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I have been having a discussion with other allotment holders,
I have been pressing on and sowing seeds but others have told me that it is too early as we could get more frost more snow and it's generally too cold. My argument is when plants grow naturally they will drop there seeds in the Autumn and they will lay on/in the ground all Winter without coming to any harm and start to grow in the Spring. So, does it really matter if I plant seeds and a bit of frost gets to them ? Your thoughts would be appreciated. Wally |
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In message , Wally
writes I have been having a discussion with other allotment holders, I have been pressing on and sowing seeds but others have told me that it is too early as we could get more frost more snow and it's generally too cold. My argument is when plants grow naturally they will drop there seeds in the Autumn and they will lay on/in the ground all Winter without coming to any harm and start to grow in the Spring. So, does it really matter if I plant seeds and a bit of frost gets to them ? Your thoughts would be appreciated. Wally An interesting debate! I understand what you are saying. When considering there are seeds that, when bought from a retailer, actually require a short period in a fridge prior to germination, it would appear to make sense. And broad beans are often sown in November, germinate and go through tough winters without apparent damage. I believe it is not the seeds but rather the young shoots that require protection from frost. For example, if you grow tomatoes outdoors the seeds, having been left on the ground when the fruit fell the previous year, could, in theory, germinate during a particularly mild spell in, say, early spring, but the young plants would soon die in the event of a following frost. Similarly with runner beans and quite a number of other seed depositing plants. I suspect the norms we use have been developed over centuries as proving the most effective way of raising healthy and productive plants which is surely the objective. Just my opinion ..... very possibly codswallop :-)) -- Gopher .... I know my place! |
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Wally wrote:
I have been having a discussion with other allotment holders, I have been pressing on and sowing seeds but others have told me that it is too early as we could get more frost more snow and it's generally too cold. My argument is when plants grow naturally they will drop there seeds in the Autumn and they will lay on/in the ground all Winter without coming to any harm and start to grow in the Spring. So, does it really matter if I plant seeds and a bit of frost gets to them ? Perhaps the thing to consider is whether the seeds you are planting are native to this country, or a similar climate? I can see carrots, turnips, onions, potatoes, broad beans, etc all being fine. I can't imagine sweetcorn, pumpkins, french beans, tomatoes or aubergines being too happy about a dose of spring frost. Incidentally, I believe the last frost date for most of this country is in approx 3 weeks. (how they work that out, I have no idea, but so I've been told) |
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Wally wrote:
Your thoughts would be appreciated. You haven't said where you are... -- Rusty |
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"Wally" wrote ... I have been having a discussion with other allotment holders, I have been pressing on and sowing seeds but others have told me that it is too early as we could get more frost more snow and it's generally too cold. My argument is when plants grow naturally they will drop there seeds in the Autumn and they will lay on/in the ground all Winter without coming to any harm and start to grow in the Spring. So, does it really matter if I plant seeds and a bit of frost gets to them ? Your thoughts would be appreciated. We mostly plant in modules and won't plant the main lot of our seeds for some weeks yet to plant out end of May after all chance of frost has passed (don't talk about the frost on the 9th June a few years back!). Exceptions are Chillies which will be planted shortly to get the plants up and big enough to flower quicker and then a bit later some Toms for planting out also. Out on the allotment there is no point in planting Parsnips, for example, as they won't germinate in cold soil so better to wait until the soil warms up. Ours is also much too wet to do anything with, not even planted our early spuds yet. -- Regards Bob Hobden W.of London. UK |
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On 30/03/2010 12:36, Wally wrote:
Your thoughts would be appreciated. My peas, potatoes and onion sets are already in the garden. Too early to plant runner bean seeds. I do them directly in the ground nowadays rather than individually in pots - it seems to make very little difference to how quick the first harvest is - maybe a week or two at most. Just not worth the hassle and space they take up - especially if they get leggy and the garden is too wet to plant them. Brasicas, leeks, lettuce, beetroot etc are up already in the cold-frame, too small to plant out yet - I just need some dry weather in a few weeks time to get onto the garden to plant them. I've taken a chance and planted some parsnips, carrots, sweetcorn and tomato seeds under the coldframe too. If they fail I will just plant some more later on. Parsnips are a sod to germinate. I've given up trying to grow them directly in the ground because they are completely overrun by weed seedlings before they show through. Same with carrots. I've found I can grow them from seed in deep troughs and transplant them out with a lot of care - if the roots hit the bottom of the tub it means I get L shaped carrots :-) or they split. Actually the split carrots haven't been a bad thing. I harvested the last of them a couple of weeks ago - they had overwintered nicely in the garden, which was a pleasant surprise. The tops had completely died off of course but the carrots themselves were fresh and sweet - perhaps the frosts had made them sweeter? There was also the BENEFIT of them forking. Where there should have been one carrot there was four or five nicely formed large carrots - all joined at the top. A whole row of large forked carrots. The only downside is the problem of cleaning out the soil between the forks. -- David in Normandy. To e-mail you must include the password FROG on the subject line, or it will be automatically deleted by a filter and not reach my inbox. |
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"Rusty Hinge" wrote in message ... Wally wrote: Your thoughts would be appreciated. You haven't said where you are... -- Rusty Milton Keynes area Rusty. Wally |
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Thank you all for your input, some food for thought there.
Wally |
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"Wally" wrote in message ... I have been having a discussion with other allotment holders, I have been pressing on and sowing seeds but others have told me that it is too early as we could get more frost more snow and it's generally too cold. My argument is when plants grow naturally they will drop there seeds in the Autumn and they will lay on/in the ground all Winter without coming to any harm and start to grow in the Spring. So, does it really matter if I plant seeds and a bit of frost gets to them ? Your thoughts would be appreciated. Wally My thoughts would be that they are right, unless you are prepared to lose a proportion (or all) of what you sowed too early. Do take advice from more experienced allotment holders, they wish the best for you and your crops and if you argue you know better they will stop helping you. Worse than that, it will annoy them. Intensely. Tina |
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On 30 Mar, 17:59, "Christina Websell"
wrote: "Wally" wrote in message ...I have been having a discussion with other allotment holders, I have been pressing on and sowing seeds but others have told me that it is too early as we could get more frost more snow and it's generally too cold. My argument is when plants grow naturally they will drop there seeds in the Autumn and they will lay on/in the ground all Winter without coming to any harm and start to grow in the Spring. So, does it really matter if I plant seeds and a bit of frost gets to them ? Your thoughts would be appreciated. Wally My thoughts would be that they are right, unless you are prepared to lose a proportion (or all) of what you sowed too early. Do take advice from more experienced allotment holders, they wish the best for you and your crops and if you argue you know better they will stop helping you. Worse than that, it will annoy them. *Intensely. Tina Plants that would be natives of a climate like ours should be OK but those from warmer clims like tomatoes, aubergines etc wouldn't like it. David Hill |
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On Tue, 30 Mar 2010 11:36:36 +0100, "Wally"
wrote: I have been having a discussion with other allotment holders, I have been pressing on and sowing seeds but others have told me that it is too early as we could get more frost more snow and it's generally too cold. My argument is when plants grow naturally they will drop there seeds in the Autumn and they will lay on/in the ground all Winter without coming to any harm and start to grow in the Spring. So, does it really matter if I plant seeds and a bit of frost gets to them ? Your thoughts would be appreciated. Wally In nature if all the seeds germinated together in one go and they got frosted the plant would die out. So nature ensures seeds germinate more slowly at colder conditions - you'd call it eratic but for a plant it's just self preservation. There are somethings that don't mind a bit of cold, others will be wasted. One allotmenter told me everyone else ploughed on ahead but when it got to summer hers all caught up with theirs. -- http://www.Voucherfreebies.co.uk http://www.holidayunder100.co.uk |
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Your thoughts would be appreciated.
Wally My thoughts would be that they are right, unless you are prepared to lose a proportion (or all) of what you sowed too early. Do take advice from more experienced allotment holders, they wish the best for you and your crops and if you argue you know better they will stop helping you. Worse than that, it will annoy them. Intensely. Tina No argument involved Tina just listening to comments and putting my comments across, I find that this is the best way to learn. I respect any advice I get on the allotment also any help I get in here. Wally |
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On 31/03/2010 13:07, Wally wrote:
No argument involved Tina just listening to comments and putting my comments across, I find that this is the best way to learn. I respect any advice I get on the allotment also any help I get in here. Don't be afraid to experiment yourself too. Sometimes the established wisdom passed down the generations is questionable. Especially nowadays with many different veg varieties with different resistances and changes to the climate etc. My neighbour does his gardening based on the phase of the moon. Such ancient superstition is common here in rural communities. I don't disagree with him, no point. Besides I might find myself buried under his rhubarb bed as part of another ancient tradition. ;-) -- David in Normandy. To e-mail you must include the password FROG on the subject line, or it will be automatically deleted by a filter and not reach my inbox. |
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David in Normandy wrote:
My neighbour does his gardening based on the phase of the moon. Such ancient superstition is common here in rural communities. I believe the basis of the moon phase planting (and planting out and harvesting) is all related to the effect on water by the moon, as displayed in the tides. It is meant to relate to the water being 'drawn up' more easily at the times it's needed, etc. Whether it works or not is another matter - I have considered trying to do a blind trial test on it, but since I rarely get time to even plant, let alone be told what I can plant when, it seems most unlikely I ever will. |
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