good bit of sun though – in the winter part of it is in partial shade but that’s where I’ll be growing my soft fruits anyway so come spring time when they start coming back into leaf they have the sun again.
Sounds like you’ve got everything on the go now! Can’t wait to see some pics of your plants once they get a little bigger… The weather’s gorgeous this weekend so hopefully you’ll have some time to get out on the allotment and enjoy it!
It does feel like things are moving again now, thankfully! I still need to chase up some kind of greenhouse or I’m going to struggle to get the best out of my tomatoes… some of them claim to be outdoor varieties but I’m not entirely convinced they’ll be able to produce ripe fruit without glass. We’ll see though.
I’ll include some photos in my next blog post. I’ve got a few more bits and pieces poking through now too.
You’re right about the weather, it’s lovely. Sam and I went out for a bike ride today – got absolutely nothing done on the plot but there’s time for that tomorrow.
All being well I’ll be able to get another bed or two finished, the soft fruit bushes planted and a few more bits and pieces into the ground.
It should be a nice day whatever happens though.