So finally the rain stopped and slowly the mud began to dry up and I started to look forward to planting out the early vegetables and then the temperature dropped, the ground froze, the wind howled (we get the Helm here) and it snowed for a week. Despite all that very little settled here so we were able to clear up the growing beds and cover them with compost we made over the last 12 months. Then we waited to be able to start planting as Spring began.
We are still waiting and so far there is no sign of it warming up. Fortunately we have some indoor growing space and so we are sowing seeds indoors in modules so they will be ready to be planted as soon as the weather bucks up. Today I sowed mange tout peas (carouby de maussane, lovely purple flowers) about 5 seeds to a cell in trays of 15 cells, well soaked and drained and brought into the warm. Take care to only water when the compost starts to look dry and don’t leave them standing in water. As soon as the shoots unfold and start to grow up turn the trays every day unless they have light from all sides they will lean over and get drawn. If they start to get tall without opening much in the way of leaves put them outside, they are very frost hardy but they need a little warmth to germinate, too cold and they will rot before germinating. As soon as they are 75 – 100 mm plant out so long as the ground isn’t frozen.
Other early vegetables we are starting include beetroot (40 modules per tray 2-3 seeds), lettuce (40 per tray 3 – 5 seeds thinned later), spring onions (60 per tray 2-3 seeds) and herbs and anything else that we can get a head start with indoors.
Back to the Cumbria Grow your Own calendar