Pushing up the daisies

off work for half an hour to come and sow seeds! Yes, that does seem rather extreme, I admit. But this weekend, I am selling our crap in a garage sale and then Sunday we are invited out, so no gardening possible this weekend.
But I got me seeds from DT Browns! I am trying to ensure more even cropping throughout the year so this year I took advice and got in some more brassica seeds, autumn varieties so I can keep harvesting as much as possible.
I bought:

• Artichokes: these are now in the seedbed, I am hoping to renew my stock for next year.
• Beetroot, a late variety (Monoruba?). I will sow them a bit later, when I have had time to prepare a little space.
• Durham spring cabbage, that's for sowing in summer.
• Cauliflower - the All Year Round failed totally, so won't try that variety again, I bought a winter hardy variety and I sowed it today.
• Pak Choi- my first time growing these! sowed them this morning
• Kale, curly variety - my neighbour gave me some of this last year and I admit it was delicious. I have grown winter cabbage before (cow cabbage) but this seems finer and tastier. It also makes the garden look productive even in very cold weather :-)
• Libon winter onions, for cropping in early spring - they get sown later too.

I also sowed some green broccoli and coriander (in modules) and some Flyaway carrots, to fill in an empty space in the current carrot patch. The carrots are off to a good start this year, there is still hope then!
Next week I will try to find time to sow some more lettuce, although the ones that have been planted recently are starting to be well established. I will be able to start harvesting the cut and come agains I think. I also noticed that my squashes have germinated in the coldframe, I will plant them out in a week or so once they have their proper leaves. For now, the melons seem ok, they had been covered up a little by my straw, so I exposed them again. Perhaps not my best idea. Soon they will be too big for that to be a problem. The other plantations from the long weekend seem to have recovered from the trauma of being planted out, even the aubergines which worried me, and are eagerly drinking the rain we had yesterday and last night. Not nearly enough but at least it helps a little. Now the garden just needs a good weeding and it will be well on the way to success!

Labels: artichoke, brassica, broccoli, carrots, caulis, coriander, kale, seedlings, sow, spring