Veg to plant in February and things to do.

toni_

nows the time to plant rhubarb so plant it out soon, you can force rhubarb so you can pick it earlier than normal by putting an up turned bucket on top to exclude light. This makes the rhubarb grow quicker, you can fill the bucket with straw to keep it warm. Alot of people will say dont pick rhubarb in the first year after planting because you need let the plant establish strong roots. Hope this helps, good luck with your veg growing

twiglet98

I've planted several pot-grown rhubarb plants in my 20 years here, all in different locations, and not one has grown again the second year. No idea what I'm doing wrong, I'd love a huge rhubarb patch and my next door neighbour grows it without any problems. Maybe the hens damage it too much when it's dying down?

I have only two windowsills wide enough for seed trays, both west-facing and with radiators under them. The windows are 70s aluminium double glazing. Won't the temperature be too high when the radiators are on, and much too low when the glass cools at night? I could leave the heating on constantly, at maybe 16-18C? And I don't have a greenhouse, only a four-shelf Tardis growhouse whose clear plastic cover ripped to shreds in the gales last week

Lots of seeds to sow - beans, peas and mangetout, carrots and parsnips, beetroot, leeks, squashes and courgettes, cues, peppers, toms and salad, broccoli and cabbage, sweetcorn, spinach... but I just can't work out where to put all the seed trays/pots!

ginvzt

This just reminds me - I have a rhubarb in my garden that I don't want (OH doesn't like it, and I haven't eaten much of it in the last two years we have been here). I know I can just dig it out and throw away, but it seems to be waste. Where is the best place to offer one to someone?

DaftyDuck

Can I just say (to Suze72) not to force rhubarb it its first year. The forced plant has to use the stored-up energy to grow, since it can't photosynthesise. If it's just a baby plant (aaaahhhh), it won't have much to spare. Plant it in a rich deep soil, add as much organic compost as you've got, it won't mind a bit of shade either.

WeirdoMagnet

ginvzt wrote: »

This just reminds me - I have a rhubarb in my garden that I don't want (OH doesn't like it, and I haven't eaten much of it in the last two years we have been here). I know I can just dig it out and throw away, but it seems to be waste. Where is the best place to offer one to someone?

Try your local Freegle/Freecycle Group. Not sure if it moves very well though?

ginvzt

Thanks - have to confess that I have never used the Freegle/Freecycle... There are some more plants in the garden that could find a better home as well, so I might have a look at this.

silvasava

ginvzt - do give freecycle a try - I got rid of loads of strawberry runners last year & self sow tomatoes (put the old ones on the compost heap & they started sprouting all round the garden!!) & plastic pots. I've also been given rasberry canes - its well worth the effort & you build up some like minded contacts often with a wealth of knowledge too. Good Luck

suze72

DaftyDuck wrote: »

Can I just say (to Suze72) not to force rhubarb it its first year. The forced plant has to use the stored-up energy to grow, since it can't photosynthesise. If it's just a baby plant (aaaahhhh), it won't have much to spare. Plant it in a rich deep soil, add as much organic compost as you've got, it won't mind a bit of shade either.

Thankyou, I think I have a nice spot for it so I will put in in and leave it alone till next year.

scotsaver

Thanks for this Thread. I've been itching to get started as I've had an Allotment for just over a year but spent a lot of last year digging it over and replanning as it was quite overgrown so was only able to plant up about 1 third. Really looking forward to being able to fill the whole Plot this year. I've also got quite a lot of space in our Garden and have also filled the Patio with pots that we grow Carrots, herbs, salad leaves etc. I've had Greenfingers for a few years on a small scale but getting my Allotment was the icing on the cake.

I'm holding off until towards the end of next week to start sowing seeds, we're just outside London and we have a Greenhouse so I usually make a start mid Feb on our Seed sowing. I've already planted up some Garlic on the Allotment and have some Onions to go in and also have a few varieties of Potatoes chitting.

Good luck everyone.;)

ginvzt

Well, I was brave and checked our Freegle. And there was someone asking for rhubarb! If they haven't got it yet, I offered they can come and dig it out from my garden...