Pushing up the daisies

It's cold as buggery today, frostier than a snowman's privates. Either it will make my newly planted garlic really break into cloves or it will kill it off...
Anyway to warm myself up I was pleased to see a newsletter from Alan Romans in my inbox. I have found their seeds excellent value for money, last year I got some lovely climbing beans off them (Cobra) and it is much cheaper than what you get in the stores here. And no they haven't paid me to say that :-)
So I have been making a little list, planning this year's seed buys. Of course I still have some leftovers from last year but I do like to try some new things and I also want to replant some of the things from 2009 that worked well. The UK seeds seem well suited to this region's cooler maritime climate.
So I will be buying:
some flowers and herbs, as my little herb bed is now looking great and I want to extend it to beds next to the shed.
Black Beauty Aubergines - last year I had aubergines from lidl which started off well but then got destroyed by storms so I ended up buying plants. Still I will try this variety to see.
Beans: Cobra (2nd time), Borlottis (can't wait to try them!) and Tendergreen bush French.
Cylindra beets, beetroot was a big flop last year but I am hoping that the manure will give me a better crop this year, I love my homegrown beetroot.
Cauliflower - never tried before, but the neigbours manage to grow them so I will give it a try too.
Courgettes: I still have yellow Parador seeds which are very reliable but now I will also try Black Beauty and Defender varieties. 2009 gave a very poor crop, let's hope this year they work better, new location and plenty of organic matter.
Corn - Lark which worked well in 2008.
Peas - I found their Early Onward to be good, but on the whole peas were a flop last year so let's hope these give a better crop. I love peas, the best reason for having a garden.
Peppers - last year these were a terrific success so I am going to be bold and try sweet peppers, a European variety called Robertina that is supposed to like cooler conditions...
Pumpkins. I am a sucker for pumpkin, I still have Qld Blue seeds from Australia which gave me some beautiful fruit last year (which I am still eating!) so This year I want to try Butternuts (Ponca variety) and some little ones they have called Hooligan. You have to grow them just for the name, don't you?
Finally the tomatoes. A great crop in 2009. A good variety of flavours, except the cherry tomatoes didn't grow well. So I will have a go at some Gardener's delight for that. More Totem, a great small salad tomato, good cropper. Also this year trying Yellow Brandywine, a big yellow beefsteak. and a smaller salad tom they have called Pannovy. I always also do a bit of Marmande, which don't always work out! I am in two minds about the Italian plum varieties, last year they were diseased... which puts me off somewhat.
So I will be at the keyboard tonight, credit card at the ready and hopefully I will have my lovely little seed package in a couple of weeks.

Labels: planning, seeds, winter