Normally at this time of the year, we try to decide on the correct timing for sowing and planting all sorts of seeds. There’s no scientific basis for the decisions it is all based on experience and some guesswork regarding the weather. February has seemed like a wet month even though rainfall has been about average. It’s due to all the rainfall coming in the form of showers resulting in some rainfall on most days.
It did set me thinking that perhaps the first three months of the year have been particularly wet but, as you can see from the charts, that’s not the case.
Rainfall for the first quarter of the year is slightly above average and falls into the seventh wettest of the last 15 years.
However, we’ve had a very mild start to the year with the second highest first quarter average of the last 14 years.
Oddly I have an extra year of rainfall data.
So the early potatoes which are Ulster Prince and International Kidney were planted on Sunday. We have a list of other vegetables that we need to start sowing and planting. Top of the list are onions, shallots and garlic. Some are in the form of sets and some are seedlings that will be transplanted into the allotment directly.
We also need to sow some leeks as they seem to take an age to grow into seedlings that can be planted out. I normally think about sowing parsnip seeds too as they can be difficult to germinate but after last year’s successful experiment of germinating them on wet paper, I’m not too concerned as they germinated in a few days in warm conditions in the house.
Then of course there are tomato seeds. peppers and chilis to mention just a few more of the seeds that we plant at the beginning of April. It’s certainly a busy time of year in the greenhouse and at the allotment.
