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Marching into the spring garden

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Post by Chilli-head 6th March 2017, 8:46 pm

I had a look down at the greenhouse yesterday - first tomato is up !  What a good feeling to have things growing again.  My Greek cress and red veined rocket is up too.  No chillies yet ... patience. Must have patience
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Chilli-head
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Post by freebird 7th March 2017, 8:41 am

Sigh. I know it's early yet, but I see the season galloping away from me and I'm hardly any further forward than last year. So, reluctantly, I've decided once again to buy in tomato, pepper and chilli plants and just sow some later crops (couple of nice things from the seed swap to try).
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Post by Chilli-head 7th March 2017, 9:04 am

I peeked in the greenhouse this morning, and not noly are more than half my tomatoes up, I have CHILLIES ! Two Jamaican Yellow seedlings Very Happy They are really fresh seed, and it shows.
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Post by Dandelion 7th March 2017, 6:46 pm

freebird wrote:Sigh. I know it's early yet, but I see the season galloping away from me and I'm hardly any further forward than last year. So, reluctantly, I've decided once again to buy in tomato, pepper and chilli plants and just sow some later crops (couple of nice things from the seed swap to try).

I know the feeling - I've had to scale back this year because of my daughter's wedding (in just over two weeks time). Everything's been put on hold, and I haven't felt that I've had enough mental space to plan much in the garden. When the festivities are over I'll be back out there! (I'm going for a manicure two days before The Day with my two daughters, and my sister who will be over from Australia for the occasion - I have been banned from touching compost afterwards!)
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Post by Ploshkin 7th March 2017, 7:02 pm

I feel all behind too. I've just about cleared my outside beds - they're always covered with moss and I men covered. One type I can rake off without taking to much soil but the others take quite a bit of soil with them. Is it alright to dig it in?
I've got carrots started in the polytunnel ans one melon seed in the propogator. I've got pepper seeds in there but no sign of them yet. Ooh, and I realised that my rhubarb is ready for a small picking, it was new last year and is looking really healthy.
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Post by FloBear 8th March 2017, 4:56 pm

My rhubarb has kept going in a small way the whole of winter. Perhaps I should venture a couple of stems.
We have a hatchload of tiny tadpoles. I hope they disperse and haide before the magpies spot a wiggling feast.
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Post by Ploshkin 8th March 2017, 5:22 pm

Gosh, it's only a week since the frogs spawned here and that was earlier than usual.
I was pleased to see that my peppers are starting to germinate. I think Romaine from this years seed swap is coming this time. I tried 2 lots last year but they didn't germinate and my lipstick peppers were yellow and weedy so I only ended up with one type. Fingers crossed I have a bit of variation this time.
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Post by Chilli-head 8th March 2017, 6:37 pm

My tomato "Amish Gold", from the seed swap two years ago, have germinated really well. Tomato seeds are as near to immortal as any, I think.
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Post by freebird 9th March 2017, 1:14 pm

I have at last made a start on lifting 'turf' so as to make a fuchsia border alongside a garden path. What I had deluded myself into thinking was neglected lawn, is in reality no more than an enormous patch of couch grass. Deep joy! However well I prepare, I am going to be forever doing battle to stop it reinfesting the bed. Ah well, c'est la vie.

My mattocking muscles are somewhat out of practise, so I've come in for a break.
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Post by FloBear 16th March 2017, 7:46 am

Well, I finally got outside and got my hands dirty yesterday. I have been leaving the garden to the tender care of Jamie-the-gardener so far but thougt it time to do a little light weeding and sowing. Lovely to get my hands in the soil.
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Post by Ploshkin 18th March 2017, 9:11 am

Germination is a bit slow and patchy. I was deluded about the Romaine seeds - they are a no show again. My Chilli seeds which were new last year haven't appeared either - I might give them another go.
Leeks are finally starting to appear in my big bucket in the greenhouse. I was starting to think I wouldn't see them at all. I'm hoping to get tomato seeds started in between visits to the lambing shed. I've got a few broad bean plants, that my neighbour gave me, to plant out though they were considerably battered by last night's weather.
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Post by Chilli-head 19th March 2017, 1:01 pm

It's worth being patient with chilli and sweet pepper seed; they can take a good 2-3 weeks to emerge. Some also need high 20s centigrade to be encouraged up.

My germination has been patchy; some varieties 100%, others nothing with little in between. Not entirely explained by the age of the seed either.

Planted my early potatoes yesterday. Today's job is putting up tomatoes.
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Post by freebird 26th March 2017, 6:05 pm

Well now, I've decided to take a leaf out of Ploshkin's book with strawberries. I bought some ever-bearers last week, and have planted them in a self-watering trough, which I've put in the greenhouse. Going to try for some earlier crops, though as the weather warms, they will go outside, then back inside towards the end of the season.

Also decided that if I am to have any worthwhile soft fruit, I will have to invest in a fruit cage. After perusing the Internet, and seeing how expensive they are, the man has offered to make me one for my birthday.

Yesterday we moved a huge pile of seasoning logs off the space that the cage will occupy. Lots of ground prep to do now for fruit bushes.
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Post by Ploshkin 26th March 2017, 8:59 pm

Germination of stuff is still slow. Tomatoes are up, the new chilli seeds I got are starting but no sign of anything from last year's seed or the Romaine peppers. My leeks in a big bucket in the greenhouse have finally put in an appearance. Potatoes in the tunnel have broken through but have caught a bit of frost - must get in there tomorrow and earth them up. The most exciting thing is my fig as I have realised that the little knobbly things at the end of the branches are embryo figs. I'm off to Google 'taking care of fig plants'.
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Post by Chilli-head 27th March 2017, 10:17 am

I seem to remember something like figs being produced twice a year, and in the UK you have to pick one lot off because they never amount to anything, but if left on reduce the amount of the crop you get from the other flush.  But I can't remember more than that.  Useful, aren't I ?

I am also struggling wth patchy emergence of seed.   For the first year ever, the indoor cucumbers seem not to be popping up.  They normally appear quickly and reliably.  These were a new variety to me from Chiltern Seeds,  they were dressed with a bright pink fungicidal dressing, which I have found common with smaller seed suppliers repackaging agricultural bulk seed, and slightly offputting. They are also an expensive F1 variety, so not great if I have to re-sow.

Sweet peppers are almost a complete fail, whilst the big, mild Mexican chillies Ancho and Muilato have given 100% emergence.  I will probably just go with what has come up - I always grow too many chillies and peppers for my greenhouse, and the peppers don't really produce a fraction of what we eat so we end up buying them anyway. But I can always use more chilles.  Especially Mexican ones.

Only the odd one Serrano and Pasilla emerged, but I did get 4 each of Aji Lemon drop, and Jamaican Yellow Very Happy Very Happy  excited about that one, a very pretty chilli :

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Post by Chilli-head 30th March 2017, 8:22 pm

First evening with enough light for garden
Sowed some spring onions and chard under cloches.
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