Afternoon all. New year and new beginning. Hopefully this one will be much better. Here is still quite warm with loads of rain and high wind. From tomorrow we can expect snow. I already started with preparation for growing season, most of my seeds arrived, and I ordered potatoes, onions and sweet potatoes. This year I'll plant 100 kg of potatoes, 12 kg onion and 140 sweet potatoes seedlings. I will build three more raised beds, all material is prepared, and last Saturday I assembled one and filled it with soil. Today I sowed chilies and bell peppers, like every year in January.
Some of my seeds arrived last week.
Few flowers in my front garden
On the end, new experiment for this year. I bought tea plant (Camellia sinensis) seeds. Seeds are quite large, and one was already empty, so I started with three. First I soaked them 24 hours, then slightly cracked them with hammer, and sowed each in separate pot. Now I can only wait, it can last up to two months.
Hi @Ante1 great to hear from you. I have bought a few seeds and some new strawberry plants, but I haven't been able to plant them out or even fill the new raised bed for them as our ground is frozen at the moment. It had been very mild, but winter has come back to bite us this week. I will buy the rest of my seeds and seed potatoes at a garden centre at the end of the month. The place I go to sells seed potatoes loose. You can pick and choose many varieties that way ideal when you only grow smaller amounts. There is another place that sells in bulk sacks if you want bigger ammonts. Sometimes me and fellow Allotmenteers will buy a sack or two to share, a little cheaper that way but not much.
Morning @Allotment Boy. I didn't see loose potatoes seeds in our GC. We have them packed in bulk sacks, from 5 to 20 kg. It's the same with onions. Hope you will soon be able to plant your strawberry plants out.
Hi @Ante1, and any others who follow this thread. We went to the garden centre I was referring to before, to get seed potatoes. They're not the cheapest but you get a good choice, and you can buy a few, of several varieties if you want to try different ones, or if you have limited space. I noticed that even they have cut down on the range offered . You pay a fixed price for a medium or large paper bag, the trick is to cram in as many as you can/ want. They sell prepackaged ones as well, which is how most other places sell them. Not really suitable for the quantity you grow, there is a different place that sells in bulk if you want, but they are quite a distance away and in the opposite direction. There are more varieties on the other side and the end of this display bench.
Prepackaged ones ahead and to the left (out of shot)
So I will be growing Foremost, first early, Charlotte, second early salad type, and Sarpo Mira a blight resistant late main crop. Plus a few Pink fir apple late salad type with a distinctive nutty flavour. I have enough seed for at least 2full rows of each of the first three, plus 1 row of the fir apple. Now to set them to "chit" Topped up my others seed packs too, I used to buy mail order but it's too easy to get carried away and buy too many. I went with a list and kept to it, well nearly 😉 Happy growing.
That looks so lovely @Allotment Boy. Sadly we don't have nothing similar here. It's all prepacked, so I can't choose alone. Your choice of seeds potatoes sounds lovely. Hope you will have huge harvest. 😊
I called my GC regarding potatoes and onions, and they told me that it will arrive around 20th February. On the other hand, my parcel from UK arrived, first one in last two years. They sent small present, three extra seeds packages and labels.
It is unusual here too, though in the past some Allotment and gardening societies organised Potato days where suppliers come and offer rare and unusual varieties as well as the more widely available ones. At these events you can buy very small amounts if you just want to try something different. I haven't seen one of these event for several years though. The vast majority of GC just supply prepackaged ones.
My last post was almost a month ago. Since then we had huge snow storm ten days ago, but spring is now back. I still can't do anything up at cottage because there is still some snow on the ground, but it will change with higher temperature next week. I started with sowing inside, and my toms and pepper seedlings look very nice. Last week I bought seed potatoes (90kg), and onions (10kg). Didn't plan to plant Christmas trees, but I saw advertise for quite cheep seedling, so I bought 30 of them, 15 blue spruce and 15 Canadian spruce. Luckily I have enough space for them. Now photos, mostly of first spring flowers.
Hi @Allotment Boy. This year I'll plant Laura (second early), Bella rossa (first early), and Primabella (first early, little sack in the middle on the photo). Last one is just for testing to see how it will grow.
Posts
I will build three more raised beds, all material is prepared, and last Saturday I assembled one and filled it with soil.
Today I sowed chilies and bell peppers, like every year in January.
Some of my seeds arrived last week.
Few flowers in my front garden
On the end, new experiment for this year. I bought tea plant (Camellia sinensis) seeds. Seeds are quite large, and one was already empty, so I started with three. First I soaked them 24 hours, then slightly cracked them with hammer, and sowed each in separate pot. Now I can only wait, it can last up to two months.
We went to the garden centre I was referring to before, to get seed potatoes. They're not the cheapest but you get a good choice, and you can buy a few, of several varieties if you want to try different ones, or if you have limited space. I noticed that even they have cut down on the range offered . You pay a fixed price for a medium or large paper bag, the trick is to cram in as many as you can/ want.
They sell prepackaged ones as well, which is how most other places sell them. Not really suitable for the quantity you grow, there is a different place that sells in bulk if you want, but they are quite a distance away and in the opposite direction.
There are more varieties on the other side and the end of this display bench.
Prepackaged ones ahead and to the left (out of shot)
So I will be growing Foremost, first early, Charlotte, second early salad type, and Sarpo Mira a blight resistant late main crop. Plus a few Pink fir apple late salad type with a distinctive nutty flavour. I have enough seed for at least 2full rows of each of the first three, plus 1 row of the fir apple. Now to set them to "chit"
Topped up my others seed packs too, I used to buy mail order but it's too easy to get carried away and buy too many. I went with a list and kept to it, well nearly 😉
Happy growing.
The vast majority of GC just supply prepackaged ones.
My last post was almost a month ago. Since then we had huge snow storm ten days ago, but spring is now back. I still can't do anything up at cottage because there is still some snow on the ground, but it will change with higher temperature next week. I started with sowing inside, and my toms and pepper seedlings look very nice. Last week I bought seed potatoes (90kg), and onions (10kg). Didn't plan to plant Christmas trees, but I saw advertise for quite cheep seedling, so I bought 30 of them, 15 blue spruce and 15 Canadian spruce. Luckily I have enough space for them. Now photos, mostly of first spring flowers.
First apricot blossom.
Spring
Out of interest which varieties of potatoes are you growing?