Friday 18 February 2011

Sowing winter vegetables

It still amazes me, how organised a gardener has to be. Here we are, in the middle of summer, and I have had to sow all my winter vegetables.
We have to get all our vegetables planted out in March*. Any later than that and the seedlings sit in the cold soil, shiver, complain and do nothing. They just don't grow.It's a risky business, though. We might still get a heat wave. And if that happens after I've planted out the tender little seedlings, well, they'll be cactus. So, I sow more than I need. Just in case.
*I am talking about our particular place. Autumn hits earlier here, than in the city. Every place is different. :)

In March, the soil is still warm and the seedlings are off to a good start. They can grow to a reasonable size, before the cold weather hits.

Now I'll better get the winter beds organised. Always a bit awkward when we haven't even started our proper summer harvest yet. Oh, the joys of gardening! :)

Edit: What have I sown?
Kale (2 varieties), brusselsprouts (2 varieties), cabbage (3 varieties, cauliflower (2 varieties), onions (4 varieties), spring onions, lettuce (5 varieties), celery, celeriac, chia, amaranth, mustard, leeks, silverbeet, spinach, broccoli, purple sprouting broccoli ...That should be about it. Direct sowing of root vegetables next month.

10 comments:

My Veggie Garden said...

What have you planted? I've started a lot of my winter stuff as well. Peas, cabbage caulies broc's, lettuce, spinach. beetroot.

Veggie Gnome said...

Stewart, I have edited my post to list what I have sown. :)

My Veggie Garden said...

Thank-you. I keep forgetting about my silverbeet (just sprouted) but also need to get some kale and leek seed in. I'm hoping foe a better winter than the Summer I just had or didn't have.

Veggie Gnome said...

All the best, Stewart! Hope you have a great winter harvest! :)

Kat said...

This is a great reminder for me to start sowing once the rain stops! :)

Veggie Gnome said...

Good luck, Kat!
Isn't that rain marvellous?! Our tank is overflowing, the ground is nearly saturated. I love it! :)

Sue Garrett said...

The risk for us is planting stuff out and then getting a frost

Malay-Kadazan girl said...

The plants are so happy today with so much rain. Wow I did not realised in the hills you have to sow winter vegetables now. As I sow winter veggies starting from End of March. But I have sowed some parsnip seeds last week from Seedy Sunday.

AndEva said...

Dear Veggie, I have fallen in LOVE with you and your blog, you are a woman after my own heart! :)

I have a huge collection of seeds, and I love EVERYTHING to do with preserving and homey sorts.

I am not sure how to email you, as I would love to some to the seed savers meetings and meet all you wonderful people.

We have moved into the hills, we are at Forest Range.

Hope to hear from you soon.

Berry
XXX

Veggie Gnome said...

GLA, ah yes, the joys of spring sowing in your case now. We go through that every spring, too. All the best!

Diana, yes, we have a much shorter growing period up here. You are ahead of me with the parsnip. I haven't sown mine yet. Hope you have a great harvest!

Lotus, *LOL* flattery gets you everywhere! Wow, you are not far from us. Yes, the seedsavers are a wonderful bunch of people. Join us, the more, the merrier. Have a look at the top right-hand corner of the blog. Under the heading 'contact me', hover over the word 'email' and click on it. That brings up my email address. Hear from you soon!
Ps.: Wasn't that rain marvellous?! We have 56mm altogether. Happy, happy.