Anyone here from the Isle of Wight?

I've been here less than two years and last year was slow to sow and plant. So far the weather isn't as mild as last year but if a packet of seeds says to sow in February - can I sow in January as I'm so far south?

 

linlin, I'm not in the Isle of Wight but if it says sow in feb then I would wait until March or April.
Most seed packets have really misleading info on them.
Light is your main concern at this time of the year, and its not much better in IOW than many other parts of the UK until spring really starts.

 

i agree with Pete on this one.
old wives tale here:-
what ever the weather was like on the 15th Jan then it will continue until the 15th Feb if it was wet and cold then you are in for a hot dry summer.
if cold and dry a normal summer temp wise and weather wise but if it was lovely and warm then a wet summer lies ahead.
not that i believe any of this stuff but it has been right for the last two years we can all remember last July's floods well it was dry and warm last year on the 15th Jan

 

Linlin, I'm nearly level with you but I still hold back from sowing anything in january, even where we are the light levels are really not enough to get seedlings going so don't be in too much of a hurry tempting though it is. I speak from a lot of experience and know that later sown seed will soon catch up.

 

Thanks for your replies. I really wish I could find a local gardening club to share local knowledge. There are so many seeds I want to sow this spring I wonder how I'm going to find room for them all.....so very tempted to start a few off earlier, but will heed your warnings.

 

Hello linlin.

I owned a property on the Isle of Wight for seven years until October 2006. It was in Bonchurch (between Ventnor and Shanklin), the warmest part of the island ... and I believe the only place off mainland Europe that has gecko colonies. Where are you?

I have seen it where it is mild in Bonchurch and drifts of snow around Chale Bay just down the road past St Catherine's Point at the same time.

The grounds of the property were maintained but on my veranda (facing the sea, 100 meters from the cliff edge) I had Aloe Vera (now here in the ground), Yucca, Arbutus unedo (the Strawberry Tree) and Passiflora amongst others.

I am not a seed person as such so would agree with pete and strongy.

As for gardening clubs, I frequented the Botanical Gardens in Ventor and Busy Bee Garden Centre at the Tesco roundabout near Ryde. It may be a good idea to ask at these places if they know of any gardening clubs on the island.

Good luck with your seeds.

 

Hello Lady of Leisure - Ventnor and Bonchurch certainly have their own micro-climate on the island and there are more flowers in bloom there now than anywhere else on the island.
St Catherine's point (Niton) and West Wight are probably the most exposed places. West Wight has a reputation of being 2 degrees colder than East Wight and Freshwater Bay has to be the coldest place to swim.

I'm about 2 miles inland from Chale - so very windy here, but surprisingly sunny and dry. The rest of the island can be overcast and wet, but we'll have blue skies and sun.

I "joined" a club at Thompsons last time I visited, but haven't received anything yet - something to do with island-life I think.