Allotments 4 All

I'm rather like an impatient child at this time of the year!  ;D

Is it too early to sow carrots, parsnip, beetroot, salads and plant potatoes? (and anything else that would be happy starting now?)

Can I mulch yet?

I put my hand on the soil today and it felt warm. But then it is warm and sunny today!

Quote from: aquilegia on March 04, 2011, 16:16:58
I'm rather like an impatient child at this time of the year!  ;D

:) I know EXACTLY what you mean! I've been holding back, but will start a few more bits off indoors first

Now you have a greenhouse you can...  :)

 ;D  ;D  ;D

Roll on next week ......

Ohh....it is bit early for outdoor sowing yet.. once you notice your soil is starting to turn 'green'..look those weed seeds germinating..then your soil is warm enough for 'straight' sowing.
As for mulch..well..yes you can...but, if you mulch over cold soil the mulch will keep it colder for longer too. If you are planning to mulch around plants, look for the signs of new growth..once some growth is evident..mulch..
I'm still trying hold on and wait a bit..weather is still cold and odd sunny day is quite deceiving giving a impression that things are warmer than they really are..
I've just checked weather for midlands for next few days..frost for Sunday and Monday night..so sowing is delayed for me... ::)
I'm going to start in GH though.. ;)

 :)
Yeah need to sow, my greenhouse is going to be busy..... ;D

I should've said really, I'm in greater london, so it's warmish here. My weeds are well and truely growing. The phacelia is doubling in size daily (I think!)

I don't have a GH :'( (no room). But today my 3-y-o son and I sowed some parsley and basil for the kitchen windowsill (he loves sowing seeds as much as I do!)

Could I start a few first earlies in bags in my shed by the south-facing window? Would that work?

 ;D ;D..yes it will work for anything else part carrots and parsnips.. ;D
Well..if you weeds have started..I would tempt with carrots then ;)..but maybe giving some fleece covering over for a while  ;)
One can only but try..then you learn ;)

Not a bad idea to get a pot or two of earlies going if they have a shed window to sit behind, if you get really nasty weather forecast you'll have to bring them indoors for the night though....I was planning on getting a few going next weekend, bulk of it wilol get done early April though, if for no other reason that by then the evenings are light enough for me to get an hour or so up there with the rotavator .... and you can plant a fair few spuds in an hour with a rotavator digging the trench for you.....

Carrots in toilet-roll tubers shoved in 24-cell modules, ditto parsnips, bolt-resistant beetroot too, there's al;most certainly some  brassicas that can start off now, celeriac (surface sown somewhere proper warm) too..... chillis adn tomatoes and peppers indoors in the warm (though they'll want light as soon as they're up...

chrisc

I'm on the outskirts of London and I did the bum in the soil test today and it's freezing,  :o don't be fooled by the Sun shining today,  8) although I have sown a small patch of carrots in my plastic bath on the lottie, at least three on our site have planted out their early spuds I will be holding off for a few weeks although I have a few in for the challenge, try a few in pots or bags. Beetroot might be worth a go but I would fleece them, parsnips I will leave until April.    ;D

Last year I bought a small tray of beetroot seedlings, very crowded, felt a fool as they would never transplant, shared them with my daughter, and we got the best beetroots we have ever had. News to me that you could tear a beetroot plant out of tangled roots, plant it, and have it grow. So this year I have put my own beetroot seeds into a small tray of compost, in the airing cupboard.

Am also starting off lettuce seedlings, pea seedlings (gutters), parsley, and all sorts of other seedlings that transplant well, with care, when the weather warms up. No greenhouse here, just windowsills and other spaces in the house.

Kev..I noticed some worrying trend with you...you've been working on t-shirt (for ladies) showing you arms..and sitting on soil with bare bum... :o
;D ;D..It's still bit fresh for 'little' boys.. :-X

I am so forgetful! I really need to cloche the soil to get it warming up quicker. I might try a few carrots sown direct under a cloche. I've got plenty of seeds, so nothing to loose! And a pot of carrots in the shed. My son loves baby carrots!

I sowed beetroot in modules last year and they worked well, so I'll get some of them started too.

And lettuce on the kitchen sill. Maybe some peas too.

And definitely a few spuds. If it snows again (I really really hope it doesn't!) I'll have to bring them into the kitchen and hope my son doesn't get too curious about them! It'd be great to have some early spuds.

When I went to get the washing in at a bit after 5 it was so cold my breath was steaming up, so I mustn't get too enthusiastic!

I can't wait!  ;D

I have a few things started under bottle cloches.  Its a bit of a gamble so I use only a few seeds but sometimes I win and sometimes I don't.  I have calebrese up, and nantes frubund carrots as well as well as peas.  But there are lots of things that you can start off on the windowsill.   

We had a few very warm days last week and like you the weeds are on the way.  But if they get wiped out there always seem to be thousands more.

I am not sure about the bum method on my lottie.

If it's too cold for that, it's too cold for sowing.