Winter Sowing

It's the earliest I've done it but the window sills have been taken over by seed trays.

Even though it's winter, seed sowing has started - indoors at least. I've sown up a second set of Norli and Taiwan Sugar Peas in lengths of plastic guttering. The first lot were sown impossibly early but went into to the ground about a week ago and so far have withstood the weather.

I've several sweet pea on the go - some in an unheated greenhouse, the rest indoors to see how they do. All the seed is saved from last year - a mixed blue, white and pink collection, some all white and some 'chocolate'.

This year the tomato choice is Mortgage Lifter, Copia and Black Cherry along with lots of San Marzano. I've sown these now and I'll compare results with a later sowing in March/April. About that time I'll also sow Golden Sweet, that sweet, sweet cherry tomato, the suplus of which I'm still enjoying as pasata.

Chilli peppers- Ring o' Fire have been sown. If it fails then I've time to bring on another lot of plants.

The Charlotte, second early potatoes, are chitting nicely and I've followed these with some Home Guard, a 1942 introduction and an early potato which Alan Romans rates as "an early early which is best eaten early." As I'm only sowing a few tubers for 'new potato meals' that seems fine. I've also set out some Cara, late maincrop, which Romans says is the "red eyed tough guy for the garden and allotment." So it bodes well. And I may also get my hands on some Sarpo Axona. I tried the Sarpo Mira previously and it was blight resistant with a good yield.

If it stays dry and we get some sun next weekend I'll try and get out on the allotment to plant the shallot and onion sets and check on how the garlic is doing. If not I'll sow some celeriac for planting out in April/May and see if I can get a crop this year.

Comments

[kate]

It's hard for me to imagine digging out in the garden at this time of year. We are still several months before our ground will thaw.

I can't wait to have seed trays on my windowsills. Watching them grow is wonderful.

-----Hi Kate, I tuned into CBC's Sound Advice over the weekend and heard the weather (at least in Toronto) of zero degrees and freezing rain - made me feel a lot better!I'm sure sowing time will be on you before you know it. John

[Sue Swift]

Sat down at the computer and thought : I'll just check out a couple of blogs and then I'll get on with some indoor sowing ... Seems you've beaten me to it!
Sue

----Hi Sue,
Well I hope they grow! So far three white sweet pea seeds has germinated and are pushing through. Not a peep from the rest yet.

[Kim]

How are those black cherry tomatoes? I haven't put in my final (okay, only) seed order just yet, but they're on my shortlist, along with a black paste variety. (Only because I love the flavors of my 'Cherokee purple' and 'Black Krim' so much, that I'm thinking of expanding my black tomato repertoire!)

---Hi Kim,
Don't know how they'll do yet as it is the first time I've tried them. So far they've yet to germinate, though the san marzanos are already about an inch tall!
John

[George Africa The Vermont Gardener]

Hello John;

I've been trying to write since you're mother in law from New Jersey, USA wrote to me and we shared thoughts about drywall stone stacking and her stone walls in southern Vermont.

Your mention of winter sowing reminded me that all the old Vermonters always planted their tomatoes on Town Meeting Day. That's Vermont's day to take off from work, go to the town or city hall, and have a general meeting about local needs, budget, schools,etc. Typically a pot luck meal at noon time would display some of the finest cooked treats imaginable. The day is the first Tuesday in March. The farmers planted their seeds in old coffee cans placed on window sills and watered with manure tea.This was always too early to plant tomatoes as they cannot be planted out until the first week of June at best but leggy or not they'd be buried well and by mid July fruit would begin to show color on earlier varieties. The varied colors of the coffee cans is almost a more clear memory for me than the tomatoes.

Good gardening wishes!
George Africa
http://thevermontgardener.blogspot.com
http://vermontgardens.blogspot.com
http://vermontflowerfarm.com

-----George,
Thanks for that info. Funny the way 'the day for planting' tomatoes, potatoes etc was always the day workers had off. I often plant some potatoes on St Patrick's Day (even though the weather is never that kind) but it's a traditional planting day in Ireland. In fact I think it best to wait another month at least. Others say the day to plant is Easter Monday - but again it was just that many had that day off (Easter varies anyway each year and it's fairly early this year, March 24th!).
Best wishes to you
John