Sunshine and Garden Jobs

[Suninfrance]

I just read on the "bee keeping" thread about not planting seeds before 15th may (Correze), because of the possibility of frost.

I guess though that it is still possible to plant up seeds under cover before then?  I have my little plastic Argos greenhouse (and the one I got from the Outiror van in Pompadour which also comes with a fleece cover), so surely I can start putting in seeds and start them off in those.

When you get days like today (after all the rain) at around 19C and you are working in shirtsleeves in the garden, your mind tends to wander and plan what you are going to put in your garden.

I've already decided to dig up and split up my marauding strawberry plants from the veg plot.  I'll give some away, but I plan to grow them in hanging baskets this year.  Has anyone else done that?

And I have vowed to be more organised in my planting schedule too.  Including weeding my veg plot at the end of the season and not the beginning of March.  I have only done a couple of hours today, but the plot is so overgrown with nettles, etc I am aching all over already. 

Any tips on what to do in the garden and when would be much appreciated.

[daisymay]

The generally accepted date for the last frost on Correze is 15th April. Even then this rare. The 15th May might be the date before which it is not recommended to plant out tender plants. I am going to start some veg seedlings in my mini greenhouse shortly. It is so small that it can be brought in at night. If it was not so soggy I would be putting in broad beans directly into the ground and peas under cloches. Last year the latest frost here (south Correze) was 11th April. French beans do not appreciate being put in too early and need the ground to be warm. Sow them in May. Basically, if the days are warm and seedlings develop they may be cut by late frost. If they need ground warmth to sprout be patient.

[Suninfrance]

Thanks daisymay.

I use plastic water bottles for my cloches - just cut them in half and take the cap off.  Ideal for starting off seed direct in the ground.  My veg plot looked like I was growing bottles last year, but I ended up with some really health bean plants.  However, I still have to weed, dig over and manure the plot before I can plant anything.  Might try and do another couple of hours on it this afternoon, but first I have to give the grass it's first cut of the year.  I can't believe how much it's grown.

[Tony F Dordogne]

I've got loads of seeds in now, all under glass - have 4 cold frames on the go from February to late April'ish time just in case we get a frost. There's no reason why not to so long as they are protected.

I use the smaller 1.5 litre bottles as watering aids in the summer (buried, bottoms cut off and holes drilled round cap so the water trickles out near roots) and the larger 5/8 litre bottles with bottoms cut off and tops off (sort of like mini Victorian cloches) when the more tender plants (tomatoes and the like) go into the ground, just to be on the safe side, until beginning of May - worked well last year.

[andyh4]

SIF

forget strawberries in hanging baskets - it's a watering nightmare.  Strawb's are originally woodland plants that like by nature, shade and moisture, baskets dry out in no time and would need watering every couple of hours.

As others have suggested, no problems to start seeds off now under some sort of cover and transplant later.

[Suninfrance]

See your point about strawbs in hanging baskets.  Watering would be a problem.  I need to get them out of my veg plot though as they are taking over.  I managed to pot some up yesterday for friends who wanted some plants and they are now under fleece at night, and in the sunshine during the day.

Later today I will start washing off all my pots and tubs from last year's plants and sorting out my plastic greenhouse in readiness for putting seeds in.

I'm so looking forward to having colour back in the garden, but failed miserably to get my sweet williams in last year, so they won't be ready until next year.  A shame really because last year, they were awash with Humming Bird Hawk Moths and the smell was fantastic.

I shall probably put my beans in at the end of this month and plant them two weeks apart, so I get a decent crop throughout the year and not all in one go like I did last year.  Good job we both like them, because I had a freezer full at the end of the season - lol

[Tony F Dordogne]

Weather forecast locally is dreadful for the next few days - but hopefully at the weekend (when we get back from Bordeaux) may be able to clear off some of the raised beds and get the onions and garlic in which are all groing away like mad in pots at the moment.

[Suninfrance]

Bought my beetroot seeds today.  Never grown them from seed before - I usually get plants from the market.  But after last year's purchase and ended up with Swiss Chard instead of Betterave, will know better this time.

Also looked up in Readers Digest and will probably plant my Wisteria seeds sometime in the next couple of weeks and see what happens.

[ThomasD]

A gardener friend of mine suggested that I plant my strawberries in gutters. I tried this last year and had great results. I used a standard zinc gutter, closed off at either end, and hung from the eves along one side of my conservatory and I had a great crop of them, and something that looked quite nice as well. I did notice I was watering a lot though.

[ThomasD]

I live in 76 - the northern most part of Normandy, and my neightbours also say dont do anything before 15 May. They are an elderly couple both in their 80s and born in the village - so I guess they know something. They laughed when I recently started planting things (following guidance from books etc.).

I have one of those potato planters, and I am sure I heard on Gardeners' Questions (is that what it is called - the R4 programme) that you can plant potatoes in pots just after Christmas. Game to try anything, I put some sprouting potatoes from the kitchen in a few weeks ago. I also decided to put some in the ground to see 'what if' - both lots doing OK. Last night's frost did not seem to harm anything.

Will let you know if anything transpires.....

[daisymay]

[quote user="Suninfrance"] .

I shall probably put my beans in at the end of this month and plant them two weeks apart, so I get a decent crop throughout the year and not all in one go like I did last year.  Good job we both like them, because I had a freezer full at the end of the season - lol
[/quote]

I will be interested to know if you have any success with planting beans as early as you say. The packs all recommend the end of April at the earliest.

[Suninfrance]

There seem to be loads of seeds in the pack, so I'll start planting now (under cover) and carry on at two weekly intervals.  If the first sowing doesn't work, then I'll know better next year.

[seb47]

I started my broad beans in November and overwintered under a cloche - they are very strong. The next lot I started off inside in January (cool summer kitchen - about 8 degrees) then transplanted outside under cloches - also doing well. The runner beans I will leave till late April.

However .. my poor tomato seedlings are struggling indoors through lack of decent windowsills/light inside. I may leave them till April next year when I can shove them out into the unheated greenhouse after the frosts. I also think the quality of seed compost makes a difference - I spent an hour in the sunshine this morning sieving out all the woody bits from the 'terre universal' and mixing with some home made compost.

Looks like a good week for sunshine!

Sue.

[Cassis]

There are beans and there are beans - like Seb says, you can overwinter broad beans.

Haricot/French I find it's better to plant late than to plant early - there are no stops in growth, they soon catch up and even overtake early plantings, and they tend to grow stronger.

[hoverfrog]

I'm always tempted to start things off early, and sometimes it works and others it doesn't :)

Last year I sowed parsnips every 2 weeks from february-April and none grew - the year before we had fantastic ones.

Dad always had his tomatoes germinating in the linen cupboard in January, but mine sown in March always caught up!

Next door says don't touch your garden until after the 1st May, but I've so proved them wrong!

Some things are frost tolerant, some need warmer soil to germinate, and a couple of sunny days can make all the difference.

I do find though, that things grow so fast here in May/June that there isn't a real advantage to starting too early.

French beans is May until August - they definitely like a warm soil to germinate.

On the other hand, everything my 5-yr old sows (any old how) comes up and mine (at the same time, proper depth, etc) doesn't always!

[Tony F Dordogne]

Parsnips can be very fickle to germinate.  A UK gardening/allotment/GYO forum a couple of the LF posters belong to (read potagers in France, domestic or otherwise) has some great ideas for getting seeds going.

Advice on parsnips is to start them off on damp kitchen paper, they usually germinate quite well and quite quickly and then move them on into pots rather than root trainers before planting out.  I used root trainers last year and the parsnips grew away in raised bed quite well, still have a few left which I'm going to lift today.

This year I'm going to put another tier on one of the raised beds to get bigger parsnips and carrots, just as en experiment really.