I’ve sown my winter cabbage/Spring Green in there, I will plant them in the GH borders when the tomatoes come out.
Which varieties are you planting, Lyn?
My toms are just finishing and I love spring cabbage.
I sow Durham Early, it says on the packet to sow by June but I think that’s if you’re planting them outside, I pick the leaves from the outside and use them as Spring Greens, it freezes very well if you very lightly blanch it first and comes out as good as fresh.
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor.
Not the original Autumn sowing that was the oroginal question, but I'm curious about whether any of you have tried Trudi Davidoff's Winter Sowing Method? It originated from her desire to grow All The Things and her lack of windowsill space and lack of greenhouse (and appeals to me for those very same reasons). The idea being you sow seeds in translucent, covered but ventilated containers in winter and wait for spontaneous germination when the conditions are right. Apparently winter sown plants are generally strong because they've needed to thrive in the (somewhat protected) natural conditions as compared with cosseted indoor sown seeds. I don't know, but I find the whole process intriguing and love the thought that I could be able to grow lots using my outdoor space. My garden is pretty much empty so there's lots I want to grow. I figure it's worth a try, keeping back some seed for starting indoors as a plan b.
Thanks everyone. One of the issues I have in my polytunnel is that it gets really hot during the day (from mid spring onwards) with lots of condensation and cold at night - it’s only a small plastic one, and I cannot afford to visit my plot daily to open the flap during the day and shut it at night. As a result of this, I believe my last year’s seedlings got scorched by the sun.. the leaves turn pale, almost white, I wondered if it was due to the extreme day time temperature (my thermometer registered 38 at one point).. with the water droplets on the roof causing light convergence on the seedlings. Anyway.. I like the idea of being able to plant out seedlings bit earlier than end of may when everything else tender need to go out at the same time..
From what I've seen it certainly seems to work well from a temperature viewpoint: in the states people use it at least a couple of zones colder than the coldest bits of the UK. But they're at more southerly latitudes so I don't know how much of an effect our darker winters would have. I worry the combo of less light and more 'warmth' might mean leggy plants, but there's only one way to find out!
Thanks everyone. One of the issues I have in my polytunnel is that it gets really hot during the day (from mid spring onwards) with lots of condensation and cold at night - it’s only a small plastic one, and I cannot afford to visit my plot daily to open the flap during the day and shut it at night. As a result of this, I believe my last year’s seedlings got scorched by the sun.. the leaves turn pale, almost white, I wondered if it was due to the extreme day time temperature (my thermometer registered 38 at one point).. with the water droplets on the roof causing light convergence on the seedlings. Anyway.. I like the idea of being able to plant out seedlings bit earlier than end of may when everything else tender need to go out at the same time..
Could it be left open from mid spring or would it be more vulnerable to the wind that way? You could always fleece the plants if you were worried about severe overnight lows, but the tunnel would still be protecting them from winter wet and winds.
@CharlotteF, yes it's hard to find people doing it in the UK, so thanks for that link. I've started saving up my containers too. I'm finding one of my favourite things about gardening is the experiential learning aspect of it - so I'm up definitely up for giving it a try just to see how it goes. I'm prepared for the potential for everything to fail miserably. When are you planning to start sowing? It might be nice to have a thread nearer the time so that we could follow each other's progress.
@YessicaHaircut I need to do a bit more research about timings. Logically I think from mid feb would probably be good here as the light levels are increasing fast at that point. I might try some autumn sowings in them as well though for things that need cold stratification.
Please can you grow any plant in grow-pot, not just tomatoes
Are grow pots another name for those rings you put in grow bags? It might be better to start a new thread for your query if you mean something different
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Posts
https://extension.unh.edu/blog/2021/02/winter-seeding-shortcut-spring
From what I've seen it certainly seems to work well from a temperature viewpoint: in the states people use it at least a couple of zones colder than the coldest bits of the UK. But they're at more southerly latitudes so I don't know how much of an effect our darker winters would have. I worry the combo of less light and more 'warmth' might mean leggy plants, but there's only one way to find out!
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...