Swedes

[Greenleaves]

Dear delivers of wisdom

Should swedes be started in cells or sown direct? In addition is now to early/late?

[Alison]

Not sown mine yet but always sow direct. You can module sow though if you would prefer but it's one thing I seem to find easy direct so less work for me . I do however enviromesh from the start though to avoid all sorts of pests.


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[Greenleaves]

Thanks Alison

[greenishfing]

I always sow mine direct too. I then keep thinning them gradually, eating the thinnings when they are large enough. I have never covered them and fortunately none of the pests in my garden seem to fancy them. It must be time to plant them soon as I've just finished eating last years crop. I leave them in the ground overwinter until I want to eat them.

[solway cropper]

I used to sow direct but last year I sowed in modules and then planted out at the required distance. Much easier for me than messing about doing all that thinning.

Cabbage white caterpillars seem to like them so I have to net mine until late in the season.

[Alison]

I used to sow direct but last year I sowed in modules and then planted out at the required distance. Much easier for me than messing about doing all that thinning.

Cabbage white caterpillars seem to like them so I have to net mine until late in the season.

Interesting that you think modules us less work, I find that putting 2 or 3 seeds about 6" apart in a row followed by a thinning out a few weeks later to be all the work the direct sowing takes whereas module has the sowing followed by pricking out, growing on and finding somewhere else for the pots and then planting out to be more of a pain. Am guessing it depends on how you garden and which tasks you like / dislike.


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[lottie dolly]

I used to sow direct,but found it to be more bother,I sow 1 seed per small mod or per 1/2 a loo roll centre,plus more than you need,I only pull out extras if/when more than 1 gets into that cell,leave to grow on,then plant out as any other plant,I already have some planted out in the brassica cage aprx 6in high,they are doing well and growing,

[Scarlet]

it depends on how you garden and which tasks you like

That's so true. All gardeners are different. I love growing in modules, love pottering in the kitchen or greenhouse. I use large trays, each with about 80 single cells. Most small seeds get sown in these, swedes included.
I don't like thinning out, I don't like weeding around tiny plants I always seem to accidentally chop off their heads or pull them out.
I find if I have sown in modules I'm a few weeks in front of the weeds and my seedling can cope an attack from a slug. It also means I've several back up plants it things go wrong.

[snakeshack]

I do modules too mostly so I can hoe off the weeds before planting out into nice clear ground. When I direct sow I find it difficult to distinguish the swedes from The weeds when they first germinate. It also means I can set out at the correct distance with no thinning or gappy rows.germination is better in modules and pest free too.


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[Bren In Pots]

I don't have a lot of growing space so I sow my swedes in newspaper pots that way I don't have wasted space and gaps.

[Greenleaves]

Thank you all, I can see the merit in both methods but think for this year I will grow in modules

[Kristen]

Interesting that you think modules us less work, I find that putting 2 or 3 seeds about 6" apart in a row followed by a thinning out a few weeks later to be all the work the direct sowing takes whereas module has the sowing followed by pricking out, growing on and finding somewhere else for the pots and then planting out to be more of a pain.

Doesn't apply so much to Swedes, as they are a late-sow crop, but I grow everything "indoors" and the plant out. Partly that is because I'm on heavy land and can't usually get on it until mid to late April, which is getting late for most things by the time it is prep'd and ready for planting.

Benefits for me are:

• Early start, no "delayed start" e.g. due to adverse weather
• Sow early in the year, regardless of weather, after dark / evenings to suit my working day
• Plant out at exact plant spacing, no gaps, exact number of desired plants (based on notes from previous seasons recording "More/Less" needed)
• Sow successionally - e.g. Cauliflowers (4 sown each fortnight as they don't "stand" for long when ready)
• Beat the weeds - hoe off when planting, plants are 4-6 weeks ahead of weeds that then germinate

The last point is one of the biggest for me. By the time that weeds have formed plants my veg plants are significant sized plants, and shade out the weeds, so I probably hand weed once, a month or six weeks after planting, and that is pretty much all the attention they need (other than watering).

For me the intensive time spent from March-May is repaid by there then being very little maintenance from July-October - which is when I want to be enjoying my garden, not flogging away in it I have a huge amount of plant raising, for the ornamental garden, in the Spring so don't have holidays etc. booked during that time anyway - may, or may not!, suit other folk though