If you are still reading our seed choices posts - well done - by now you must be itching for me to finish. Well I promise this is my last list - honestly it really is!
Here I'm going to cover the seeds that I haven't already mentioned starting with the salad crops. Firstly lettuce and salad leaves. We still have an unopened packet of Winter Gem seeds so although we aren't adding these to our seed list we will be growing them. No doubt we will also be using up some other left over seeds from last year - we seem to have lots of part used packets. Then the tried and tested varieties on our list are Little Gem, Webbs Wonderful and a freebies packet of Mixed Salad Leaves. New for this year is Mazurosso a red variety described as having some tolerance to bolting.
The most difficult thing about growing radish last year was remembering to pull them before they grew too big. This year we will be just ordering a packet of mixed seeds. This mixture should include French Breakfast, Scarlet Globe and Sparkler. No doubt will find some left over seed too.
Spring onions are suddenly proving challenging - I say suddenly but the suddenly really refers to a few years ago now. The seeds germinate but then the seedling grow so slowly whether the seeds have been sown directly in the ground or in a pot filled with general purpose compost. We will not give up though and this year we have ordered a bunching onion called Lillia.
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I'm hoping that my sweetcorn does much better this year, it can't get any worse. Chard does brighten up the plot, even if you're not really keen on it.
ReplyDeleteHere's to a corny year, Jo
DeleteFor some reason I haven't had much success growing salads, maybe the slugs are to blame in some cases. I love the look of your ruby chard, so pretty. I used to like the free seeds with the magazines, however, why do they always seem to give away the same type of seeds. All the magazines seem to offer the same type of lettuce, radish' leek etc. It's putting me off buying magazines.
ReplyDeleteMust admit we are seriously thinking of stopping our magazine subscriptions, Kelli
DeleteSue your lettuce look very happy,do you always grow them through weed supressant membrane?We grow our potatoes through it to save earthing up but we don't use it for any other veg.I am very envious of your sweetcorn we have badgers that always seem to know when the sweetcorn is ripe and come and flatten the lot.I have managed to protect my bulbs but have yet to come up with sufficient protection for sweetcorn,you would be amazed how much they will climb to get something they want.We love Ruby chard steamed and with a bit of butter,it is so colourful and lasts so long.
ReplyDeleteIt was the first time we had tried this Flowerlady. We used weed control fabric on our carrot bed successfully and are also using it for our winter brassicas and onions. We're just trying to save some weeding as our plot is quite big. You may be interested in this post and this post It's all a bit experimental at the moment.
DeleteJeeez!!!
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean about all of those free seeds and the price of the magazines these days. I was horrified to see GYO magazine priced at £4.99 this month. I will not buy it at that price, and I stocked up on seeds in the seed sales last year.
I really like the way you are growing your lettuce through the black lining, it's a tip I think I'll be using this year.
Martin :)
We were surprised to find that the weed control fabric didn't seem to encourage slugs, Martin. That was our fear - maybe we were just lucky.
DeleteSue, I like your message to Magazine Editors - but it will fall on deaf ears. They are aiming at an audience very different to you. Their magazines are mostly bought by the type of person who thinks that gardening is just a matter of scattering a few seeds in the ground and waiting a couple of weeks until a bumper crop of perfect veg just magically happens to appear!
ReplyDeleteWhich is why we are more than likely going to stop buying any, Mark
DeleteI have stopped buying gardening magazzines - they just say the same things over and over. I didn't have a decent radish at all last year hoping for better this year.
ReplyDeleteThey also usually a month too early Elaine
DeleteLike you we grow our currant bushes through the weed supressant,I have used it in the past with wood chip on the top but found as the wood chip decomposed weeds flourished.We have found crops do much better as it keeps the soil warmer and moisture in.Not that anything needed moisture keeping in last year!
ReplyDeleteI'd wondered about whether it would help warm the soil up a bit Flowerlady
DeleteChard is a wonderful veg.This year as well as the white stemmed varieties I'm going to grow Pink Passion and Golden "rare breeds" from the Real Seed Co.
ReplyDeleteIt's great simmered in with potatoes,putting the sliced lower stem part in first and then the top leafy part.Drain ,crush lightly adding butter, lemon,salt and pepper ,yum. it also braises down well in oil with hardly any water.You can tell that I'm a convert...
I know what you mean about spring onions ,they seem to take for ever to get to an reasonable size nowdays.
I just tastes a bit earthy to my taste Shinny
DeleteEnjoyed all your seed posts, Sue. In my book reading a magazine is an alternative activity to actually gardening. Mind you if you stuck on a train or plane...
ReplyDeleteI'm a big seakale beet/ Swiss chard fan. But the best tasting is the white - even though it doesn't look as spectacular. It's a nuisance having leaf and stem and cooking them differently, but buttery stalks are better than asparagus in my book. They are also great in stews. The leaf, boiled and pressed, is pretty good too. (Don't you like spinach either?)
I can eat spinach in things Mal but don;t enjoy its taste as a vegetable
DeleteSuch huge Chard!
ReplyDeleteEverything look so promising and yummy!
Unfortunately the photos were of last years's or in chard's case a previous year's crops.
DeleteI am so looking forward to growing celeriac again, though last time I only got one usable plant! Such a great crop though, lets hope we all succeed with it this year!
ReplyDeleteWe've never managed to crop any yet - nor have others on out site
DeleteLoving the chard! I can't wait to grow more of that this year. Your post is really cheering me up Sue! I feel like now the snow has gone we are really turning a corner! Plus, it's nice to know what you will be growing this year :)
ReplyDeleteAnna B
If I tokk photos now you wouldn't be as cheered, Anna. Very, very soggy
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