BS: UK Garden: What Can I Sow Now?

Subject: BS: UK Garden: What Can I Sow Now?
From: GUEST,CS
Date: 02 Nov 14 - 12:30 AM

US Mudcatters very welcome to post what they grow over the winter too of course.

However my primary interest is to know what vegetables are a) easy to grow b) will grow happily over the winter.

I'm in the south of the UK if that's of any relevance, though I doubt it. Our winters can be pretty frozen too down here.

What can I sow now?

Subject: RE: BS: UK Garden: What Can I Sow Now?
From: GUEST,Steve Shaw iPadding
Date: 02 Nov 14 - 03:53 AM

Sow Aquadulce Claudia broad beans. Plant garlic cloves. If you have empty ground sow a green manure crop such as mustard or field beans.

Subject: RE: BS: UK Garden: What Can I Sow Now?
From: GUEST,Selby
Date: 02 Nov 14 - 05:45 AM

Other than planting, good ground preparation now will boost your crops over the summer.
Plan your plots where you are going to plant carrots and parsnips do not manure other than that get some good organic matter dug in . I then ridge mine for the frosts to break everything down into a fine tilth
Keith

Subject: RE: BS: UK Garden: What Can I Sow Now?
From: Musket
Date: 02 Nov 14 - 07:56 AM

Steve beat me to it. I put my garlic in this morning. Later, weather permitting, I am emptying the composters and digging them into the raised beds that are empty.

(Others have leeks, parsnip, carrot, onions, cabbage and farting crackers still in them.)

Subject: RE: BS: UK Garden: What Can I Sow Now?
From: GUEST,Steve Shaw
Date: 02 Nov 14 - 08:32 AM

Had you asked the question about six weeks ago I'd have suggested sowing spring cabbage and planting overwintering onion sets. It's also worth trying a late sowing of early carrots. Too late for that lot now.

Subject: RE: BS: UK Garden: What Can I Sow Now?
From: Musket
Date: 02 Nov 14 - 09:35 AM

I just put a few carrots in tubs that have herbs in the summer, and are sheltered on the south facing wall outside the kitchen. By the time I harvest them, I will be reputting the herbs back in, about March time.

They also have a few tulip bulbs in them as they will make the tubs look nice come late February.

The garden for next year is all up in the air, because I am having brick walls built to make the raised beds better and this will be done over the winter, so once the bits already in are out, around Xmas time, I am not putting anything in them till I resoil. The compost I put on today will give a deep good soil, and be about a foot down once I get the beds working again.

Greenhouse is a different matter. A fresh seeding of basil and lemon grass later this week and clear out the chilli and tomato beds.

Subject: RE: BS: UK Garden: What Can I Sow Now?
From: GUEST,CS
Date: 02 Nov 14 - 12:43 PM

I know, it's not exactly a good time to be sowing stuff. We actually plan to lay out some beds for spring shortly, once the compost has been turned and so on.

Musket, I've never got on very well with basil, I find once it's ready to pick, Summer's already gone. And then there's never enough of the stuff - harvest it, make some pesto and it's gone. Would it be worth growing it year round as a windowsill herb I wonder?

Garlic is a good one. We go through the stuff like no-one's business. Will try to get some ASAP.

I also think the green manure would be a sensible plan, can you treat the mustard as a salad green also? That would solve two questions in one.

Subject: RE: BS: UK Garden: What Can I Sow Now?
From: GUEST,sciencegeek
Date: 03 Nov 14 - 11:31 AM

looking at the 2 inches of snow outside, I'm having my winter blues... lol

but you can sow seeds for red mustard and arugula in a spot that gets good sun in the spring and you can mow to keep them in check. I just let mine self seed & find them all over the place... :)

Subject: RE: BS: UK Garden: What Can I Sow Now?
From: Musket
Date: 03 Nov 14 - 11:54 AM

I must admit, the basil could be better. We get enough to use as fresh, especially in tomato, mozzarella, parma ham and parmesan cheese salad, (one of my favourite light meals in the summer.) We have to buy pesto.

We sometimes buy a supermarket potted basil and repot it in the kitchen. That works. it loves water.. We have a sunny window next to an aga range cooker that belches out heat from September to April. Basil, coriander, parsley and thai basil (aniseed flavour, yum) are in a long pot on that window cill most of the year. The greenhouse basil is supposed to give the bulk but I have to admit to being disappointed.

Most of our herbs are in the pots outside the kitchen, irrigated via a timer from a water butt. The mint, bay, sage, oregano, chive, thyme and other items such as spring onion and (through the winter) early carrots live there.

Subject: RE: BS: UK Garden: What Can I Sow Now?
From: Rumncoke
Date: 04 Nov 14 - 09:53 AM

In 'Garden work' for Saturday 4th November 1950 - which I just happen to have to hand, the only mention of sowing seeds is of peas in a sheltered spot, Autumn sown broad bean seedlings should be protected - in the following weeks edition, sowings of Early Mazagan broad beans and early peas are listed for work on the allotment, but in light soils and in favoured conditions only.
I'm in Poole on the South coast and even though the growing season has extended two to three weeks in the 30 odd years we've been here, starting off seeds at this time of year has not been very successful and starting over when the weather warms up has been the usual result - though if we had a nice big greenhouse it might be another story.

Subject: RE: BS: UK Garden: What Can I Sow Now?
From: GUEST
Date: 06 Nov 14 - 12:18 PM

On the subject of basil, sowing from seed has always worked perfectly well for me. I'd never buy a plant from a supermarket, I must confess. If you use a lot, sow several pots (never tried growing it other than in the conservatory). Don't know about over-winter - for the first time ever, I've just brought mine inside. With a N & E facing house, I suspect it may not get enough light to be really happy on the E facing windowsill, but we'll see.