Well its day 8 of my holiday which I took to get some
jobs done down the allotment and so far because of the weather I have spent a
total of 3 hours there, so today after the wife went to work and I ran the
girls to school and pre-school I found myself with a few spear hours but
couldn’t go to the allotment as the snow is still quite bad in Colchester I had
to do something I was getting withdrawal symptoms! So I pottered in my shed for a while then
decided to sow some tomato, Aubergine & parsley seeds. This is the earliest I have sown tomato seeds I normally wait till mid-march but this year the thought was this would extend the growing season as I could plant them in May when they were about to fruit. Rather than have to wait till mid-June before any. I plant outside for the allotment and I have a greenhouse at home and grow in there as well this year I am going to grow the Aubergines inside and out as they normally stay in the greenhouse and see what produces best.
Parsley also benefits from an early sowing this will give
it chance to establish and form good size plants. I love parsley it’s one of my
favourite herbs it adds a splash of colour to a dish or if used right add a
distinct flavour to a good soup. It also I find planted in with your carrots
helps deal with carrot fly. I did it
last year and didn’t have any, so I will be doing the same again this year.
Hopefully the snow will clear buy Thursday and I can finally get up the plot.
I know how you feel about the 'withdrawal symptoms'. I've been busy this last week and I can not wait to get out in the garden tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteHappy growing!
It took me three years before I got an aubergine plant to fruit. I kept the plants in the greenhouse but I think it's still rather cold here in the north for them. Hope the weather improves soon so that you can get on with some jobs.
ReplyDeleteI dont have problems getting to when. I have 3 or 4 fruit per plant I take all other flowers off once the form so the plant can concentrate on the 3-4 fruits and feed it well, weekly.
DeleteI'm growing San Marzano plum tomatoes as well - first time I've tried these, so I hope they do well. We'll have to compare harvest notes later in the year.
ReplyDeleteOnly once have we ever managed to get an Aubergine plant to actually produce and that was many years ago. We're trying again this year. Like the choice of toms. Hope you get the benefit of sowing early. Looking forward to seeing the results.
ReplyDeleteRubbish, isn’t it? I enjoyed the snow Sunday morning, and then for the first time in my life started wishing it away.
ReplyDeleteDo you grow aubergines inside? I’ve managed to get them to fruit, just not very big. I do grow them outside though, as I don’t have a greenhouse.
Good luck with the parsley. I’ve never quite managed proper parsley, so ended up buying little plants.
inside my greenhouse not my house, i have always found that after the first 3 fruit have "set" remove all other flowers that way they will produce bigger fruit
DeleteWow you are an early bird - hope that you manage to keep the seedlings growing and get an early crop.
ReplyDeleteThis weather is so frustrating for us gardeners but soon we will all be moaning about how much there is to do and so little time to do it in - you can't win!
ReplyDeleteWhat restraint you have I always over do it on planting seedlings. Good luck with the snow I am sick of it but still have a couple more months of it. yuk lol
ReplyDeleteI am suffering from withdrawal too! I've had some chillies, aubergines and peppers going for a while now but maybe I'll sow some herbs and tomatoes too...
ReplyDelete