Melons are one of those fruits that we dream of growing in cooler climates. I’ve tried and tried for many years to grow a wonderful pair but they seem to prefer warmer climates….That is until now!
Emir are the perfect Melon variety for the cooler climate, so this year I’m giving them a go. Come and see how I harvest mine.
Now we’re into March the weather has warmed up nicely and it’s time to start sowing your Chilli Seeds. I have both sweet, mild and hot chilli seeds this year.
What ones are you growing this year?
Here’s how I sow mine….
Because I’ve already sown some brassica seeds, I’m not showing you how to sow any more, because you need to sow them in exactly the same way.
The wind is blowing outside and it’s drizzling with rain, so I shut myself away in my greenhouse for a little bit of “me time”. It’s a lovely place to go when you need a little bit of time to yourself.
I’ve just sown the following brassica seeds, but don’t worry I’ll keep you updated on their progress.
Let’s start with Kale “Smoothie Mix” and “Afro” which are good for adding iron to your diet, something I need especially when giving blood. Broccoli “Lancer Mixed” I love these, and “Stemia”. Cauliflower “Chinese” which look very interesting. Then finally lots of Cabbage, because everyone likes a cabbage, “Greyhound”, “January King 3”, “Advantage”, lastly “Kilmaro”.
This should keep us going for a while and fill up those 2 cages I made to protect them from the butterflies and birds.
If you’ve never sown Flower Sprouts, Kalettes, Brukale (all the same thing) before why not sow some this year.
They are a cross between Kale and Brussels Sprouts and are absolutely delicious. They are very easy to find now and are available from most of the large seed companies.
Why not give them a go this year, they are wonderful and in my opinion best sauteed for about 5 minutes with a little onion. When I have time I’ll make a video and show you.
Freshly harvested Tomatoes are just the most wonderful thing ever. They have so much more flavour that the watery, tasteless shop ones. You can always find space for at least one tomato plant, so why not try and grow some this year.
There are loads of different varieties out there to try, so why not try something different this year. The varieties I’m sowing are “Sungold”, “Bloody Butcher”, “Indigo Blue Berries”, “Aunt Ginny’s Purple“, “Green Sausage”, and finally “Black Cherry”.
Here’s how I’m sowing mine this year.
February is the perfect time to sow your Broad Beans. The variety I am growing this year are called “The Sutton”. I’ve grow these before and they grow really well. They not massively tall plants, but produce a lovely amount of fruit.
You can either sow 2 beans per 3 inch pot, but I prefer to use half toilet rolls. So start saving now for next year.
Here’s how I sow mine….
People always underestimate the difference in the taste of home grown lettuce. It really does taste so much better than shop bought. I like to sow a variety of different colours and shapes, that way the salad looks much more interesting.
Make sure you sow your lettuce seeds “in succession”, which basically means a few every month. That way you’ll have a wonderful supply all summer long.
You can so directly into the soil, but I prefer to sow mine in a seed tray. Here’s how I sow mine.
If you want to grow big and strong, there is only 1 vegetable you need to eat, and that’s Spinach. The variety I’m sowing this year is called “Trombone”, which I grew last year and it did really well. It’s great wilted with onions and garlic, and makes a great addition to a casserole or a pasta dish.
Now is the time to start sowing your seeds, and this is how I sow mine.
Last year my Aubergines grew really well, and so again this year, I’m growing 2 different varieties some from Spain, and a UK variety called Rosa Bianca.
February is the time to start sowing, so here’s how I so mine.
Hello there my lovelies. Sorry I’ve be absent for a couple of weeks, but we used up all our data allowance and have been waiting for it to tick over to the next month. Yes we’re on “Unlimited” apparently, but it’s capped at 450, so clearly it’s not unlimited. We’ve been told that’s usually more than enough for any normal family, but we’re not a normal family. So off we go again for the new month, let’s see how long we can make it last this time. And before you ask, where we live, we’re very limited on who we can have (basically only 1 provider).
Moan now over, so back to the gardening.
I’ve been very busy in the greenhouses and the weather has been wonderful. I’ve finally managed to sow all of my seeds that needed to be sown in February, and at the beginning of this week I sowed the following: Melons “Emir”, which are great for the cooler climate, so hopefully they’ll grow well and I’ll have some lovely pairs of melons to show you come the summer…..
I also sowed all of my Chillies, both the sweet and the hot varieties. So let’s start with the sweet ones “California Wonder” and now the hot ones “Longhorn”, “Trinidad Perfume”, “Midas”, “Razzamatazz” and finally some from Wahaca restaurant. I’ll keep you posted on their progress.
I over wintered 6 chilli plants and they’ve been very happy on the window sill in the utility room, but I’ve now moved them into the greenhouses. 3 plants look very good, but 3 don’t look so good. I’ll see how they fair in the coming months and will see if the ones that look a bit sad brighten up.
There are lots of videos ready to go. I was able to edit them and save them on the Desktop, but because we had not internet was unable to upload them onto my YouTube page. But now we’re back with the rest of the world, I can sort those out.
Now to start on the March seeds. There’s loads to do, so I’ll keep you posted.
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