PAGEY’S SOW & GROW "PATCH" - MARCH

Ok right now is a good time to start sowing for those things that take a long time to deliver ripe crops e.g. Tomatoes, peppers, chillis and onions from seeds. Also, buy your spuds for putting in the ground mid to end of March (any garden shop)- keep the seed potatoes in a light coolish place for a month to "chit" them - they grow little shoots, which give them a growth start once in the ground. By the way claim your FREE pepper seeds by contacting me at page.chris1@googlemail.com and say " I wanna grow 😎" and I will get them to you !
You need seed compost, seeds, clean pots or trays, tap water and somewhere warm. Obvious I know...but that is it. Treat tomatoes, peppers and chillis the same way. Sow 3 times the number of seeds than you will need because they don't always germinate or just die along the way (yep steel yourself, there will be casualties). You will need to buy a bag of seed compost and a bag of multipurpose compost for potting on in a few weeks’ time (about £5 a bag). Don't use soil from the garden...it will not have all the nutrients they need to start with and you will beat a path to my door saying nothing grows ! It is their food so treat them. Put seed compost in your pot or tray, dampen with tap water (not from a water butt) and lay your tomatoes or pepper seeds on top. Cover with a fine layer of compost or vermiculite. Keep in a warm 20C light place, a windowsill is great. You can put the pot/tray in a plastic bag to keep moisture in. Keep moist but don't drown them or let the soil dry out..you wouldn't like it and nor do they!
Next you can sow your onion seeds or leek seeds in exactly the same way. Easy peasy. Another option for onions and shallots is to sow bulbs (small onions) in trays of moist compost or in situ by mid-March. Again, ensure good soil and just push the root end into the well dug soil. If you have some fertiliser dig that in...Growmore General fertiliser or blood , bone and fish fertiliser if you have it.
Lastly sow some lettuce seeds in the same way as stated earlier...moist good seed compost , somewhere warm and light and watch them grow. Go online and read up on any site if this is unclear. Do it now and involve the kids....bring your produce to the
show on September 2nd for a bit of fun.
Free pepper seeds....yes that's right , just contact me on the email address above and I will give you some pepper seeds and you can munch delicious fresh peppers at the end
of the summer.
 
Next month we plant spuds, sow carrots, parsnips and peas. Hurrah...sow and grow to
hearts content.
 
Chris Page