Topic: Another season nearly over so....

[Jeannine]

thinking of next year..what do you plant first, why and when.

I often seem to be running behind these days so thought I would start a bit of early planning.

XX Jeannine

[Borlotti]

I felt so sad today that there were not so many courgettes today, not relieved as I thought.  I have just got used to picking loads and loads, even if I give them away and the blackberries have finished.  Well going to Italy in September, and then can have a lovely bonfire in October/November.  Sprayed my brussel sprouts, PSB but think I will give the allotment a bit of a rest and do some housework (dream on).  I do hate the dark evenings, but it will soon be another season and we can always talk on the computer.

[Rhubarb Thrasher]

this place kind of comes into it's own in the winter - A bit like Test Match Special which is more fun when Rain Stopped Play

For instance who could forget Trixiebelle's Christmas Postcard From Hell last year, that cheered us all up enormously in the depths of Winter  ;D Wouldn't wish it on anyone  ;D. There's a lot to be said for CREATIVE SWEARING and CAPITAL LETTERS

[Jeannine]

Yes, come on Trixie..we should bump that for the newbies along with a couple of other choice threads.

  But what are going to plant early, why and when!!

XX Jeannine

[tomatoada]

I would love to grow sweetcorn next year but most of the other allotment holders grow it.  Jeannine  is there any strain I can grow without being concerned about cross pollination.  I can't quite see myself going round with a pencil and notebook.  Most of my fellow allotmenteers although very friendly ofton can't remember what strain of potatoes, carrots, peas etc. they have planted anyway.  Have taken on board all your advice re potting and so on.  It inspires me to have a go.

[Trevor_D]

Lots of interesting replies, but no-one's answered the question yet!

Early lettuce (Little Gem o.n.o.) & parsley in late January. (In the GH.) Then Broad beans in modules on February 1st, for planting out 3/4 weeks later, depending on the weather. (I'm in NW London, of course, not Hull - adjust accordingly!) Early potatoes end of Feb, under fleece.

But in mid/late October there's garlic, onions & Aquadulce broad beans. And I sow calabrese mid-October, pricked out into 3" pots to over-winter, potted on when the weather warms up (Feb?) & planted under cloches early March.

And I don't think I've answered the "why?" bit, except that it works (for me) and gives early crops when there's nothing else around in the April/May period.

[Rhubarb Thrasher]

you're being ever so slightly naughty here Jeannine. You know that we all need to resist the temptation to sow things too early, and all the veg talk early on gets us (me) every time.

Carrots sown in tubs indoors in Jan and then moved to the greenhouse when they've germinated was a complete success this year

Ditto the long firecandle radish

Chillis - I want more of these so a Jan-Feb sow. They can go where the toms are that I can see from the kitchen window. Better to look at healthy attractive chillis than struggling poorly toms

January  salads in a raised bed in the greenhouse might just work

[LesH]

Hi Jeannine, I planted spring cabbage seed under cloches last week, they are just coming thro and will be planted out in about six weeks or so depending on the weather. In the next fortnight I will be planting Arctic king lettuce, then planting them out when big enough, they stand outside thro the winter covered with a four pint plastic milk bottle. Also next month is time to plant Japanese onions.

[theothermarg]

my spring greens and winter onions are about ready to pot on! I sow them in the greenhouse in modules then pot them until the beans are finished in what will be next years brassica bed. meanwhile the PSB, sprouts and winter cabbage
are down one end of this years space
can,t think of any other way of doing it and would be interested in how other peeps that like to harvest something all year round cope
havn,t decided where the onions will go yet mmm another decision to make
marg

[Jeannine]

re the pollination and corn.

 No there isn't any you can grow without worrying a bit.

 Basically corn falls into three families.

 Regular hybrid  sweet corn  , this included the open pollinated older ones too.

 Sugar Enhanced types

Supersweet types.

 It is the Supersweets that cause the problem.



 Regular sweet and sugar enhanced are Ok together but the Supersweets  have to be isolated from the other two. If they do cross the corn produced this year  will be starchy and not very good.

 Most folks grow the first two types  but.. more and more people are growing the Supersweets so  it can be a problem. You can grow two types of that together with no problem but near the other two it becomes iffy.

 You can get around it a bit if you grow more than one yourself by growing ones that have 15 days maturity differences or by distance. 25 feet in a lottie situation is OK, if you have a field full nearby it would be 100ft.

 My neighbours either side of me grow corn, I usually watch were they plant and try to keep well away, I have not so far had anything cross.

It is helpful to your neighbours too to know what is around them.

They may not know the families their corn belongs to but they will probably know it's name. I can then probably tell you which family it goes with.

Does this help at all.

XX Jeannine

[tomatoada]

Many, many thanks Jeannine.  I will study the info..   Thanks again for such a full reply.

[GrannieAnnie]

I'm planning on not planting Toms in Feb. and will try to hold off until mid-March unless I get the greenhouse/ walk-in coldframe built.

I am going to try planting lettuce outside now to see if it will winter over under an old window.
This year it gave us some greens in Feb. (skimpy but still greens) but it was a mild winter here.

[robbo]

Hello again Jeannine, you were very helpful on another thread about growing sweetcorn and was wondering if you could advise me on what supersweet to grow in the garden for next year. I will only be growing the one variety and none of my neighbours grow sweetcorn. I want a really sweet type that isn't too difficult and will be growing about seventy plants.

  Dave.

[Barnowl]

I normally start with tomatoes and chillies because a lot of them take a long time to get to harvest but this year the earliest sowing was some onion seed (Pink Torpedo). Had only used sets before but it worked well so I'll probably try it again. I prefer sets but they don't offer a lot of variety, particularly if you want a large sweet red. After the tomatoes and chillies come aubergines and beans then sweetcorn and general chaos as I realise I'm behind with everything....

Aubergines need to be promoted to an earlier sowing so the harvest coincides with the mid season tomatoes.  The first beans (I do at least two sowings) could be started earlier.

[STEVEB]

of topic..but i love to wrap up and go digging in the winter!!

[pippy]

This year I started off with broad beans in loo rolls!  I know there was a thread about loo rolls somewhere on here ...

Anyway, I found that loo rolls work for Broad beans and sweet peas (and probably any of the bigger type bean/pea seeds that like a longer pot/root trainer).  Didn't rate them for sweetcorn though and wouldn't fiddle about filling them for many other things!

Next year I would like to try growing some onions from seed so they may well be the first thing!  Am going to attempt overwintering Broad beans so maybe I won't need to do the loo rolls - let the kids make model spacecraft with them or something!

[Robert_Brenchley]

Hello again Jeannine, you were very helpful on another thread about growing sweetcorn and was wondering if you could advise me on what supersweet to grow in the garden for next year. I will only be growing the one variety and none of my neighbours grow sweetcorn. I want a really sweet type that isn't too difficult and will be growing about seventy plants.

  Dave.

I grew Northern Extra Sweet from POD this tear, and was really pleased with the result. I planted it in mid-April, in a seed tray. This would be best on a windowsill as they need warmth to germinate. Once it was growing strongly, I replanted them in pots, and left them till the end of May. They were then planted out in the open. The trick is to keep them growing; if they run out of space and stop growing, they sulk for ages after you plant them out, and you probably won't get any corn. So don't plant too early!

[Jeannine]

Robbo, do you want a yellow one, a white one or a bicolour one XX Jeannine

[robbo]

A yellow one please Jeannine.

 Robbo.

[Jeannine]

For a Sugar Enhanced I would go for Precocious or Bodacious, first is an early and other a mid season  which is a help in the UK and  both have good well filled cobs I hate corn to have bits missing!!

If you want a super sweet I would go next year for How Sweet it is.

Some of these are American but many can be got here from Seedsbysize



XX Jeannine