Grow Your Own Magazine

Everytime I think it's nealy time to start planting my seeds outside, I get a big frost over night. Grrrrr....

Too impatient to wait Oh well, at least the garlic and shallots are coming up well. No sign of jerusalem artichokes yet through.

Steven

That's Spring for you! Little monkey it is.

Nerobot,

Would you consider sowing some small amount of seeds indoor by the windowsill ? by doing so you won't get too annoyed by cold weather and when it is no longer freezing you could let your seedlings planted. I don't know when is your last frost date, it will help your growing plan by knowing it.

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I grow, I pick, I eat ...

Plenty time yet - I have thousands of young plants to grow for local garden centres as well as about 12,000 onion sets & 500 shallots to plant out, my 25kg of JA's have literally just arrived at my front door, and I have about 100,000 young plants to start for myself as well as direct sowings of peas, broad beans, spring onions and carrots to do not forgetting my 200kg of seed potatoes.
There is no point in trying to take on Mother Nature - I did last year and it's 1-0 to her !!
The sun is shining here today but I can't do anything as I have to look after our 2 month old daughter this afternoon ! (But family is one of the main reasons I went self employed to begin with, so I'm not complaining )

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Rat

British by birth
Scottish by the Grace of God

Blog updated Wednesday November 13th

Rat
Well, that's certainly put my frustrations into perspective!!!

Sue

Just looked at the forecast for this coming Saturday..... 6c by day -1c by night!!! here we go again!!!!

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Always aim for the best result possible not the best possible result

We had a beautiful spring day y'day, now we have rain again. The forecast is rain all week.

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~ What do I think of Western civilisation? I think it would be a very good idea ~ Gandhi

Well this is what I get for complaining about the frost. It's raining so hard there are big puddles in the patch. Good job I know they will go once it stops raining for an hour or so.

Steven

Im really fed up with the weather now. This is my first propper year growing veg (last year was a tester) and I can't wait to sow my seeds outside.
I've always been one to complain about the weather, being a northerner its in my blood. But now Im getting into growing my own Im obsessed about it.
My windowsills are full of plants ready to be planted out and I have a tin full of seed packets which Im itching to sow.
Oh when will the weather change!!!!

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Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons for you are crunchy and good with ketchup!

After reading this and feeling quite faint, think I will keep my mouth shut lol

for those complaining about the weather, i'm no expert but here's what i reckon: metcheck.com says that next week is gonna be another cold snap. If you look around (certainly where i am, Manchester), it feels like nature is sort of getting ready to grow like the blazes, but holding itself in check a bit. I reckon, and i could be wrong, that next week's cold snap will be the last severe one - i'm not saying no frost till the autumn, just.. not as bad as it has been the last few weeks.

and i'm heartily fed up with it too! stop start stop start.. make yer mind up, momma nature, and git goin!

keth
xx

Personally, I hate the persistant winds, every other week we seem to get gales.

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A bad days fishing is still better than a good day at work!
There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing.

I know the feeling.........depressing weather........maybe our growing seasons are going to start later and later and extend later into the year? Maybe this is global warming and MAYBE we shall still be sitting here in 2 weeks moaning!

It's not the frost down here (we've only had a few, and two days of snow) but the persistent rain that is holding everything back.

Hi

Maybe its a question without an answer, but when do you start to worry?

My seedlings at home, are quite sheltered, so, if the temp is -1, that is ok.
But down on the lottie it is more exposed, I only have potatoes in so far, they are just peeping through.
Need to put my onion sets in this week.

T

Your onion sets wil be absolutely fine left to their own devices as they are really bombproof, and although the frosts may scorch your potatoes, they shoud recover - you can drape fleece over them if you wanna be ultra safe though.

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Rat

British by birth
Scottish by the Grace of God

Blog updated Wednesday November 13th

I was thinking the weather was improving. Down my way, it has been lovely warm Spring weather yet holding off planting off most veggies as you never know. I need a Polytunnel !

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Food for Free

Things are no better down here in sunny Sussex, Have a greenhouse full of plants spoiling for want of setting out. Still have not managed to get early spuds in as new allotment(destination potato) is sodden. Managed to drag the cultivator through at the weekend but can't rotavate, rake out and apply the mypex. It's just great clods of couch ridden mud. The weather forecasters seem to change their mind daily.

Nevermind, The old lottie and veg beds at home seem to be improving for a little wind and sun so I'm going to set out and fleece up what I can and sow a load more in the greenhouse.

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Advertising is the rattling of a stick in a swill bucket. George Orwell
Paul

Don't you think we are all getting a little bit too impatient ? I have noticed (having bee a shepherd in a previous llife) that lambs are now being born in general, about three weeks earlier than they were ten or even twenty years ago - because the farmers want to cash in on the premium paid for new lamb. Fair enough, but losses due to hypothermia are also considerably higher, as are feed costs.
I think we are heading the same way and are maybe trying too hard to get the jump on old Mama Nature. I know most of my fellow grapes are considerably further south than I am, and that you maybe can get a bit of a jump on myself, Birdie Wife and Jennie et al, but remember, it's not a race ! It's supposed to be fun - and I still look at it that way even when it's now my livelihood. If I wasn't having an absolute ball every day, even in the rain, hail, sleet, gales etc I wouldn't do it - I'd go back to my nice cosy office job (actually that's a lie - I would never go back to an inside career). Sure I get hacked off and sometimes even a wee bit stressed out but what the hell - there's always tomorrow !

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Rat

British by birth
Scottish by the Grace of God

Blog updated Wednesday November 13th

They're forecasting sleet/snow for Sunday - this is Dorset for heaven's sake!

Hi

For my area, the BBC weather site, gives nought degrees as the forecast for sat/sun night.

T

It gets to this time of year when it's supposed to be Spring - and it isn't - that you just get so fed up with being bundled up in heavy clothing, wading through mud, waiting and waiting for the bad weather to end, jobs piling up, we just need some sun!

Yesterday I was up on the allotment sitting in the shed peering out at the rain very glumly and then about 11am it stopped, the sun came out and it was warm and I cheered up right away. Still clogged up with mud and couldn't plant out but plenty else to do so a bit of good weather and we'd all feel happier...

Sue
Run out of windowsills, greenhouse and coldframe space...

I'm sure it's getting better. The greenhouse is holding enough daytime heat not to need the heater at night, except for real frost. The difference between the insulated ghouse and polytunnel was 5 degrees C last night.

Realistically, we're not out of the woods here until May - I know I'm in Kent, but we're in a frost pocket and it shows! The rain is a pest - the veg plot often gets flooded - but I've gone for raised beds all round this year in order to cope with the worst of it.

From last year's records I can see that later sowings caught up with the 'optimistic' February ones, so I am not too stressed. Good job realy,as I managed to knock over a pot of cauli seedlings yesterday and will have to start those again ...