Vegetable Growing 2025

Last year this was the weekend I sowed loads of veg seeds, which I sow in modules to germinate inside and grow on in the greenhouse, to plant out a month or so later. Was too early for up here in Glasgow, so I'm going to wait two more weeks before starting. If I was down south I'd be sowing this weekend though!

 

Well in my view, still too early for most things, even down here. As others have said, it's not so much starting them off but having enough protection to keep them going as they get bigger and need much more space, but it's still too early to plant out.

 

Lidl vegetable seeds have arrived here in Somerset. Seems like a good selection too.

 

I have made a 'growing shelf' by putting mirrors on 3 sides of a shelf in the spare room and a grow light strip at the top. I'm hoping to start a few really early seedlings with it (house tomatoes, chillis and some half hardy flowers) It also acts as a night light for the grandchildren when they stay!

 

They've made it to Petersfield but only same limited range as last year. Some new varieties to try though. All fresh pktd 2024 plant by '27 Small packets still 29p but only 4 for £1, not 5
No tomatoes !

 

I sowed stuff early last year on the grounds that here, in the sunny Vendée, they'd be up and ready to go out before I ran out of seedlings space. Not so. It was a cool, wet spring and I ended up crowded out of the polytunnel.

LIDL seeds arrived here this week too but I resisted as I have yet to sort thru my stocks to see what extras I may need. It's been another cold, grey, wet winter with poor light levels so it'll be a week or two yet before I get excited about sowing.

 

More at another one, blue lake and neckarkoningin(!) climbing beans, berggold and cannellino bush beans, uchi kuri squash all fresh and bought. They were 49p each, 5 for £2. Also got dill and blue green winter leek at 29p each.

 

At long last I did some veg sowing. Tomato, dwarf broad beans (I know very late and should have done this in the Autumn), chillies, sweet peppers and celeriac. All in pots , in the propagator and indoors. Probably come to nothing but decided to have a start.

 

Tomatoes, chillies, herbs started off in the heated tray in the greenhouse.
I'll be starting off lettuce, radishes and horseradish roots tomorrow.
My happy time!

 

First day that it is not either raining or trying to snow, so two of the raised beds weeded, surface raked, manure added and fleece put on the top in the vain hope that it might warm the soil up a it.

 

Would black polythene or dark coloured landscape fabric not work better for warmth.

 

Possibly, but I want the light to get in as well, no science to it, I just think it's healthy for the soil, might be wrong, but it's what I do every year, I use the heavy duty green stuff.

 

I did read a while ago that the white fleece is best apparently, it creates more of a greenhouse effect and radiates less heat out at night than black

Plus it's more useful when you have actual crops to go in

Black cover for killing weeds. I've got lots of both!

 

I was thinking more along the lines of it absorbing more heat when the sun shines.

 

I used the white fleece, but it was not very durable, soon began to bio degrade, meaning having to replace it more often. The thicker green fleece is lasting for multiple seasons, I put it outside in the spring and use it for frost protection in the greenhouse during the winter and into late Spring if a frost is forecast.