My promise for 2013

There's always artificial lights to fill that gap!

Today I finally got around to sowing onion & tomato (mini bush tomatoes for bringing on under lights) seeds, canna seeds are soaking for sowing tommorow (probably when I get some early chillis in) and together with whatever stuff I can now get in that will respond to early heat & light without bolting (salady leaf sort of things, and perhaps some really early spring onions?) before it gets into a heated greenhouse as soon as light levels are high enough and then into unheated polytunnels.

 

I guess quite a few of us are guilty of sowing too early, at times. In my relatively short 'career' as a (cough)...gardener, I have learned to try to hold back my (pardon the expression) seed sowing. I have found that seed sown later soon catches up anyway. The exception this year will be the Onions for next years competition, which I'll be sowing on Dec 26th, the traditional time.

 

I think most of us get itchy fingers to grow something soon after New Years Day. January is such a dreary month , but its best to resist the temptation. I base most of my planting on one of the first tips I got on GC , it was from PeterS , and that is to plant around the 1st of March. I do start around the 21st of Feb though , to prevent a log-jam on my propagator. A planting plan is very useful as well , I do mine on a Excel sheet but a sheet of A4 paper will do just as well

 

Blinking heck, that is a trek and a half ...

Nearly got killed in Indonesia. Ate some mushrooms that had clearly gone off and then tried to swim in a rip tide at midnight ...

And in Malaysia. Held up by armed gunmen. Made the front page of the Straits Times though ... luckily my Mum didn't get that delivered ...

Managed to recover from whatever I caught in Thailand ...

I was young back in those days

Glad you had a good time, I wondered why you had gone quiet. Assumed it must be some massive Bridge tournament, didn't reliase you had been selected for the 6 nations' bridge team

What with the Sales starting so early this year I thought I would start sowing on XMas day. Never tried "emergency seed sowing" to avoid having to stuff the Turkey ... I'll let you know how I get on / if I'm still alive!!

I think JWK's comment & opinion in this thread is spot on:
http://gardenerscorner.co.uk/forum/threads/2013-tomato-growing.48555/#post-623819

 

Ah! Watching the sun set across the sea in the horseshoe bay at Kuta Beach no Bali. Bliss!

But watch out for that Rip Tide mate!

28 million on Bali eh? Blimey. 35 years ago there were more Aussie tourists than locals as I recollect (you were an old man even then Shiney ... )