The first sowings of the year

I spent the first afternoon pottering around in the greenhouse on Sunday and I couldn’t have been happier. It feels so good to finally be sowing seeds and getting my hands dirty and this is just the beginning. Next month the list of seeds to sow is three times the amount as February but I am so eager to get the allotment looking the best it can possibly be.

On the list of seeds to sow were leeks, globe artichokes, sweet peas and I had to plant my onion sets out too. The leeks were sown 0.5mm deep in a large terracotta pot, these will no doubt be heeled into the ground outside once the frosts have passed ready to be spaced out in August once the potatoes have been harvested.

I only need one globe artichoke but decided to sow 9 just in case, you might be thinking that’s far too many but I want to pot on at least 3 back ups. My one and only globe artichoke lasted a whole year outside in 2016 before giving up at the last minute so I’m preparing myself!

I always plant my onion sets out into modules in the greenhouse to give them a head start and to give me a chance to get the allotment ready before planting things out. This way of planting has always given me and my Dad good results and also stops the mice and birds running off with your onions!

Last but not least I sowed my sweet peas using the seed I saved from last years blooms. I’m sowing these a whole week earlier than last year but I had one of my best ever sweet pea harvests in 2016 and I would really like 2017 to be as good, if not better. I used roottrainer trays to sow my sweet peas into and sowed two seeds per module simply because I had so much saved seed. I’ve made a mental note to save more seed from other flowers and vegetables next year!

If you head on over to my Youtube channel there’s a few videos on there you might be interested in such as ‘How to grow Sweet Peas’ and ‘How to grow Onions from Sets’. I go into much detail from how to sow and look after your seedlings to how to plant them out and harvest them. Either follow the social media link on the homepage or browse through the video’s on the website.

I’ve also sown a tray of Mung Beans on the windowsill as a little experiment. I have a new love of stir fries and would love to grow my own ingredients to add to the meals, these little sprouts seemed perfect and only take 5-6 days to grow!