Sowing time - the joy of the Greenhouse

Greenhouse gardening! What a delight it is this year to have so much space to start things off. I don't know about you but at this time of year I am in a permanent daydream - what to sow next, when to plant out, which bed should they go in, are the beds dug over and ready for the new plants? There is so much to think out. I find that I steal down to the greenhouse first thing to check on things and water as the sun warms up the glass. It's like having a young family...the routine must go on...windows need to be opened and closed in the evening, the young seedlings must have enough water, enough room to grow. Why do some seeds just not germinate? Its like Christmas every time I see the little green shoots poking there way up through the compost...it always feels like a miracle after all that planning!


Planning. That is such a big part of gardening. Counting the weeks until the tender plants can go out without risk of frost, sowing them not too early however tempting it is. That is where the greenhouse has made such a difference. Its just more relaxing. When you are sowing seed on window sills and shelves its such a pressure when they germinate fast...what to do with a tomato plant which is already a foot tall and can't go out for another week? Because of the greenhouse and so much more space I have been able to sow and not worry too much...if the seeds don't germinate I have time to sow another batch. This happened to me this week with Sorrel..and artichokes...and some of the lettuces. 


I think you need to be a planner to grow a lot of vegetables in a smallish patch. It takes a lot of thought, a lot of research and experimenting and a fair bit of maths! All that working out how many plants to a row etc. 


The thing I love about my greenhouse is that I can start things off earlier, giving them a good safe start from  slugs, wind and the mice and plant out seedlings knowing that they will be in the right position.


Lets take a look.....

Brassicas are very rewarding. It seems amazing to me that you sow Purple Sprouting Broccoli in March or April and you know that you will be eating them this time next year. Here are from left to right, five of the summer variety Summer Purple, then five Red Arrow, ten Kailaan broccoli growing tall already and then ten Romanesco broccoli which has to be one of my favourites - the flavour is fantastic.  

A tomato seedling a few days old. I think it is Sungold. I always sow extra tomatoes as there can be a few failures along the way...they are mostly germinated now this year so I will have to decide how many to keep!

Musselborough Leeks will stand in their fibre pots until they are the width of a pencil and about eight inches tall. Then they will go out into the Patch...I need to find room for about a hundred of them as I use them all the time. I have about fifteen left still standing from last year and they are in brilliant condition seeing as how they have stood the whole winter. 

Another great plant to start off inside - perpetual spinach. I have a row in the patch that I planted last summer and which is ready for picking now.  There are a few gaps where the plants have not done as well as the others so I have sown these to bulk up the row and give us enough spinach to last us through to the autumn and into the winter - I will sow another lot in July so that we are 'perpetually' kept in spinach! Love it. 

Alongside the perpetual spinach will be the first sowing of Rainbow Chard. I am hoping that its time in the protection and warmth of the greenhouse will give it a good start. Can't wait to see the beautiful coloured stems!

At last the red veined sorrel is coming through...its been ages. I also sowed Sorrel Buckler Leaf which has not appeared yet. I love the fresh lemony zing that sorrel gives to salad. These seedlings are so pretty with their red veins already showing in their tiny leaves. 

Aubergine Moneymaker are all germinated now in pairs in their 3 inch pots. I will have to thin them to one per pot quite soon....always a difficult thing as its hard to throw away something you have nurtured.....

Oh dear what to do. These Brussel sprout seedlings are Wellington variety and they are doing fine. I vowed not to have too many this year as we don't really like them that much....but they are so easy to grow and are doing really well. I don't want them to take up precious room in the Patch as they need so much space...perhaps I will put them up on the terraces and risk the rabbits...

Broad Beans that I need to fill in the gaps in my Aquadulce Claudia rows planted in September last year. The freezing temperatures in the winter got to a few of them. I am hoping that these seedlings will race on and catch the outdoor ones up! 

The benefits of a greenhouse are enormous. The early start that it gives to the sowing programme has encouraged me no end. Soon when all the March sown seedlings can go out it there will be more space and it will take on a different role - that of housing tomatoes, chillies, peppers and aubergines during the summer months. It was worth all the work to fix and rebuild...I'm lovin' it.