Rain Rain Go Away!

Why is it so wet? It has been raining on and off all weekend!

I haven't done a single thing in the garden and am a little bit concerned that my previous outdoor sowings / plantings are going to get waterlogged, if they aren't already... there's not a great deal I can do about it though, so I suppose there is no point worrying.

Anyway, it's March tomorrow so spring is just around the corner and then the real work can begin.

The Germinator... or should that be germinated?

Yep, just the one. Of all the seeds I have sown so far, only one has germinated... can you spot it?

It's a cauliflower (all year round). What are the others waiting for?! Having checked my notes from previous years, germination has taken about a month, so I guess I am being a bit impatient... good things come to those who wait and all that.

Anyway, one or two of the garlic cloves have already put up shoots so there is some action in the garden.

So, what did I do today? In the potting shed I sowed:

• Onion (Kamal) x 5
• Onion (Sweet Spanish Yellow) x 5 

in little individual pots, and some rocket in a trough.

Outdoors, I planted the shallots (Golden Gourmet) x 12 in the raised bed, and also sowed:

• Carrots (Paris Market) x 2 rows
• Radish (Prinz Rotin) x 1 row
• Radish (French Breakfast) x 1 row

in a free bulb crate that I got from the local garden centre, and finally parsnips (White Gem) x 10 in the raised bed. Now with the parsnips I have sown in toilet roll tubes (which I did in my first year), and poured boiling water on the soil before dropping in the seeds (which I did in my second year... can't remember where I got that tip from), so hopefully the two in combination should work wonders.

More Winter Sowing

I did a bit more sowing today, all undercover in the potting shed:

• Tomato (Urbikany) x 5
• Sweet Pepper (Kaibi Round) x 1
• Sweet Pepper (Orange Bell) x 5
• Sweet Pepper (California Wonder) x 5
• Chilli Pepper (Cayenne) x 5
• Chilli Pepper (Chilli Shake) x 10
• Cucumber (Marketmore) x 5
• Cape Gooseberry (Golden Berry) x 5
• Brussels Sprout (Evesham Special) x 5
• Broccoli (Raab) x 5
• Sage

I've been growing Urbikany, Kaibi Round, Orange Bell and Cayenne since I started two years ago, so wasn't surprised to find just one Kaibi seed when I opened the packet and I'm hoping this solitary seed will fly the flag for its cultivar this year... no pressure!

California Wonder and Chilli Shake were new for me last year and did very well. The reason I have sown so many shake plants is because you never know what you're gonna get (sounds like a line from a film!)... but you really don't. I think I had 5 different types last year (see my past successes - chillies post) from a very mild large green type to a teeny tiny blow your head off orange type... that's all part of the fun.

Marketmore was also new for me last year and did okay, although not as well as my mini-whites.

Cape Gooseberry is new for me this year, and if I'm honest I think I'm being a bit ambitious, but if you don't try you'll never know. I love eating them, mainly when I go out for meals and it's used as garnish on desserts so I'll be very pleased and impressed if I manage to grow my own.

I attempted both Evesham Special and Raab last year but that was during the brassica failure that I have mentioned too many times on this blog already, so I won't say any more about that.

I've not tried sage before, and this is part of my grand masterplan for Christmas... home-made (and grown) sage & onion stuffing.

I'm still a bit wary about direct sowing outside with this unpredicatable weather, so I'm leaving shallots, onions, radish, carrots and maybe a few early parsnips till the end of the month.

Seasonings

Today's activities were all about the seasonings. I sowed the following herbs into small pots:

• chervil
• chives
• coriander
• basil (sweet genovese & lemon)
• parsley
• dill

and planted a row of garlic (solent wight) into the raised bed. I was tempted to put the shallots in too, but decided to wait a week or so.