Sowing seeds

Spring is here!  Although I don’t think that the grass has really stopped growing over winter this year.  Other than the times around the snowfalls, it just hasn’t been a cold winter.  One way I can tell it’s spring is that the almond trees are flowering.

Almond tree and Jill

I sowed many seeds on 2 Sept.  This year the majority of the seeds were from Koanga Gardens.  I will attempt to save more of my own seeds this autumn – beans, peas, tomatoes etc – all the easy crops.

Here is the list of seeds that I sowed (KG = from Koanga Gardens, KS = from Kings Seeds, M = my seed, succ = will sow successively):

Chili peppers (Sprinkled in a 1m diameter tub, they will stay in the glass house)

     – Cayenne blend (KS).
Pumpkin/Squash (3 seeds of each in 3 x 20cm diameter pots ie 9 of each in total)

     – Triamble (an interesting 3-lobed pumpkin, KG)
     – Austrian oil seed (has hulless seeds which are good for roasting, KS)
     – Waltham butternut (KS)
Brassicas (A single row of each in a seed tray)

     – Broccoli Raab spring rapini (KS)

     – Broccoli de Cicco (KG)

     – Cabbage Dalmatian (KG)

     – Cabbage Chi hi li (KG)

     – Cabbage Henry’s Chinese (KG)

Zucchini (1 seed of each in 3 x 10cm diameter pots ie 3 of each in total)

     – Cocozelle (KS, blue pots)

     – Black beauty (KS, red pots)

Cucumber  (1 seed in 3 x 10cm diameter pots ie 3 seeds in total)

     – Green apple (KG, green pots)

Corn (A single row of each in a seed tray; succ.)

     – Sweet early gem (KG, sweet)

     – Golden bantam (KG, sweet)

     – Black Navajo (KG, sweet/flour)

     – Mini black popping (KG, popping)

Allium (A single scattered row of each in a seed tray)

     – Leek Lyon (KG)

     – Onion Stuttgart long keeper (KS)

     – Onion Pukekohe long keeper (KG)

     – Onion Borettana (KS)

Tomato (1 seed in each hole of a 6 hole, hard black plastic 3x3x8cm container ie 6 of each in total)

     – Henry’s beefsteak (KG)

     – Low acid mix (KG, varieties are J Walsh, Red oxheart, Black Roma)

     – Henry’s dwarf bush cherry (KG, no stake)

     – Southern bush (KG, no stake)

     – Island Bay (KG)

     – Alma (KG)

Chard (8 seeds of each in 15x20x5cm soft, white plastic container)

     – Rainbow (KG)

     – Lettuce beet (KG)

Broad beans (1 seed in each hole of a 4 hole, hard black plastic 5x3x8cm container ie 4 of each in total)

     – Dwarf early green (M)

     – Dwarf early green (KS)

     – Superaguadulce (M)

     – Superaguadulce (KS)

Peas (1 seed in each hole of a 6 hole, hard black plastic 3x3x8cm container ie 6 of each in total; succ)

     – Henry’s salad (KG, shellout)

     – Unwins king size (KG, shellout)

     – Henry’s sugar snap (KG, eat entire pod)

     – Snow pea Goliath (KS, eat entire pod)

Seeds: tomato, pea, broad bean, chard, brassica, corn, allium

Yesterday (4 Sept) I planted Jersey Benne potatoes (7 rows of 6) and weeded and cut back the asparagus bed.  While I was there I picked 200g of fresh asparagus!

Potato bed

Asparagus!