Aaaarrrrgggghhhh! Lost more plants to damping off, this time it's the chilli peppers. I've sown some more (Ring of Fire). Luckily I collected loads of seeds. I also popped in another row of carrots.

My tomatoes and peppers had come up and so I removed them from the propagator because I've killed them in the past by leaving them in too long. Despite the greenhouse being heated, the tomatoes (all but one) died on me. Looks like 'damping off'. Given that I used a mist sprayer to keep them damp, it's probably my own fault. I've sown some more.

In a fit of enthusiasm, I sowed pak choi (Colour and Crunch F1) and some Rocket.

In the garden I sowed some carrots (Early Nantes 5). I've accidentally bought the sort that come in a paper strip. A little strange, but were very easy to put into the ground. I'll sow a row a week for a while.

The weather's been milder (although much colder than California where I was last week). I've planted up the seeds that I saved last year from my chilli peppers (Ring of Fire) and sweet red peppers (Quadrato d’Asti Rosso). I've also planted up 8 Gardener's Delight tomatoes; I'm not sure if I'll bother planting other varieties this year.

They're in the propagator now, we'll see how they do. Meanwhile, I decided to have a look at the cuttings that I took last year. I have been surprisingly successful with 3 rosemary plants (lots of root), 8 box plants (less root, but root nonetheless) and 3 curry plant.

Everything is growing nicely (and the beds are all neat and tidy). I’ve potted on all of my chilies and sweet red peppers. I managed to give away three tomato plants to Jane and Mike, but I’ll still have a problem finding places to put them. At last carrots have started coming up in the bed to the side of the garage. I thought that I was jinxed. Speaking of jinxed; waiting until May to try and propagate green beans is a good idea, I’m having a lot more success.

Gill and I had a lovely time at the Barton open gardens afternoon (which is advertised under the National Gardens Scheme).

I’m playing catch up this weekend as I have 5 days of not working. In the greenhouse, I’ve potted out all of the chili peppers and most of sweet peppers and planted some runner beans (Enorma Elite) and dwarf green beans (The Prince). Meanwhile outside the potatoes are starting to show and, best surprise of all, the asparagus has started sprouting. Happy days!

More planting. I’m trying to grow a great variety this year (so, four types of tomato, for example). I also got cracking and dug the new bed. And, yes, it is on a slope (from left to right). I’ve ended up terracing the vegetable plot bit by bit. I put a lot of the turf to the right of the new bed, that used to be a semicircular bed. I’m planning to put potatoes in it (they’re chitting nicely in the greenhouse). I’m pretty confident my back’s going to ache tomorrow.

The tip for the propagator that I read was that once 75% of the seeds are up, take them out. Last year I managed to nearly destroy several plants on sunny days. They also go pretty leggy if left in. The seedlings (as you can see) are fine in the greenhouse, it’s got a heater that prevents it going below about 5C. This weekend the outside temperature has been about 7C, pretty warm.

Yesterday and today, I planted tomatoes (‘Moneymaker’), more Primo cabbages (the first lot have come up and I’ve taken them out of the propagator). I moved last week’s cauliflowers into the propagator and the seeds were sprouting within a day - shows the power of the propagator. I’ve sown some more ‘ring of fire’ chilies and some sunflower seeds (I’m determined to grow some this year, they’re lovely even if they’re not edible). I planted up some more carrots (‘Paris Market’). The first lot (‘Nantes 2’) are in the toilet rolls on the right of the picture - hopefully they’ll not mind growing there until they’re planted out. So far, no sign of the leeks, but I’ve put these into the propagator, so maybe something soon. The beetroot ‘Detroit 2’ are all up, so I’ve taken them out of the propagator (strangely, not much sign of the ‘Boltardy’.

All of the seedlings that are now out of the propagator are doing well - I just have to keep them watered, but not too damp and wait for the right weather to plant them out.

I sowed some lettuce (‘Blonde Maraicheri’) into the cold frame. The mixed lettuce that I sowed earlier is coming up (but no sign of anything else, still, it is an experiment).

Tags: root vegetables, salad

I heard about sowing carrots and lettuce early under a cold frame from the Alternative Kitchen Garden blog (akg). Apparently, you can eat them by the end of March. Worth a try, so I’ve sited my new cold frame on the south wall of the garage (where I’ve grown tomatoes for the last two years). The carrots came with the Grow Your Own magazine.

I’ve also sown carrots, chili pepper and tomatoes in the propagator. Good old Gardener’s Delight which was really good last year. The other type were ‘Alicante’. The peppers are ‘Ring of Fire’ (wonder what that means?).

Carrot ‘Paris Market’
One of the best all rounders, as the sphericall ‘baby’ carrots are unlikely to grow more than an inch in length.

Tomatoes Alicante
Cordon (Indeterminate). Ideal variety for beginners. A superior variety possessing all the things we look for in a tomato. Alicante produces a heavy crop of greenback free fruit early in the season and the flavour is excellent.

Chili Pepper Ring of Fire (Heat Level 6)
Cayenne type chilli this is ideal for drying and grinding into powder. 4 inch long thin chillies, red when ripe after 80 days. Very abundant 2 foot plants form a perfect shape. (Capsicum annuum)

The carrots were Nantes 2. I’ve grown these for a couple of years and they grow really well and cook well too.

Tags: salad, root vegetables, blog

Last year I grew a few peppers but didn’t do anything with them. The Anaheim peppers don’t appear to be turning red (just drying out), so I decided to pick them, chop them up and freeze them. Whilst I was at it, I made some “sundried” tomatoes in the oven.

Tags: blog