Veg to plant in January and things to do.

kippers

Primrose wrote: »

I think potato blight normally strikes before tomato blight too, so hopefully this tactic will reduce the disease spreading.

I have never had potato blight yet but every year i lose my toms to blight...so i don't think the fugus is choosy about what it strikes first

stumpycat

I'm just hoping to see my garden sometime in January... it's still under several inches of ice!

cubegame

I looked out my seed box to get ready.

Chillis to plant at the start of February looked out.

Leeks (for september harvest) and certain cabbages/caulis can be planted now. You might also have sucess with starting some broad beans off indoors because in mild areas you can plant out in March and beat the black fly. It's like overwintering.....

SuperMum2010

....would I get from one chitted spud?

[Deleted User]

I have been sorting out the garage shelves on which I keep my gardening things, so I am ready to go. Yesterday was spent getting the utility end of the allotment ready ie 3 large wooden compost bins are now set up in a row and nice to have one half full and rotting well and I am still in the process of moving bits and pieces into the small shed we erected a couple of weeks ago. Then yesterday afternoon I sat and planned on paper and have done a 4 plot rotation for the next 8 years and the 2 linkabord raised beds arrived. I dithered for a while re wood or linkabord but saw that they were good value on their website and that they can be bought in 4` sections in any combination, so they were my choice

The main thing is the planning and I feel very satisfied to have finished. Oh yes an alan titmarsh planner also arrived and it really is a gem. just right for rainy day browsing, like today

My patiogrow was crammed full of winter lettuces, all through the very cold weather. It has the plastic cover on with a fleece cover on top and I haven`t opened it up for weeks but this morning was mild enough so I had a look, expecting lots to have died. I had a very pleasant surprise to find they were all doing very well indeed, just a few mouldy leaves but all are now tidied up and under cover again

I don`t know if I will bother growing leekes this year after leek moth devastated all the leekes on local plots. Mind you they don`t take up much room so maybe, if I can get enough netting and hoops in

I have planted comfrey bocking 14 and just ordered a book about comfrey and am thinking about getting a piece of horseradish. I am also enjoying a book on companion planting by joy little, it contains a lot of sensible advice and good planting tips

moneymabel

Went to Wilkos this morning and bought my seed potatoes (charlotte 5 for 98p) They are now chiiting and i've planted some broad beans as well ,they are in seed trays/compartments and on a table in the spare room! What else can i plant inside now? I have tomatoes (roma and gardeners delight), peas
(kelvedon wonder),sweetcorn, lettuce (loose leaf) cucumbers (marketmore)and carrot(nantes frubund) seeds can any of these be started of inside or is it too early? I dont have a proper greenhouse but i do have a 'blowaway' tethered down! I am in Devon.

Sally_A

Tomatoes are sown 14/2 here - these are for the outdoor greenhouse, any sooner and they will get too big and leggy, when it comes to planting them into the greenhouse, this is done usually on the first May Bank Holiday, and by that time they are in 6 inch pots, about a foot tall and raring to go.

Sweetcorn I do on 1/4 - plant each seed in a 3.5 - 4 inch pot, they dislike root disturbance, so can go straight out in the garden from that sized pot towards the end of May. This also gives you a chance to grow extras mid April should any of the first lot fail to germinate.

Marketmore cucumbers - I tried a couple on 24/2 last year, they weren't much good, and those sown indoors on the 14/3 soon overtook them and made far better plants.

moneymabel

Thankyou Sally.oops just planted tomatoes! oh well will see what happens will def wait for the cucumbers, must remember april fools day for sweetcorn!

Sally_A

I grow the Marketmore's in black flower buckets (morrisons - 8 for 99p, or free from some stores/petrol stations if you are lucky).

They do need support to scramble up, so 3 x 1m canes at the edge of the pot with twine holding it all together in about 2 or 3 bands gives them something to climb.

They will often grow taller than the frame, but I've found most of the decent cuces grow within that height.

Home grown cuces taste so much better, and come into production at the same time as fresh green garlic is available - a fabby tzatziki can be made by using greek yoghurt, finely chopped cucumbers (grating them just turns them to water), garlic to taste and seasoned with celery salt and black pepper.

I only grew 4 last year, but hope to do at least 12 this year.

moneymabel

i grew them last year but left it really late so only had one plant and got about two cukes off it! Were very nice tho :-) got a feeling i'm going to go the other way this year and do everything to early in my keeness!