Clairesallotment's Blog

There are so many different varieties of cucumbers out there, so why not try something new this year. Not all cucumbers have to be grown in a greenhouse, there are many varieties that can be grown outside. Make sure you check the pack of seeds before you buy to make sure you are getting the right ones for you.

Today I’ve been sowing my cucumber seeds, this is how I sow mine.

Be very careful when choosing peppers to grow. Firstly check the packets to find out if they’re “Sweet” or “Chilli”, you don’t want to get them mixed up. If you are growing chillies, check how hot they’re going to be. Chillies are measured on the Scoville scale, the higher the number the hotter the chilli. How brave will you be? Me, not very.

Today I’m sowing my peppers, both Sweet and Chilli, here’s how I sow mine.

If you are really into your chillies, why not go to Challock Chilli fest, Kent. They have more chillies than you’ll know what to do with.

The sky is overcast and there is still some fog lingering. So what better place to spend the afternoon, then in the greenhouse sowing seeds. With the weather taking it’s time to warm up, everything is about 2 weeks behind. Hopefully over the next week or so, I can catch up with my sowing. But this afternoon I made a start and sowed lots of seeds.

Let me make one thing clear, there is no shame in buying plug plants from an online nursery (Victoriana  Nursery have a wonderful selection and many seedlings may have even been pricked out by my own fair hands), and then grow the plants on yourself. Please don’t feel like you have to grow everything from seed. If you only have a small space, buying plug plants makes perfect sense. Or if you don’t have time to sow and prick seedlings out, as it is time consuming, again plug plants are perfect.

Today I sowed the following seeds, some you may be interested in, and others you may not be, so here goes.

Peppers first, both chillies and sweet. Make sure you get the right ones, otherwise you’ll either be disappointed or very shocked. The Sweet Peppers I sowed were “California Wonder” and “Sweetonia Mix”. Now onto the Chilli Peppers, some are hotter than others, so I’ll start with the mildest first and work my way up. “Midas F1″ which are mild, “Trinidad Perfume” which are mild to medium, “Bulgarian Carrot” which are hot, and “Razzamatazz” which are also hot, then finally “Longhorn F1” which are very hot. I only sowed 4 seeds of each. The germination rate for peppers is usually very good, so I’m expecting either 3 or 4 of each to germinate.

If you’re really into your chillies then why not visit Challock Chilli fest in October!

Moving onto the other seeds now. I also sowed 2 varieties of cucumber, firstly some I bought from Spain a couple of years ago. What their variety is I don’t know, but they’re green and grow to about 7 inches long and need to be peeled as the skin is tough and bitter. The other variety is called “White Wonder“, so it’ll be interesting to see how they both grow. They can both be grown outside, but I think I’ll grow some in the greenhouse and some outside to compare.

Then I sowed some aubergines (or egg plant if you live in the US). I tend to have varied success with aubergines, as they are very sensitive to the outside temperature. If the summer is too cold they tend not to do well. So fingers, toes, legs and anything else crossed for a lovely long hot summer…..please…..go on you know you want to. I’ve sown 2 varieties, one from Spain that are smallish in size, and are white with purple lines down each fruit. The other variety is “Rosa Bianca” which look wonderful. I’ll keep you posted on their progress.

Then finally today I sowed some more brassica seeds. But this time some Calabrese “Matsuri F1”, some Brukale “Petit Posy” these are sometimes called flower sprout or kalettes. They are a cross between Brussels sprouts and kale. And finally some Cabbage “Primo (11)”.

So all in all a successful afternoon in the greenhouse. There are videos to follow, but I can’t upload them at home as our internet speed is slower than a snail. Mark has to upload them when he gets to work. Their internet speed is quicker than lightning, they’re just showing off.

Lots more seeds to sow this week, so I’ll keep you posted.

Now that Spring is definitely here, please no more snow until winter, it’s time to get everything ready in the garden. I’m sure, like me, you’re in full seed sowing mode, and have great plans for your garden this year.

When growing fruits and vegetables, most of us tend to buy a massive heavy gardening book. These are very difficult to lug about, and if you take them out in the garden they get dirty very quickly, pages flip over in the breeze, and pages get torn. Large books are hard to fit into your allotment bag, and is not very easy to read in bed.

What you need is something easy and light to transport. Now a days most of us have Kindles or iPads, or some form of technology that we can download books onto. These are usually kept safe in a case, so the gardening debris can’t get in. What you need is to be able to download an ebook onto your devise so you can have it with you at all times.

Well, I’ve been very busy, and have lots more to do, but I have written a series of gardening books, called Claire’s Allotment Essentials, and they can be downloaded for 99p each! What a bargain.

So far I have written the following, but there are many more to come.

Happy reading and gardening!

How to grow Potatoes click HERE

How to grow Onions click HERE

How to grow Strawberries click HERE

How to grow Broad Beans click HERE

How to grow French Beans click HERE

How to grow Tomatoes click HERE

How to grow Carrots click HERE

Container gardening click HERE

Now that Spring is finally here, it’s taken it’s time, and the weather has warmed up considerably, seed sowing is in full flow. I’ve got loads to do as you would expect. The raised beds are taking shape, but we ran out of long screws, so I’ll have to order more this week. Just got to fill the beds now with wood chips, manure and soil.

Still there’s loads to do in the greenhouse with sowing, so I’ve got plenty to do. Here is how I sow my Cauliflower and Brussels Sprout seeds.

Growing herbs is very easy to do. You can either grow them in a herb patch in the garden, but they will also grow perfectly will in pots on a patio, or even on a sunny window sill. If you are able to grow some herbs where you live, make sure you grow ones that you’ll eat. Here are some herbs that I’m sowing today…

It’s one of those words that gardeners use, assuming that everyone know what it means. Some people don’t know, so here I am to explain this gardening term. Many vegetables can be sown successionally, and here’s how I grow my lettuce.

I doubt he’d come and visit, but if he does, he can help with my raised beds. Olive Oyl is welcome to, but Bluto can stay away. I remember watching the cartoon as a kid. They were subliminally sending you messages about healthy eating even then, although eating spinach straight out a can wasn’t for me. I love spinach in casseroles and it’s great in a curry. Spinach is rich in iron, so that’s good for me, as I’m sometimes a bit lacking in that department. March is the perfect time to sow your spinach, so here’s how I sow mine…..

But let’s not call the whole thing off….

What ever way you say tomato, they are sown in the same way. Now the weather is getting warmer, March is the perfect time to sow them. This is how I’m sowing mine…..