last sowings===coming soon

[strawberry1]

I need to get my backside in gear as we are coming up to the last sowing times for most veggies

Help me get my thinking organised. I can`t think straight

lettuce
carrots
beetroot
spring cabbage

[strawberry1]

[Tee Gee]

Well I sowed some cauli,calabrese,lettuce and pak choi yesterday in cells.

In two or three weeks time I will be sowing my winter greens, not forgetting my biennial flowers.

So lots to sow yet!

Who knows? With the way the weather is performing I might be sitting out on the patio in my tee shirt and shorts eating a salad on Chritmas day  8)

[Steve.]

A useful sowing page here..

http://www.thompson-morgan.com/what-to-sow-and-grow-in-july

Once on that page, look to the right there is a useful month by month sowing guide list there.

Steve...:)

[strawberry1]

That is a very useful guide. Thank you

[Poolcue]

It has just reminded me to plant some Partner F1 gherkins,does anybody know why the seeds were blue?

[galina]

I need to get my backside in gear as we are coming up to the last sowing times for most veggies

Help me get my thinking organised. I can`t think straight

lettuce
carrots
beetroot
spring cabbage

lettuce you can sow up to the end of September and overwinter under cloches.  Sowing in July and August will still produce good lettuces before winter.  There is a problem with lettuce germination in hot weather.  For 24 hours after sowing, lettuce must be kept cool.  Sowing on a rainy weekend suits lettuce perfectly.  In hot weather lettuce generally bolts more readily than in cool weather.  But there are variety choices.  I find that icebergs and Batavian lettuces are better during summer.  Shady spots in the garden are also preferable for summer lettuces.

Carrots up to end of July for faster maturing varieties like Nantes or Chantenay.

Beetroots can be quite fast too.  Bolthardy will go well after the early potatoes have been dug out or the shallots and garlic, as do turnips.

Most orientals are quick growing and allow for very late sowing (even overwintering).  Chinese cabbage takes about the longest and won't have time if sown after July, but Pak Choi, Mizuna and Mibuna etc can be sown later.

Still plenty of time to sow climbing French beans and in early July dwarf French beans (unless you live far north).  July is the month for sowing autumn peas too - I have never been too successful with these, but many others have.

If you sow right now, courgettes are still possible too.

Still plenty of sowing time left for a full lottie.  good luck

[galina]

It has just reminded me to plant some Partner F1 gherkins,does anybody know why the seeds were blue?

Sometimes commercial seeds are red brightly coloured to indicate that they have been treated with something like insecticide to keep them safe in their seed stores.   It should explain this on the packet and also recommend to wash hands after sowing to get the 'seed treatment' poison off.

[antipodes]

This weekend I did some more sowing: Autumn King carrots, yes I know I said I would no longer do it, but as it is still pretty wet I am taking a chance, parsnip as the first ones haven't worked, some Mixed oriental greens for salads, Candid Charm cauliflower, radish (Again as it is still wet), some more lettuce, and I am only now finishing the beans, in fact I will probably sow a bit more in a fortnight. Sowed the Borlotti, and the Cobra climbers and filled in the gaps in the French beans sown a couple of weeks ago.

Think I got it right this year re sowing, the winter brassicas are just ready to plant out as the early spuds are coming out. I was much later than other years (well, 2 weeks, let's say) but on the whole that has seemed more successful. I put it down to the rain...

[chriselst]

It has just reminded me to plant some Partner F1 gherkins,does anybody know why the seeds were blue?

All our seeds from Unwins (I think) were blue.

The packet said they had been treated with some chemical to aid germination and you should wash hands after handling.

[strawberry1]

I appreciate the advice re the lettuce, I didn`t know that they like cool for 24 hours. You certainly live and learn. I am having great results with little gems in planters and also have lobjoits but they are quite large.

re those autumn king carrots. what was the problem with them previously? I had a great crop after sowing at the end of june last year and am eating lettuce as fast as I can, to make room in the raised bed I have allocated to the carrots to this year. I still have 5 little gems in there and some beetroot, which I may discard as they aren`t growing fast enough and I want to get carrots in asap

[galina]

I appreciate the advice re the lettuce, I didn`t know that they like cool for 24 hours. You certainly live and learn. I am having great results with little gems in planters and also have lobjoits but they are quite large.

re those autumn king carrots. what was the problem with them previously? I had a great crop after sowing at the end of june last year and am eating lettuce as fast as I can, to make room in the raised bed I have allocated to the carrots to this year. I still have 5 little gems in there and some beetroot, which I may discard as they aren`t growing fast enough and I want to get carrots in asap

Don't discard beetroots.  The entire plant is edible at any stage, even if you only leat the leaves.  In the USA they mostly grow them for the leaves - they are a bit like chard (which they are related to).

[antipodes]

re those autumn king carrots. what was the problem with them previously? I had a great crop after sowing at the end of june last year and am eating lettuce as fast as I can, to make room in the raised bed I have allocated to the carrots to this year.

I have never been able to grow a carrot on my plot. Either they don't germinate at all or the carrots stay at the size of a pinky finger and all skinny. But as this year is so wet, I had great results with the root crops so far. I know I should give up, I think it's a lost cause, but it's so tempting to try!