Categories
Plot #59 Sowing and Propagating

Seed Sowing Now in Full Swing

May is the month when it really gets busy in the greenhouse as the warmth-loving seeds are finally sown.

Sorting seeds and checking out one of John Spiers’ Isolation Pub Sessions

Up here in Manchester we don’t enjoy the balmy microclimate that places like Cornwall or the south east benefit from, so with temperatures trending cooler, and weather patterns at this time of year a bit unpredictable anyway – take this coming weekend’s coming frost as a good example – I’ve found it’s not always a good idea to try to get ahead of schedule. Sowing too early – as I ended up doing last year, just before we had that cold, dull, grey May and June – can sometimes mean seedlings fail for lack of warmth and sunlight, even with the benefit of a greenhouse to shelter them.

Which means that whilst I usually sow a few things that do need a fairly long growing season (chillis, tomatoes, onions, leeks) or are easy-to-re-sow if needed (peas, beetroot, carrots, turnips, parsnips), in February and March, seeds that need a decent amount of warmth to germinate and then grow on strongly are saved until mid-April, May and on into June.

So far this month, I’ve sown the following:

SquashCucurbita maximaCrown Prince F1
SquashCucurbita moschataCoquina Inca Gold F1
SquashCucurbita maximaUchiki Kuri
SquashCucurbita pepoVegetable Spaghetti
CourgetteCucurbita pepoBlack Beauty
CourgetteCucurbita pepoSunstripe F1
CourgetteCucurbita pepoJaguar
Hungarian Rice BeanPhaseolus vulgarisDuchesse de Chambourd
CucamelonMelothria scabraMexican Gherkin
BasilOcimum basilicumLime
BasilOcimum basilicumSweet / Genovese
BasilOcimum basilicumRed Leaved
BasilOcimum basilicumMrs Burns’ Lemon
SweetcornZea MaysSweet Nugget F1
RadishRaphanus sativusSparkler 3
LettuceLactuca sativaMixed Green Leaves

I’ve also lined up kohl rabi, parsley, kale, callaloo, and more lettuce, and then I’ll be starting on the beans. I have 22 varieties of beans in my seed box and you know what? I might just sow a few of them all. Variety is the spice of life, after all.

Actually, if you’re interested in what I’ve sown so far, there’s a Google spreadsheet available here that I’m updating fairly frequently. (Hopefully you should be able to view that but not edit it…)

How about yourself? What have you got on the go, or lined up, seed-sowing wise? Do you like to get an early head start, or do you prefer to wait for warmer weather? Let me know, via the comments.

4 replies on “Seed Sowing Now in Full Swing”

You’re welcome, Andrew. Last year’s data should be on there as well on a separate tab. I think I forgot to keep it properly updated though, so it probably tails off round about July or so…

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.