New brocks

A new set of broccoli seeds into a tray for winter. Premium green F1.

Also transplanted zucchini and pumpkin into the patch alongside onions and leeks. It may be too late for the alums... but worth a crack anyway.

Seeding is believing

Time to get some more seeds in since the weather is so bad today:

4 pottles with:
Zucchini - ambasador f1

3 pottles with:
Pumpkin - spooki

A tray of:
Leek - winter giant

6 each of:
Cabbage - Copenhagen market
Spinach - winter giant
Kohlrabi -early purple Vienna

Leeks

The leeks have started to germinate. Over the weekend I put the asparagus to bed outside in the vege patch. Left it too late, but now its done.

Plant in summer for harvest in winter

Its time to start worrying about planting for winter. Apparently the best things to plant now are brassica and beet. So in went some.

In an effort to keep the cats off of the seedlings up went the polytunnel. Its only a small one but it now protects beet and carrot seeds. With some luck the added heat will also help germination and growth.

Yesterday in went some brussel sprout seeds into seed trays and into the green room. Also in went some winter leeks. Then there's the strawberry experiment with the tiny red strawberry seeds from my parent's place.

Bean there done that.

Peas and beens from the last post were planted in the sprouting chambers the next day. 30 of the 40 peas have gerninated. The beans are beginning to germinate too. It appears to happen more slowly with beans than with peas.

Also (last weekend) planted leek seeds and strawberries seeds (seeds saved from last year's crop of alpine strawberried). Both were planted in pots in the green-room and both have started to germinate.

Plonked some old parsnip seeds into the patch along with turnip seeds (white and green).

Went to Nichols to get a small tunnel. After placing it over a small patch of the patch it was clearlt warmer inside than out (when you stick your arm in. To test it properly one of the punnets of 2 squash were transplanted from a pot into the patch under the tunnel. With some luck it'll thrive (the zucchini put into the patch died).

The Onions and Spinach Leek

Transplanted from the seed trays into the vege patch:

2 spinach (the first to germinate here ever!)
1 borettana onion (which within a few hours was mistaken for a week and half-pulled)
6 leek
3 egg plant

The whole patch got a good weeding (it needed it) then a row of root-parsley by the stratwberry spinach (the spinach plants are about the size of my thumb nail!).

Finally, by the turnips went in a row of coloured carrots (niche seeds) then a row of orange carrots (red barron from red barn a few years ago) and finally a row of white turnips (Kaiotes).

Cucumber

Cucumber seeds into little pots and placed into the green room. The packet recommended direct planting in clumps so three seeds were planted into the rhubarb beds. The Rhubarb is doing well and all the artichokes that had properly sprouted are doing well (one died). Also planted out the last borlotto and fertalised everything.

One more seed tray went in. This time:

15 * Egg plant
15 * spinach
10 * leek

One of the white corn has sprouted, noting else in the green room is showing signs of anything.

Not Spring Onions

First sewing of seeds for the season. The old seed tray from last year (that's right I've got 3 now) has been filled with potting mix and 40 seeds planted in it.

15 * Onion Borettana
15 * Onion Pukekohe Longkeeper
10 * Onion Sweet Red

Last season's Pukekohe Longkeeper produced excellent "normal" onions. Several were given away but a winter's worth were kept and used. We don't eat many (less than one a week) but did have one in tonight's casserole (and it was good). They continue to keep well (in the kitchen). They were harvested when the tops tipped over

Last season's Sweet Red produced tiny onions. They are also in the kitchen but will get planted back out shortly. They were harvested too easly, the tops had not tipped.

The Borettana are new so no experience there.

Leeks from last year produced badly. One was left in the garden and it had continued to grow over the winter and it now quite respectable.

Into the Patch

Onion group out of the sprouting chamber and into the vege-patch. This time it was 10 Onions, 10 Red Onions, 6 Leeks, and 4 Spring Onions. It looks like the Spring Onion are hard to sprout and the regular onions are easy.

Managed to find a packet of Kings Globe Artichoke seeds at the Blueskin-Bay Garden Centre. They expire in 2010 so pleanty of time before they have to be sewn.

Onions

There is a gap in the onion patch so time to plant some new ones. In the planting chamber went 10 each of onion, red onion, leek, and spring onion.

There is also a gap in the spinach section so it was re-planted with fresh seeds (last of the packet). A few lettuce seeds went in at the same time, again in gaps in the rows.

Finally, harvested seeds from the rhubarb plant, seperated them, dried them over night, and planted several in pots in the green room. I'm told they might not come true because they come from a probable cross-breed, but lets see!

Onionesque

The onion and leeks in the planter were moved into the patch. Rows of 6 spring onions, 9 onions, 8 red onions, and 8 leeks were taken from the planter and put into the area dug-over last weekend.

Lettuce (cos) and 2 rows of spinach were planted from seed directly into beds by the onions.

3 Purple cauliflower and 5 brussel sprouts were transplanted into the brassica beds. No luck (at all) with green cauliflower. It looks like green cauliflowers from Kaiotes are bad.

New squash planting. 5 zucchini (Watkins), 2 squash (Yates) and 4 pumpkin (Watkins). Addiionally a seedling tray (2 rows each) of Purple Cauliflower, Green Cauliflower, Romanesco Broccoli, and one row each of Cailiflower and Brussel Sprouts

Organic fertaliser for the first time too.

Green room to Garden

Seedlings that sprouted during the week were moved into the garden, again the area by the tree. 1 Giant Pumpkin, 1 Pumpkin, 2 Squash, and 3 Zucchini. All the previous transplantings appear to be living, but a few might die over the next week. There has been snow in the last week so it isn't that surprising that something might have died.

Also spent some time digging the remaining areas in the patch for the season. Compost is needed.

Rhubarb is doing very well and might flower soon. It got very big and might have to be moved soon.

The sprouting chamber is showing almost total success with onion, red onion, leek, and spring onion.

Plantings

Seedlings into the garden seeds into some pots.

The cauliflowers and broccoli in the planting chamber went into the garden. The Romanesco, purple cauliflowers, and white cauliflowers did ok. It remainds unclear whether the green even sprouted. There new lot from a week ago are in potting mix so if anything sprouts its clear what it is.

New into the sprouting chamber are 10 each of: Leek, Red Onion, Onion, and Spring Onion. New into plastic trays went 8 each of: Yellow Corn, White Corn, and Brussel Sprouts.

Brussel Sprouts (Watkins) sprout 7-10 days, harvest 16-18 weeks.

Oh, and tons of peas (that expire in 2007) in the front garden just because there was space there to put them.