Saturday morning finally arrived and their was an additional covering of snow over night so time at the allotment was going to have to be short. I was keen to stop round to see if the items sown last weekend had managed to germinate or even survive the cold snap, I was also keen to keep Eva interested in the hard work she had put in.

Mid morning I finally convinced both Alex and Eva to tare themselves away from sledging down our steep drive and join me on the visit to the allotment. As you can see form the photos, the snow was probably about 10-15cm and the temperature was around -2deg. Both children managed to keep themselves warm by running around the site making sure every last piece of untouched snow had a small foot print in which then progressed to finding the largest icicle.

Greenhouse produce update

Like I said earlier, with the cold weather temperature dropping well below freezing I was keen to see it the seeds/Sets we sowed last week had managed to spark in to any signs of life.

Looking closely at the tops of the onion sets and Garlic cloves, you can just about see a very small shoot starting to develop, which will also mean the at the bottom of them the roots will start protruding into the compost and taking in the moisture and nutrients that it needs in the early stages of growing. Hopefully the coming week will be a little warmer and the next visit will show quite a bit more life.

Unsurprisingly, the Broad beans and Peas are not showing any signs of life above the top of the compost, at this stage i'm not over concerned as all varieties are very resistant to cold temperatures, but time will tell over the coming week.

The Pepper forest

Thankfully the Pepper and Chilli plants are now starting to grow at a tremendous rate, out of all the seeds sown approximately 65% have germinated and looking healthy. It has been very interesting to see which varieties have been most successful and which have struggled. 

Some plants are at the stage where they need to be transplanted and others could do with another week in the warmth of the propagator, it's another job for the week ahead as i'm very keen to utilise the space for the next batch of seeds.

Brassica disaster

Most of the seeds we sowed approximately 10 days ago were from the Brassica family and unfortunately it appear that we've got this one wrong.

As you can see from the pictures, the plants have become very 'leggy' in a very short space of time. I suppose the question is, is this going to cause a problem further down the line in the plants life? Doing a little research the answer is 'No' and the plant can be recovered by planting the seedling a little deeper into the soil and encourage a root system to develop further up the stem of the plant.

So if I was to do the seeds again, what would I change?

There are 3 main factors into the cause of 'leggy plants':

1. The first is the sunlight, too little can force the plant to grow naturally towards the sun.

2. Too much moisture in the compost can allow the young seedling to take on too much moisture too quickly.

3. Too much heat can encourage the seedling into rapid growth.

So taking all 3 factors into consideration I can see all 3 factors playing their part in the early stages of my Brassica crop. The plants have been sat close to a window that has struggled with natural light over that last week, the soil conditions have been a little too wet and I added a heat mat after 4 days to help increase germination.

So all in all lesson learn and improvements are needed, I think I'll keep the original plants and give it another go under improved conditions, so another job added to the list, I'll keep you posted to see if I can improve on my first attempt.

This Saturday morning seemed to feel like the first Saturday of the year that the sun was shining and it was the type of gardening weather that we'd been hoping for since we started the allotment journey of 2018. These are defiantly the days that I fell in love with when I developed my green fingers when I was just a little old than Eva is now.

Sowing in the greenhouse was on the agenda today, although the sun was shining, outside was still a little on the cold side so I was keen to keep Eva under the glass and getting involved with the jobs today. I was also very aware that the forecast for the week ahead is very much 'Arctic' conditions, so working the soil and preparing the beds should really hold off until the cold snap passes.

Sowing the Sets

I'm very keen this year to grow onions, as many onions that we have space for should be enough. As a Family, I think Onions and Potatoes are the most used vegetables in the house, so growing as many as possible make a lot of sense. Last week I focused on sowing a couple of different Onions seeds in plug trays and this week the attentions turns towards the Onion / Shallot sets and Garlic cloves.

I'm using a method that many gardeners at this time of year will be using to spark the bulbs into showing signs of life and giving them a boost before we put them into their final growing area. The sets and cloves will be sown in seed trays and left in the greenhouse, where the temperature will be a few degrees higher than conditions outside. 

I've used a seed tray insert and a seed tray with no holes in the bottom to retain water so the bulbs don't dry out when the greenhouse gets warm. I've filled the insert with multi purpose compost and placed one set into each cell of the tray, removing any excess 'skin' at the top of the onion to prevent any restriction on the shoot. The set is placed into the compost so that half of the Onion is covered and half is showing above the compost, at this stage this will be sufficient and withing a couple of days the roots of the bulb with start to develop and drive into the compost underneath. The same method is used for the Shallots and Garlic.

A little bit more sowing

This week was a good week for getting Eva involved, she could fill the seed trays with soil (without the worry of the mess) and she could be given sowing jobs to do with viable signs of a good job. Next on the list were Pea's and Broad beans, another excellent task for little fingers.

At this time of year both Broad beans and Pea's can be sown directly into the ground and be left to germinate, the only worry about doing this is the weather conditions destroying your hard work. With the weather forecast poor for the next couple of weeks I felt the safest way was sowing the seeds in the greenhouse and transplanting the plugs when the weather had improved.

The Peas were sown in a 4x cell seed tray insert (strips) so when the Peas were ready they could be transplanted in their strips directly into the growing area without disturbing the roots, this method is very similar to using a piece of guttering as the sowing bed. We placed 5 Pea seeds into each strip, pushing them approximately 1cm into the multi purpose compost.

For the Broad beans I've used a 6x Cell pack and placed 1 seed into each cell, the 6x Cell Pack are very spacious and will allow for the roots to develop in the compost and not restrict growth of the plant above the compost.

As the whole house woke up and started the regular lazy Saturday morning routine, I broke the news to Eva that the allotment visit had been cancelled due to the weather and asked her if she would be tempted into another seed planting session at the office. The deal breaker was a sweet flask of tea and a selection of treats, unsurprisingly Alex wasn't so keen, the busy social life of a 9 year old is far more important that sowing seeds at the office with Dad. So Eva and I quickly got ready and set off to the office.

As I've said in previous blogs, February is all about sowing and preparation, so if you cant do one focus on the other with the weather so wet the ground will be too heavy so preparing the seed beds would be impossible, so my time is very much better spent sowing more seeds. The only problem I have with sowing seeds is the space in which they are going to germinate, but that is a bridge I'm going to have to cross in the coming weeks.

This week the focus is about a little catching up and also completing the sowing tasks for February. I already know some seeds such are Leeks, Shallots and Onions should have really be past the germination stage and be starting to grow in to strong plugs, I'm keen to get some seeds sown to give me a comparison against my set plants in the coming months. I'm also keen to cross a number of other seeds off my February sown list, so I know i was going to be busy.

I mentioned before the lack of space so to try and save as much room as possible i'm sticking with my plug trays with the largest cells (360 Plug Tray) but like when I sowed the Peppers they tray has to be modified to fit a standard seed tray. The trays should be cut to 17x11 cell, it should then fit perfectly in the seed tray, another good tip is to make the cuts into the plastic when the tray is upside down.

To plant all my seeds today, I've used the following method:

1. Using cutting and sowing compost fill all the cells of the plug tray, brushing off any excess compost from the top of the tray with your hand, you should now be able to see the shape of each cell in the tray.

2. Using another plug tray (of the same size) place on top of the compost in the first plug tray and press down softly. This will push the compost into the cells and reduce an gaps that were between the compost. it will also give you approximatly 2-4mm at the top of each cell to place your seed.

3. Select the seeds you are wishing to sow and place 1 seed in each cell on top of the compost. 

4. If you are not wishing to sow a whole tray (187 cells) of the same plant, now is a good time to make plant labels to identify what seeds are sown where. I've planted my seeds in rows of 11 and marked at the top of each row what is sown in that row. To make it even clearer I've changed the colour of my plant label for each type of plant. Our 4" plant labels work a treat and fit nicely into each cell.

5. Now add a small amount of compost to the top of each cell, this should cover the seeds and also fill the cells to the very top. If you have added to much compost, being extremely gentle brush the excess compost from the top, if you are too harsh the seed underneath the compost will be disturbed or even removed from the cell.

6. Using our full seed tray with no holes, added approximately 1/2 inch of water in the bottom, and then place the plug tray (with the compost and seeds) into the water that sits in the seed tray. The compost will naturally soak up the water, this method is designed to not disturb the seed that now sits in the compost in your plug tray.

7. Finally place a propagator lid on top of your full seed tray and place in a warm window bottom or greenhouse. The seeds will need to be approximately 23-26 degrees C, this will vary depending on what seeds you are sowing.

Seeds sown this week:

Leek - Musselburgh
Onion - Alisa Craig
Shallot - Zebrune
Lettuce - Webbs Wonderful
Brussels Sprout - Evesham Special (No longer available)
Cauliflower - Igloo
Cabbage - Greyhound
Calabrese - Chealier (No longer available)
Cabbage - Red Drum head

The key to February is the weather, some years it can be mild and give the allotment a huge boost and then other years it can be the coldest month of the year, even colder than December and January. The other factor to February is the rain, if we have a wet month the ground can get too wet for planting anything at all, if we attempt to sow something the wet conditions could ruin the germination. My advice would be to take the risk, if we get lucky we can be a few weeks ahead and to see something growing on the plot is a good motivator to continue in the cold winter mornings.

1. Harvest
After my first visit to my allotment there wasn't a great deal of plants left from the Autumn harvest so this task is one I can tick off my list without actually doing anything. Some allotment gardeners maybe a little more fortunate and the final harvest from last years crop can take place throughout this month. Cabbages, Sprouts, Cauliflowers, Kale, Leeks, Celeriac, Parsnips and swede are all vegetables which are strong enough take the low temperatures over December and January, but February is the month were they should be making way for this season.

2. Dig over the plot
February is an excellent time to give your beds one final dig before the planting can begin. Turn over the soil to aerate it and remove any weeds (or unwanted plant) that have survived the winter. If the soil is very wet, use a plank of wood across your bed to stand on, it saves you ending up with boots covered in mud.

There is still plenty of time to add your compost or manure to your beds, dig it in while you are turning your soil or leave it on the top for the worms to draw down into the soil.

3. Plant
February is the month to put a few seeds and plants into the ground, but remember this is a gamble depending on the weather conditions and the wetness of the soil.

Items to plant or sow directly into the ground:
- Garlic - Sow the cloves directly into the ground in their final growing area.
- Shallot Sets - Sow the sets directly into the ground in their final growing area.
- Broad Beans - Sow the seeds directly into the ground in their final growing area.
- Jerusalem Artichhokes - Plant tubers directly in to the soil, if the weather is very cold protect with cloches.
- Peas - If the weather is very mild, February is a month you can sow the seeds directly in the soil.
- Fruit trees - The trees are still dormant, February is an excellent month to get the roots in the soil ready for the growing season.

4. Sow
February is the month the sowing inside gets really underway, making used of the greenhouse and window bottoms is key to timing of having plants ready to plant in the coming months.

Seed to sow in a seed trays / cell pack and allow to germinate in the greenhouse or a cooler part of the house: Broad Beans, Peas, Garlic and Shallots Sets.

Seeds to sow in plug trays / seed trays and allow to germinate in a heated propagator or in a warm place under a propagator lid: Turnip, Brussel Sprouts, Leeks, Onion seeds, Lettuce, Radish, Salad Leaves, Spinach, Sprouting Broccoli and Tomatoes.

5. Chitting
Make sure your seed potatoes ready for planting by the end of the month. Spread the seed potatoes out in an egg box or seed tray and leave is a cool / light room to allow for the potatoes to start sprouting shoots. If the potato shoots look pale or spindly, then the room is probably too dark or warm. 

6. Tend to the fruit plants on the plot
While the plants are in a dormant state, it a good time to tend to the plants ready for the temperature change during the coming months and the plant goes in to a growing state.

Raspberries - Both summer and Autumn Raspberries need pruning, but in different ways. The summer plants require no more than a trim at the top of the plant, cut off the tops so they are only slightly taller than their supports or bend them over in a hoop, with the top of the cane pointing to the floor. Autumn plants should be cut right down at the ground level, this type of Raspberry will then produce fruit on ne canes in the Autumn.

Strawberries - February is a good month to tidy up the Strawberry bed, identify the plants that you would like to keep and remove the older plants that are now producing less fruit. Remove any dead leaves and detach the runners leaving the plant to support itself over the next few months. Any runners you have removed, pot up in a plant pot and place in the green house to give them a little boost, before adding them to the bed next month.

Gooseberries, Currents and Blueberries - Prune the established bushes by removing any dead or diseased wood, these will only weaken the plants and won't produce much fruit.

All of the fruit plants would benefit from a good feed around the base of the plant. Use a high-potash fertilizer or an organic mixture of fish/blood/bone. If possible add some well rotted down farmyard manure or compost.

As the weather man had forecast the rain and cold winds came so to be very honest I wasn't keen on spending much time on the plot, Eva on the other hand was very much keen on getting down to the allotment and make a start.

The plot is in very good shape, a couple of weeds here and there but there is not much to get ready before the rush of getting the plants in the ground. All the beds needs a good dig over, maybe add a little manure / feed, but then a good rake and we'll be ready to go for the year ahead.

A view across the Plot, showing most of the beds for the vegetable growing.

A view across the fruit area of the plot, showing the dormant fruit trees.

Our much loved Strawberry patch, in need of a good tidy up and a good feed.

Daddies helper for the day, Eva Paul, raring to go.

As some of you may remember from last year I started my blog with huge ambition and desire to return to the allotment, which I did  for about 2 weeks. Not the greatest example I do know, but life is extremely busy with a full time job, a business and a young family (Excuse after excuse....)

This year I do plan to return, I need to get back to doing what I really enjoy and gardening gives me this along with time to myself to unwind from my busy life.

The new plan is to set a 'small' selection of tasks each week to contribute towards my allotment. I will try my best to keep it short an sweet each week, adding photos of my progress along the way.

I've made a start

The good news is I have already started, although I do feel a little behind, but each year a gardener feels the same so why should this year be different.

2 weeks ago I planted a selection of Pepper and Chilli seeds in the heated propagators and left the magic to happen while I continued to process and pack orders.

After 14 days in the propagator we are seeing a little bit of new life in some type of pepper and chilli seeds that were sown. At the moment Beauty Bell are leading the way but I'm sure the other wont be too far behind.

As you can probably see fro the photographs I've used one of our plug trays to germinate the seeds, the intension is to transplant the plug in to larger pots when they have matured and developed the strong root. The plug try I have used is the 360 plug tray, but I have modified it by reducing the size so they fit into a standard full seed tray, this gives me 16x11 cells, meaning I can fit 176 plugs into the propagator at any one time.

The sowing activities have now been divided up between myself and Reg, so I’ll try my best to keep you updated as to where we are with everything as and when they are happening.

With Reg being retired, naturally he has a little more time than I have, so things are starting to take shape with several early jobs now taken place.

The early Potatoes are now in the grounds after spending three to four weeks in the house chitting (spouting). The chitting of the potato is vital to producing a good strong plant, it starts the seed potato in to its ‘growing’ mode ready for planting into the growing position in the ground, bag or container. One of the most common methods for chitting potatoes is using an old egg box, placing one potato in each of the compartments and leaving them in a warm place. So, a porch, conservatory or garage would be sufficient, somewhere that doesn’t get too warm and somewhere that is frost free should be fine.

When the shoots get to a good size and the bulk of the frosty weather is over, it’s time for the potatoes to go into the final growing area. The plant will now continue to grow taking on water and nutrients from the compost, depending on the depth you have planted them, you should start to see the shoots growing out of the soil in a couple of weeks at threat point you can start building up the soil. I would generally recommend planting the potatoes at a depth of 6-8 inches, just enough to protect from an unexpected hard frost, and adding a compost mix around the potato.

Growing Progress

The Onions and Leeks were sown a little over two weeks ago now and the young seedlings are starting to take shape. The looking at the germination rate I’m pleased with the progress of the Globo Onions and the Leeks, however the germination rate of the Red Brunswick’s are something of a disappointment with a germination rate of around 10%. I’m happy to leave these for another week to seed if anymore seeds spark into life before I revisit the sowing process to try to increase the germination rate.

Straight from sowing the seeds were placing into a heated propagator and left on a sunny window bottom. After around 1 week some small shoots were already starting to appear, after another 3 to 4 days I removed the plants from the heat of the propagator and placed them on the window bottom in the warmth of the room. I think this helps with the plant becoming less ‘leggy’ along with giving me more important room in the propagator’s.

The Brassicas have now been in the compost for around 10 day’s and showing very good signs of germination for all varieties. Like with the Onions, as soon as there were signs of growth the new seedlings were taken out of the heat and placed on the window bottom to continue growing in room temperature.

Over the coming weeks the new plants will start to develop secondary leaves and begin to resemble leaves like the plant of its variety. The key to keeping the plants strong and healthy is to maintain a good moist soil / compost and keep moving the plants around to prevent the plant growing towards the sun in the same direction.

The previous week both Eva and I took the opportunity of the mild weather and have our first wander to the allotment, a good 25-minute walk from door to door, so for Eva's little legs she did very well. Throughout the walk, we talked about the allotment, what she liked doing and, probably more importantly, what she would like to grow this year. I should probably say at this point Eva is becoming quite fussy with food at the moment and we are working hard to vary what we all are eating, but I'm happy to report that broccoli is the flavour of the week at the moment with, newly introduced, cauliflower a close second. So, when we talked about what should go on the growing list this year, it was no surprise that these two were at the top of the list, closely followed by potatoes and eggs (...?)

This week I was keen to follow up with last week’s reintroduction to the allotment and I was in two minds whether to make the same walk again (to the allotment) and start with the spring tidy up around the plot or continue with sowing seeds. With many other jobs to do and time against us I opted for another seed sowing session to cross a few more plants off my list.

With Eva in the gardening mind set from the previous week I asked her if she would like to sow some seeds with me, after a little (gentle) persuasion she agreed, so a quick breakfast and off we set to the office. At the moment, the office window bottom space is proving quite useful, and with everything on hand it’s the best place to sow the seeds.

With quite a large list of things we would like to grow this year it is important that we get several seeds in the compost and counting the weekends before May, I know time is against us. Keeping Eva interested I decided that Brassicas would be a good idea, there are several them on my list, the sowing method is the same and if cause Eva's favourites are among them.

The varieties sown today

Again, like with the onions, I'm sticking with varieties that have been a success in the past, I've selected the following seeds for this season.

Cauliflower - Cauliflower Igloo seeds, by Kings Seeds
Broccoli - Calabrese Chevalier F1 seeds, by Kings Seed
Cabbage - Cabbage Red Drumhead seeds, by Kings Seeds & Savoy Best of All seeds, by Kings Seeds
Brussel sprouts - Evesham Special

Now when it comes to numbers, I always remember two things, how many plants will I need? And do I have enough space on the allotment for the plants to grow as they should?

With Cabbages, it's easy as the plants will begin to mature around mid to late July, so we can harvest 1 per week until early October, so aiming for 20 plants between Reg and myself is easy to accommodate for germination and the final planting area.

Brussel Sprouts are a little bit different as we only want them for Christmas, so 4-6 plants will be more than enough.

Cauliflower and Broccoli are the more difficult to judge, as they sometime start to bolt when the weather gets too hot and the water is harder to find for the plant. When I refer to ‘bolt’ or ‘bolting’, it's a term used when to plant decides to develop seed heads or grows long shouts for the seed heads. It's what the plant wants to do and completely natural, but the plant becomes less recognisable and the taste and texture may change, so realistically you need to harvest the plant before it gets to this point. With both Cauliflower and Broccoli your harvest window is quite short, maybe 2-3 weeks with Cauliflower and a week less with Broccoli. A way around this is to stagger your sowing, plant 8-12 plants now and then a second batch in 4 weeks’ time and maybe a third after that (depending on how many vegetables you need) You will probably find you are ready to harvest batch one as batch three are ready to go into the ground.

My Sowing Method for Cabbage, Broccoli, Cauliflower and Brussel Spouts

As I mentioned before, I’m going to use the same sowing method for all five of my Brassicas, this method is using a Jiffy pellet to germinate the seeds and allow them to grow on strong enough before potting on to a cell pack and then finally transplanting to the allotment growing area. I feel there are a number of benefits to using this method, one, there is no pricking out seedlings, two, the young plant isn’t disturbed in the early stages of growing, and finally, I believe a strong root ball / system is developed within the pellet, which will only help in the fight against club root.

So, on with the sowing:

1. Using a full seed tray with no holes, place your jiffy pellets (24mm) face up in the seed tray, remember 1 for each plant that you want to grow.
2. Cover the pellets with approximately 1.5cm of water – Tip use luke-warm water, this will be to your benefit when handling the pellets.
3. Leave the submerged pellets for 10 to 15 minutes, until all the water has been soaked up or (if you’ve used a little too much water) until the pellets are to full height (approx. 4.5cm) and moist.
4. Take one jiffy pellet in one hand and a pencil in the other, with the pencil make a hole in the top centre of the pellet, I usually make the hole approx. 1.5cm deep (maybe the full tip of the pencil).
5. With your dry fingers place one seed into the hole of your pellet.
6. Using the pencil, cover the seed with the compost from around of the top of the pellet.
7. Place the pellet in a seed tray, cell pack or trolley pack, to keep the different varieties separate – I have used a Trolley Pack 2, placing 6 pellets in each cell.
8. Label the sown seeds up, and place in the propagator for germination on the window bottom.
9. Repeat the same method for all the brassicas you are sowing.

If you have a helper (as I did) a good part for them to do is placing the seeds into the pellet, it keeps them clean and dry and they will get a great sense of doing the hard bit.

From the list I have made, I already know that there are a large number of seeds that need to be planted at this time of year. Cabbage, Leeks, Lettuce, Onions, Peppers…. The list goes on, but please remember planting all the seeds at the same time needs a lot of space and planting them takes quite a few hours. I prefer to sow a couple of different seeds every week, from experience it all falls into place when it needs to.

The back of the seed packet may say ‘February to April’, that doesn’t actually mean sow the seeds on the first day in February, it means a period of 12 weeks when the seeds can be sown. If the seeds are sown at the start of February, they will be strong enough to go in the ground when we a safe from frost and if you sow the seeds in the last week of April you will still get a crop at the back end of the year before the frosts return.

So on with my first sowing of the season – Onions and Leeks.

The Leeks are an easy one, I’ll stick with a variety that has been a success for me (and the plot) over the last 4 or 5 years (Giant Winter by King Seeds). If planted around now, they should be planted out in the ground around early May, realistically I can start taking the smaller crop around late July (diameter approx. 1.5cm) when the young plants will be tender and flavoursome and continue to harvest week on week. The good thing about this variety, and leeks in general, is that the mature plants are very hardy against frost and will last in the ground over until the new year. One problem that I’ve found in some varieties is the old the plant becomes the texture becomes harder, someone’s known as ‘woody’, the plant is still edible and flavoursome, just a different texture.

When selecting onions, there are several questions that come to mind straight away, the first one for me is, do I grow from seed or set? Growing from seed is basically growing the plant from start to finish, whereas an onion set is a seed that has been sown, left to grow for several months but then harvested and left to dry out, a little bit like a bulb of a flower. The set can then be planted again and the plant will continue to grow to maturity and harvested in the normal way. Both options are available for several varieties of large onions and shallots. On my allotment, I tend to grow with both methods to increase the size of my crop and add variation to the types of onions over an extended period. Depending on the Weather conditions, you should see the onion sets been ready for harvest first (Late June / early July) and then the seed planted onions a little later in the season (Early August onwards).

The variety of white onion that have chosen this year is ‘Globo' by Kings Seeds and for the red onion I have gone with 'Red Brunswick', both have given me success in the past so I’m happy to continue with, both types as I know they grow well on my allotment. The Globo will produce a large white round onion and the Red Brunswick have always returned a quality medium onion, vibrant in colour and excellent flavour.

My Sowing Method for Onions and Leeks

For my Onions and Leeks I tend to start them off in a half seed tray. The main reason is that not all the seeds sown will germinate so if I was to sow them in separate cells space will be lost in the propagator, by sowing the seeds all together in one tray I can allow the seeds to germinate and transplant later when the seedlings are strong enough. For clarity, I am referring to one tray for each variety, not sowing all the seeds in one tray – that would get very confusing.

• Fill one half seed tray to half way with sowing compost.
• Place the half seed tray into a full seed tray (with no holes) and water heavily. The water will soak in to the compost and flow out in to the full seed tray. Allow to sit for 5-10 minutes to allow the compost the soak up as much water as possible.
• Level out the moist compost in the half seed tray, making a level sowing bed for your seeds.
• Its now time to sow the seeds, work out how many Onions you have space for in your allotment / garden. I’m aiming for 50-60 onions. I now work on the assumption that one 50% of the seeds sown will make it to the allotment, so I need to sow 100-120 seeds. The packet of seeds contains 250 seeds so I need to sow 50% of the packet.
• Distribute the seeds as evenly as is possible into your moist seed bed in your half seed tray.
• Once all of the seeds are in the bed, cover with approximately 3-5mm of dry compost.
• Do not water again at this stage – the heavy water will disturb the compost and some seeds will come to the top of the compost. The dry compost will soak up water from the moist compost on the bottom.
• Label up your seed tray with what seeds you have sown.
• Place the half seed tray in a propagator and leave on a sunny windowsill for germination.
• After about 7 days you should start to seed green shoots as the seeds start to germinate.
• It’s important that you keep the soil moist, I prefer watering from the bottom and allowing the compost to soak up the water rather than watering from the top and disturbing the seeds / seedlings when they are at such a delicate stage.
• Repeat the process with each variety that you have decided to grow – Onions and Leeks are from the same vegetable family so this method will be fine for both.

Another area you should consider is what vegetables did I actually use throughout the growing season, there is little point is spending hours nurturing a plant, allowing it produce the best crop on the allotment only to end up in the compost bin because nobody wanted to eat it, surly that’s just a waste of your time. I’d prefer to plant my use of space based on what I (or my family) actually consume week after week, what items do we buy from the supermarket every time we go and where can the allotment help in reducing this spend.

Once you are at the stage to knowing what you would like to grow assess the seeds that you have left over from last year. Some gardeners insist on new seeds for every season, I haven’t had a problem with germination of seeds from the previous years, as long as the seeds have been kept in a dry place and they are still within the ‘sow by’ date they are good enough for me.

Now we know what we want from the allotment and we know what seeds we have and what seeds we need to buy, it’s time to spend a little bit of time putting a little plan together of how the year is going to pan out. From experience, there are two types of gardeners, the ones that have a plan and the ones that don’t, again from experience the plan is the better way to go by as everything gets remembered and the success is usually greater.

So, what does the plan include? A good question, I always start with planning what needs to go where on the allotment, remembering that I need to move all my growing areas to ensure that I don’t have to same type of crops growing in the same place as last year. Rotating the crops will allow the soil to recover and prevent against disease, such as club root and white spot, increasing that chances of a good harvest. I always draw a plan, laminate it and pin it up in the shed, even if I don’t look at it again all year, it’s going to be there when I come to planning before the next season, the chances are I will have forgotten what was planted where.

Next item in the plan is the list when the seeds need to be planted and where. Every vegetable gardener knows that 90% of the plants need to be in the ground by May (or when it’s safe that we won’t get a frost). To achieve this deadline most of the seeds need to be planted and growing a good two months before they get anywhere near the ground. So, unless you are planning on buying plug plants from the local garden centre, you really need to be planting seeds on a regular basis from late February / early March. If you look at the back of every seed packet there will be a recommended guide to when the seeds should be sown. By making a list of this information for each vegetable you are wanting to grow you are basically producing a task list for the next two months, which is what you need. It’s also worth making a note of when they recommend when to transplant the plant to the ground and if the plant is hardy to colder conditions, some plants will survive a mild frost, which will help with space in the greenhouse.

Check List - Before you start growing

1. Make a plan of you growing space.
2. Rotate your crops from the previous year.
3. Assess what you would like to grow.
4. Review what seeds you need to buy.
5. Prioritise your seed sowing.
6. Stick to your plan.

Well its now the 1^st of March and the sunshine is beaming through the office window, you would never have thought 10 minutes earlier the rain was hamming so hard on the roof that you thought storm Doris had finally arrived in Leeds. The quick changes in the weather is the early signs of spring and a stark reminder that we (or I) am already behind in the plan for allotment.

I have to hold my hands up, due to a new house move and garden renovations, my time at the allotment has been very limited over the last 2 years and when I showed up at last year’s annual meeting the committee were very surprised to see me. Luckily with Reg (my step father), now retired, he has taken the allotment to a new level, keeping up with the site and even winning 2^nd prize competition for best kept allotment last year. So safe to say everything has been in very safe hands.

With the bar now set at 2^nd place we now have to raise our game and go for first place this year, hopefully with that added bit of extra help we just might be able to pull it off.

Ever since I started the allotment (8/9 years ago) I’ve always tried my best to encourage my children to be involved, one of my first memories of taking Alex, my eldest (now 8), was him in his pram at 7:30 in the morning when he was about 4 months old. He continued to accompany me on a regular basis, taking full control of watering duties along with looking after the carrots and strawberries. My youngest, (Eva) is now 3, she is showing a lot of interest in the garden and growing in particular, so I’ve got a strong feeling she will be my gardening buddy for this year.

So with the team of Reg, Alex, Eva and myself now in place, the Crimbles allotment as the scene and the 1^st prize in best allotment as the target, the planning can commence and the hard work is ahead of us.

I have a good feeling that this year is going to be a strong one.