Can I start anything inside now?

[redimp]

I am a newbie allotment holder who only has garlic in at the moment and potatoes chitting in the passage.

Is there anything I can plant indoors now to get a bit of a head start?  I have onion sets (Stuttgarter Giant & Centurion), Leeks (Musselburgh) Cabbage (Wheelers Imperial), peas (Greenshaft), Runner Beans (Lady Di & White Emerald) and French Beans (Tendergreen).

[redimp]

[Mrs Ava]

Guess you could get your leeks and cabbages going if you are keen.  ;D  Other than that, the beans I do not start until April in pots, and the peas I sow direct in mid March.  Not doing toms?  They can start now.

[wardy]

 :D  this week I have been mostly growing basil  :)

Wardy

[tim]

Amazing how 'newbies' are coming in fast & furious!! Spring??

Good to have finger on the pulse, but DON'T rush it! Something sown 2 weeks later, at this time of year, will mostly catch up.
Leeks - we do staggered sowings indoors from early March. We're now eating Musselburgh put out early July. Onion sets go in then too. Beans we sow indoors early May, to go out after the frosts. Peas - Greenshaft are excellent but, these days, we buy frozen petit pois!  Sow from mid - Marrch. Can't recall whether Wheeler's is spring, summer or winter. It's not mentioned much. If Spring, sow in seed bed mid - July. If Summer, sow from end March. If Winter, sow mid - April.

[redimp]

Not doing toms?  They can start now.

Do do toms but that does not help frustration - my Dad brings them on so I start with seedlings.  Next year I will be grwoing my own heritage varieties.

[ajb]

You could start chillies or peppers inside now as long as you can give them plenty of light.  I've started off some cabbages in rootrainers (staggered sowing) and they seem pretty happy in my frost free greenhouse.  On pleasant days I put them outside so they don't get too soft!

I've also started of some onions in heat then into the frost free greenhouse, but I'm lucky enough to have an air circulator in my greenhouse, I think they are quite fussy about good air movement if it's rather cool and damp.

Got melons on the windowsill too, but think I was a bit keen with them as at least one is going rampant!  :o The ones in the greenhouse are growing slowly.

Overall (I'll shut up in a minute) my advice would be to sow a few seeds to keep yourself happy, but hold plenty in reserve in case they don't like the early sowing!

[Wicker]

We start our toms early - so they are at seedling stage in g'house already. Potatoes chitting.  First cabbage and caulis out of trays and in 2" pots.  geraniums potted into 3" pots.

Not much actually happening but lots of talk and plans!!

[Apple Dumpling]

Calabrese, peppers, cape gooseberries and toms started. Just twiddling my thumbs now until next month, when I can get stuck in.  :). Potatoes are chitting too. :)

[Charlotte Sometimes]

Hessayon says you can start aubergines second half of feb.  But I'm going to start everything 1 March - got a lot of DIY chores I should finish before I get distracted by gardening. lol

[gavin]

Is there anything I can plant indoors now to get a bit of a head start?

I'll be a bit cantankerous - I'm good at that :).

The answer to your question?  Not much!

When I started, I used to put a lot of effort into starting all sorts of things early, to get a bit of a headstart;  I'd sow a few extra later, direct in the beds, "for insurance".

Well, b..... me.  The later direct sowings used to catch up, and overtake, the dutifully tended early sowings.  Took me at least a couple of seasons to get over the frustration - and realise that it was an awful lot eaiser and "safer" just to sow direct and later. 

The more you push the plants to be early, the more opportunities you create for a possible check to the seedlings' growth?

Me?  I'll stick to being a lazy old sod - and let the plants do their own thing at the right time, with the minimum of disturbance!  They like it - I like it too.  :)

All best - Gavin

[redimp]

Just to let you know I have sown about 12 leeks and about 12 of each of two varieties of cabbage.  Just want to get going but not risking too many seeds on being impatient> ;).  Thanks for advice everyone.