Propagators turned on

Oldtree

Had planned to start a bit earlier, but just got the propagator up and running yesterday, pots and seed trays cleaned and some tidying up in the pollytunnel tunnel done.

I'm sticking with my tried and trusted tomatoes this year, Gardeners Delight (Thompson & Thompson) as last year things didn't go too well for sone reason. I can get over 50 degrees in the tunnel during the summer and I suspect GD is one of the few that can take it. Larger tomatoes just split, despite the growing method I use of pots with a tray of water underneath and plenty of ventilation, and smaller cherry just arnt as productive.

I use vermiculite and perlite in the compost for the seeds and they seem to love it.

I also have courgette defender f1, a new all female cucumber to try, lemonade and ordinary basil (to accompany the tomatoes) to start off later in the year.

I also picked up a few different packets of sweet pea, Inc a scented heirloom packet, to start off today in the pollytunnel using my anti mouse seed protectors. I posted this pic a few years back, I was having awful problems and came up with this. I fill the trays up with watet and the mice can't get at the delicious seeds



I picked up some red onions and loads of giant stuttguard, to go in soon, once I have some digging done, and a multitude of peas and French beans. Will probably do a load of spinage too.

Time to get very busy , I'm over excited, esp with how mild it's been.

What's tickling your fancy this year?

magicbastarder

our tomatoes were a dismal failure last year - though we don't have a polytunnel or other cover for them, so we would never get a good crop anyway.
sticking with our usual routine for now - rhubarb has started sprouting (though we won't harvest it heavily this year, as i lifted and split it - two good excess chunks still seeking a good home, free to collect near glasnevin!); garlic went in at end dec and some of it has just started poking its nose above ground.
can't remember the variety, but we had a yellow courgette last year that was a disaster - they were very susceptible to rot. barely got any off the plant, will be sticking with more robust varieties this year.
chillis did well - still have some left, i preserved them in salt and water and the mixture is rocket fuel.

Oldtree

The 20 litre pot and tray method works OK on a South facing window or excellent in a conservatory (a friend does this). I find that tomatoes love a handful of chicken manure in the pot, less feeding during the season.

I find Defender f1 is a robust, disease free and prolific courgette with good sized courgettes. I grow 2 or 3 plants in 50 litre pots, as it seems to produce male and female flowers not at the same time. Needless to say I then hand pollinate to make sure.

I have a lovely sweet rhubarb that a lady gave me years back, no idea of the variety, and it's peaking out too.

Zzippy

Do you just grow in pots or do you have beds in the tunnel? I have beds but plan to grow a few trailing tomatoes in baskets also this year.

This will be second year growing, got the tunnel last April. Tomatoes were a great success, huge crops of cherry tomatoes. Larger varieties weren't great and we don't eat a lot anyway, so going to stick with a few cherry varieties this year - have San Marzano, Sungold, Yellow Pearl, Apero and Tumbling Tom for baskets. Sowing seeds this week indoors for planting out in the tunnel late April.

Sowed some sugarsnaps a couple of weeks ago, they should be sprouting soon, and sowed various lettuces and spinach directly in a bed, also still to sprout. Getting over 20C on a few days lately but sub zero quite a few nights, which is fairly unusual here in the west. Even had snow covering the tunnel yesterday morning.
Grew sweetcorn last year in one bed and had lovely cobs for about 6/7 weeks, so tasty grilled straight from the plant. Will do those again. Have strawberries in, hopefully get an early crop from those, and probably try some mild chilli peppers too.
Outdoors will be first early spuds - tried a maincrop last year and got hit by blight, so sticking with earlies and get them out of the ground by July. Peas and beans will go in soon, and some shallots.
I've a small bit of a field at the end of the garden, long term plan is a few beds and apple trees, but that might be a project for next year.

Edit: We've a few clumps of rhubarb, also no idea of variety but it's lovely in a tart, left by the previous owners. Just peeking out here too.

Oldtree

All in pots. That's what I enjoy. Can grow anything in a pot and with the trays underneath watering isn't a worry.

The only things that don't really like my pots are peppers, they seem to get a bit mouldy even with smaller trays and less water.

Zzippy

Got the tomato, chilli and basil seeds sown this week. Sugarsnaps and spinach are sprouting, no sign of the lettuce yet. Sowed more sugarsnaps this week too. Gave the inside plastic on the tunnel a wash with soapy water and a bit of Milton, removed a lot of algal buildup. Will do the outside soon too.

Oldtree

Zzippy wrote: »

Got the tomato, chilli and basil seeds sown this week. Sugarsnaps and spinach are sprouting, no sign of the lettuce yet. Sowed more sugarsnaps this week too. Gave the inside plastic on the tunnel a wash with soapy water and a bit of Milton, removed a lot of algal buildup. Will do the outside soon too.

Thanks for the milton idea, will give it a go.

All the tomatoes seeds came up in 4 days and are now potted on on a South facing windowsill for a while till the first real leaves show, then out to a frost fleece tunnel on a bench in the pollytunnel.

Bit early for me to sow basil usually, but why not, it's so mild.

Might start off the courgettes and cucumbers too, am feeling the sap lust somthing terrible.

Potted up my pineapple too. Had some lovely roots on it.

magicbastarder

be careful with the milton - it's bleach, and as pointed out in another thread here a week or two back, is lethal for plants.

Oldtree

magicbastarder wrote: »

be careful with the milton - it's bleach, and as pointed out in another thread here a week or two back, is lethal for plants.

I was thinking the milton used to clean babies bottles. Is that the same thing?

Lumen

Oldtree wrote: »

I was thinking the milton used to clean babies bottles. Is that the same thing?

Yes, it's sodium hypochlorite, i.e. bleach.

Fumes are fine, just don't be splashing it around the place. Science: http://mrec.ifas.ufl.edu/foliage/resrpts/rh_92_25.htm

magicbastarder

we used to use it to clean mildew in a bathroom in a place we used to live. was great for that. have also been known to use it to clear the green scum off the concrete down the side passage in the house - water there drains into a drain, and doesn't run into soil.

it sterilises, so i guess if you wanted to sterilise soil, it'd work, but i don't know what medium to long term chemical changes might happen the soil...

Zzippy

magicbastarder wrote: »

be careful with the milton - it's bleach, and as pointed out in another thread here a week or two back, is lethal for plants.

Fairly dilute solution, and just used on the plastic, not sloshed around the place. I've gravel around all the raised beds in the tunnel, including between the beds and the tunnel wall, so any runoff would be into the gravel. The Milton is really to disinfect the plastic, reduce fungal spores etc. There was a bit of algal buildup but the plastic is a lot clearer now.