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January 17th, 2014

17/1/2014

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Looking at what people are talking about online, it's clear some beginners are starting cucumbers and other tender stuff off already. This is too early unless you have the facilities to grow them on under heated protection till it is safe to plant out.

Yes, you can start off tomatoes now, and peppers especially need a long growing season. But you must be ready to keep them at a minumum temperature of 5degC at night (and more in the daytime) till mid-April if you have a greenhouse, and till the beginning of May at the earliest if you are planning to grow them outside. This means having a conservatory at your house, or supplying artificial heat in your greenhouse. (A sunny windowsill rarely gets enough light).

If you can't provide these conditions, you are better delaying sowing or even just buying well-grown plants at bootfairs, where they are usually very cheap even if the range of varieties is restricted.

When growing plants with artificial heat - either on a windowsill or in a propagator - you must balance the heat with the available light. Too much heat for the amount of light will make your seedlings grow tall, spindly and weak. They will be more vulnerable to disease and may not be able to survive the transition to cooler conditions. Check out the Help and Advice section - "Why are my seedlings so spindly?"
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Sow onions now for this year's crop

7/1/2014

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When onion sets are so easy, you may ask "Why bother growing them from seed?"

Years of experience and watching other allotmenteers show that, despite what the books say, seed-grown plants seem to do better on many soils - including heavy ones, for which sets are often recommended. Seed-grown plants develop better root systems and are less prone to fungal disease.

Old-fashioned gardeners (including Melvin, whose veg are show-class) sow them outdoors in January. This year, however, I think even the most die-hard advocates of outdoor sowing may think again. Others sow in trays then prick out to cells, keeping the plants in a cool greenhouse and hardening off before planting out in March.

The first time I tried growing from seed I gave up and bought sets - those tiny weedy things were never going to come to anything! My mistake, "plant them out when they look like little bits of green cotton" I was later told. Little bits of green cotton certainly described my seedlings - I left them in for spring onions and it became plain, later in summer, that if I had persevered wit
h them I would have got a decent crop - Bill's seed grown onions were psectacular last year, while my set-grown ones were miserable. Lesson learned!

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CLEARING UP AFTER STORMS

4/1/2014

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It's all so depressing, isn't it? It seems hard to imagine that only 2 years ago we were desperately worrying about drought.

There is a limit to what you can achieve in the current conditions, but there are some things that are worth putting the wellies on and snatching any dry spell for - apart from rescuing your damaged shed or clearing up broken glass!

Get out some stout canes and string and stake up brassicas which have been blown flat. Where they have wobbled about there will be a hole surrounding the stem. Once you have secured the roots in the ground with a stake, use your boot to firm the soil back well and fill in that hole. This will give you the best chance of salvaging a crop later in spring.
Picture
Windswept purple kale - but the roots are still in the ground thanks to the canes.
Leeks don't mind the wet, but if you're actually flooded, they may rot. If you can dig a channel to take the excess water away, then do so.

We haven't had much frost yet - though one expects it will come. Check root crops - beetroot, swede, carrots etc, even parsnips. It may be worth lifting them and storing them somewhere dry till you can use them. Parsnips are fully hardy but will rot if the ground they are in is waterlogged. Cerleriac is a marsh plant and will probably be OK - let us know your experience at the end of the season. We will be collating people's results and tips after the worst of the weather is over.

You may have lost your garlic. The good news is that, hopefully, the seed shed will have supplies for spring planting. Or you can put some in cell trays to root now - supermarket garlic is OK and better than nothing.
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    Kent's climate is drier, hotter and has a longer growing season than the average for the UK. Advice in gardening books may not fit Kent. This blog has local tips on what will grow and when to do garden jobs.

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