Vegetable Sowing Plan for 2011

Here's my rough sowing plan - not indicating where crops are successional.
GH=Greenhouse crops.

Jan 01 Onions, Lettuce (in containers)
Jan 15 Broad bean Aquadulce, Early carrots (in containers), Early Cauliflower, Aubergines (GH)

Feb 01 Early Melons (GH)
Feb 15 Chilli and Sweet Peppers (GH), Tomatoes (GH). Potatoes in Bags (GH)

Mar 01 Parsnips, Beetroot, Sprouts, Celeriac, Cauliflower, Cucumber (GH), Melons (GH), Lettuce (GH)
Mar 15 Leeks, French beans (GH), Carrots, Potatoes (First early)
Mar 21 Sweet corn (GH)

Apr 01 Potatoes (Second Early and Main), Calabrese, Kohl Rabi, Leaf beet, Lettuce
Apr 15 Courgettes, Butternut squash

May 01 Brocolli (Early Sprouting), Florence fennel, French beans, Runner beans, Swede, Sweetcorn (for outdoors)

Jun 01 Chinese cabbage, Oriental greens
Jun 21 Mooli raddish

Jul 21 Spring cabbage

Aug 01 Leaf beet (GH)
Aug 15 Dwarf French Beans (GH)

Nov 01 Garlic

(Repost from this thread )

 

That is good Kristen, I will religious ignore that as I usually do.:D

Only kidding mate, my peas are now using their tendrills to hold onto the sticks, the broccoli has gone out into the cold frame & I wouldn't dream of using baking powder to stop the dampng off fungus:WINK1:

 

Hi Kristen, when you say jan 1 onions lettuce in containers, are the containers outside in the frosts? Also ,is your green house unheated?
Thanks

 

THe containers are in an unheated conservatory (but I leave them in the utility room, also unheated but warmer so-to-speak, until germinated). The conservatory is fairly substantial so will not freeze.

The greenhouse is unheated (but I do have a small gas heater to keep the frost off if we get a frost unexpectedly late in the season).

 

Really good plan Kristen. I wish I were so organised. :DOH: I admit I tend to bumble through but this year I want a proper calender set out and followed!

 

Yeah, well, I'm a bit of a "detail person" - you would never have guessed eh?!!

I keep good records of what I planted, and when. And (importantly) when it started cropping, and when it finished.

We ("the family") then have a bit of a discussion about whether we had too much / too little, and whether it was too early / too late, and I note that down too. Then the following year I plant more/less and maybe earlier / later to try to hit the sweet spot.

Note that these "discussions" are usually over lunch and prompted by something like "I cannot begin to understand why there are no more new potatoes" (guests arriving for New Years lunch, I had grown a couple of bags as an experiment for XMas New Potatoes ... not an unlimited supply!) so you should not infer that this is a sit-down-board-meeting!

I've been doing this for about 5 years and now my "We need N of these sown on X so that we have a crop from Y to Z" is pretty much cast in stone, I just have to do it each year.

Without the "raw data" there is no hope of making intelligent choices - unless you ahve a cracking memory, which I don't ...

 

Neat. I created a Google Spreadsheet to do my planning, though mine focuses more on what space is available rather than precise dates. Though I should probably do that, too. =P

https://spreadsheets.google.com/pub...k5dFpDQzVPdkIzMGNZdUpvNnAzVlhYYWc&output=html

 

Kristen, I came to ask a couple of questions, and I see that in answering Russell Sprout you elaborated a little and answer one of mine.

I was going to ask: where you havent specified a greenhouse crop, are all the seed trays and pots in your conservatory?

Also, Id be really grateful if you could indicate when you intend actually transplanting out the specific veg into the kitchen garden for final growing positions.
In my impatience to get going, Im often tempted to plant out earlier than I should. I have a reasonably sheltered London garden.

Common sense is telling me Im two weeks to a month ahead of myself. But Im considering risking plant out my beans and peas and using my bell cloches.

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

Yes, I raise everything in pots - Maximum-Faff method because:

• I prefer to plant out at required spacing (not gaps)
• Plants are ahead of Weeds (if I sow seed they both come up together)
• If bed not ready, or weather bad, I can "hold" the plants in pots
• For some early crops I can gain a bit of time

But its perhaps more Faff than just sowing direct

There's an article on my Blog pondering Sow-direct vs. Raise-in-pots:
http://kgarden.wordpress.com/tips/sowing-seeds-indoors/sow-direct-or-raise-plants/

OK. I can generate a little Table of Sown / Germinates / Plants / First & Last Harvest dates

Need to avoid being too early with tender things. People have sown Runner Beans, Squash, Courgettes .... WAY too early yet, they will be HUGE by the time they can safely be planted out (or will sulk so much from the cold, if they don't die, that they will be weakened, succumb to disease, and generally be a disappointment - which after investing days/weeks/months of effort will be a bit of a downer :(

Nothing wrong with doing half-and-half. If the first lot get killed off you have a fall back, if they first lot are 10 feet tall when the second lot are ready to plant then compost the second lot

 

Thanks so muchh for the detailed reply Kristen!
Its lovely that you take the time to respond so fully- and to link to your brilliant blog which I subscribed to yesterday! Im blown away at the amount of work you do!

Thanks also in advance for the sow/ plant out chart too! I have looked around but most give one and not the other.

 

I also would really appreciate seeing the sow/plant chart - would be really useful :o

 

you'd hate my chuck it in at the last minute method

 

This is a wonderful scheme for crops divided by the months of the year and whether there are other crops