Dave's Allotment

Monday, April 21, 2008

Rhubarb and Sowing Time

Rhubarb

On Saturday I picked Rhubarb for the first time ever! Just a few stalks so far, but it should be enough for a crumble. The colour of them is fantastic.

Seeds in the mini greenhouses

Over the past week I have sown all of the seeds that I always start off in pots at home in mini greenhouses on the patio. This year I'm using home made newspaper pots even more than last. In newspaper pots I have French Beans, Broad Beans, Sweetcorn and all of my brassicas: Cauliflower, Broccoli, Savoy Cabbage, White Cabbage, Red Cabbage. I've only sown half the amount of brassicas that I intend to grow so far, I'll wait a few weeks before sowing the rest to stagger them a bit.

Also in pots I have Cucumbers, Runner Beans, Courgettes (green and yellow), Pumpkins and five different types of Squash (Turks Turban, Futsu, Uchiki Kuri, Festival and Butternut).

The Tomatoes I sowed about 3 weeks ago are also coming along nicely at home.

Tomato Seedlings

posted by Dave at 7:23 PM

9 Comments:

  • I am very impressed by your greenhouses, the pots are actually placed on shelves! Mine has turned into a major pot competition, everything is crammed in with something else, just need some darn sun so I can get the sweet peas in the ground and clear some more shelf space for the courgettes and squash.

    Hope the rhubarb tasted as good as it looks :)

    By Blogger Amy, at 9:28 PM  

  • Thanks Amy - Rhubarb crumble tasted fantastic!

    By Blogger Dave, at 8:43 AM  

  • Looking good!

    Just out of interest, do you leave the doors of those greenhouses open all the time or only during that day?

    By Blogger Paul and Melanie, at 1:26 PM  

  • Actually at the moment I leave the doors shut all the time - I only open them to water or to take a photo! Once the seedlings are established and/or the weather is consistently warm I usually leave the doors open during the day and shut them if it's going to be a cool night.

    By Blogger Dave, at 3:04 PM  

  • That rhubarb looks fantastic. I enjoy eating stewed rhubarb with a spoonful of raspberries (thawed). BTW did you chit your potatoes below indoors? they look like they have roots as well!

    By Blogger Matron, at 5:17 AM  

  • Great idea with the Rhubarb Matron.

    And yes, the potatoes had been chitting indoors since January. I've never known them chit as much as they have this year, no idea why!

    By Blogger Dave, at 8:47 AM  

  • Your allottment looks fantastic Dave, thank you for sharing. I'm new to growing my own stuff. I feel quite inspired looking at your photographs.

    By Blogger Lorraine Armstrong, at 2:54 PM  

  • Hi Dave, I am really excited as this is my first year of growing my own. I am having a veg plot designed in my garden. Your allotment looks amazing and has given me some great ideas. Thanks for sharing this with us it is very inspiring! PS What are all the plastic bottles on top of the canes for?

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 7:58 PM  

  • Plastic bottles on top of canes are to stop you poking your eye out on the top of the cane when you bend over to reach something on the ground and forget the cane is there! Easily done!

    As an added benefit, the bottles also rattle slightly in the wind, causing a slight disturbance to birds!

    By Blogger Dave, at 9:51 AM  

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