Beware Temptation!
As the weather warms a little and the nights start to draw out our thoughts turn to sowing, but caution and patience now can prevent big losses later on. The important factors to consider are a) what facilities you have to raise seedlings and b) which plants are frost-hardy - and which are not!
Here in Somerset, our last frost can be in mid-May. If you sow tender plants now in trays or modules and only have a windowsill, those plants are going to be in the house for two months, becoming weak and leggy in the process. They are then more likely to succumb to pests, or to bolt (flower early).
Seduced by a warm spring, people sometimes plant them out, only to have them all killed by a late frost. Then there is no option but to start again and all that time and effort has been for nothing. Disheartening to say the least, and completely avoidable.
Seed packets can also be misleading. Possibly as a ploy to sell more seeds! Usually the earliest and latest recommended sowing dates on the packet assume that you have a heated greenhouse at one end of the spectrum and are going to over-winter your plants in a poly tunnel at the other end. For most of us, the middle of the 'sowing period' will be the most successful.
Even if you do have a greenhouse and a supply of fleece, the whole process of sowing, pricking out, potting on, planting out, fleecing and constantly monitoring the weather forecast is quite time-consuming. Just to achieve a few early tender crops.
If you are lucky enough to have a warm conservatory then go for it! Otherwise, stick to growing frost-hardy plants until mid-April and, if you are at all pushed for space or time, wait and sow direct when the soil is warm enough in May. Sowing direct at the right time, in the right conditions is much better than sowing in modules in the wrong conditions and will result in stronger, healthier plants.
Remember the story of the hare and the tortoise? What do you want to achieve? To be the first person to put their beans in - or to grow some nutritious plants to provide you with a few meals?
Here in Somerset, our last frost can be in mid-May. If you sow tender plants now in trays or modules and only have a windowsill, those plants are going to be in the house for two months, becoming weak and leggy in the process. They are then more likely to succumb to pests, or to bolt (flower early).
Seduced by a warm spring, people sometimes plant them out, only to have them all killed by a late frost. Then there is no option but to start again and all that time and effort has been for nothing. Disheartening to say the least, and completely avoidable.
Seed packets can also be misleading. Possibly as a ploy to sell more seeds! Usually the earliest and latest recommended sowing dates on the packet assume that you have a heated greenhouse at one end of the spectrum and are going to over-winter your plants in a poly tunnel at the other end. For most of us, the middle of the 'sowing period' will be the most successful.
Even if you do have a greenhouse and a supply of fleece, the whole process of sowing, pricking out, potting on, planting out, fleecing and constantly monitoring the weather forecast is quite time-consuming. Just to achieve a few early tender crops.
If you are lucky enough to have a warm conservatory then go for it! Otherwise, stick to growing frost-hardy plants until mid-April and, if you are at all pushed for space or time, wait and sow direct when the soil is warm enough in May. Sowing direct at the right time, in the right conditions is much better than sowing in modules in the wrong conditions and will result in stronger, healthier plants.
Remember the story of the hare and the tortoise? What do you want to achieve? To be the first person to put their beans in - or to grow some nutritious plants to provide you with a few meals?
Submitted by Jane, plot 9
Comments
Post a Comment