newie raring to get out there

[bloomingbethan]

i only joined last night and cannot believe i hooked already but i want to get started NOW BUT ITS STILL DARK have a tiny patch that i cleared in the summer my plan is to cover in cardboard (gyo tip) to clear weeds then buying a link a bord and going from there with some seeds i have could i start the seeds of on my kitchen windowsill please advice req

[Lesley Jay]

Hi Bloomingbethan! Welcome to this madhouse! I can believe that you are hooked already - there is something about this forum that makes you want to keep reading and posting. Enjoy!

[mandyballantyne]

Hi BB,

Welcome to the vine, lots of friendly advice and lots of laughs in here.

I am desperate to get out there too, I only cleared my patch last year and grow some veg but I am desperate to get out there. I think this place has kept me sane (well as sane as I canbe) over the dark days.

Hope you enjoy, Mandy

[smallblueplanet]

Hiya

I think from what I've read on here the only folk starting anything other than onions/shallots are ones with heated greenhouses with lots of light.

Its difficult though waiting for the seasons to change and the days to get longer & lighter!

I'm sure someone else will say if they've started off owt else.

[jools]

Hi BB
Yes, the vine is adictive and there is lot and lots of support and good advice to be had. I'm keen to get started too and have actually planted a few seeds in a propogator over the last couple of days. You need to be caredful about what seeds to plant as it is still too early for most things. I am just planting what the packets say I can plant now, but I'm sure others with more knowledge will give you some advice.
Jools

[bloomingbethan]

i only joined last night and cannot believe i hooked already but i want to get started NOW BUT ITS STILL DARK have a tiny patch that i cleared in the summer my plan is to cover in cardboard (gyo tip) to clear weeds then buying a link a bord and going from there with some seeds i have could i start the seeds of on my kitchen windowsill please advice req

just got back from garden centre with a 4 tier mini greenhouse potatos and garlic and have not forgotten birds bought a feeder hope tommorow is dry so i can start tidy up and preparing

[JennieAtkinson]

Hi BB - and welcome. Glad you are hooked already - seems to happen to most of us!
Happy sowing!

[Alice]

Hello BloomingB and welcome to the Vine. Good to have you with us. The others are right that it is really too early for seed planting and planting in January is really only for people with a bit of specialist knowledge and / or equipment BUT if your desperate to grow something there are a few things you can try on the windowsill and then get out into your mini greenhouse.
Lettuce,and any other kind of edible leaves of that type will germinate rapidly for you. You can keep some on the windowsill just to cut as baby leaves for garnishes for cheese etc and prick some out into pots to go out into your mini greenhouse. They should be fine there. I have some outside which have come through the winter so far.
Rocket will be fine on the windowsill.
Peppers you could start now and they do fine on the windowsill.
If you don't have your ground ready you could plant your garlic in a big container outside. It's fully hardy and really needs to get a bit of frost to split into cloves.
I've got some pea shoots on the go. A tip from Nick (think it was). Try putting pea shoots in the search box and see if it comes up for you.
Parsley and other herbs will start on the windowsill and then go to mini greenhouse. My parsley in the ground is still fine and the flat leaved kind stands the weather better than the curly.
Hope this gives you something to start with as I know what it's like when your desperate to be started.
And good luck with the birds. They will all come when they find that feeder !
Here's a pic of the long tailed tits on mine. happy gardening.

[HappyMouffe]

Alice, those long tailed tits are beautiful - we get them in our garden, but they don't go onto the feeders, staying in the hedges - useful for eatng pests, but you don't get such a good view.

[Alice]

The long tailed tits are beautiful HappyMouffe. We have a regular party of about 20 turn up and it seems to be the peanuts in the feeder they are interested in. They all try to get on there at once - landing on each others heads and everything. Quite comical.

The funniest scene we had at the bird feeder was last year we had a family of woodpeckers turn up - maw, paw and the wean. My husband had greased the feeder pole to try and keep the squirrels off. The baby woodpecker landed on the pole and slid all the way to the bottom. I was glad to see it happen but needless to say didn't get the shot.

[Mrs Dobby]

Hi BB and welcome to the madhouse thats known as the vine! Hope you have as much fun here as the rest of us, and that your crops grow in abundance!

[dexterdoglancashire]

Hello BB and welcome to the Vine! I'm just as eager as you are because I got my very own lottie the week before Christmas!
I've done just like you, and put cardboard down to smother the weeds - I then covered it with thick black plastic as well.
That's all I've been able to do lottie wise until the weather gets better. (If it ever does!).
Good idea, already mentioned, get one of those small plastic greenhouses with the shelves inside - I only had one of those last summer and grew all my seeds in it, ready for planting in my back garden!
As for sowing seeds - you can sow early peas and broad beans and keep them on the window sill and order any seed potatoes ready for later.
What I really suggest is to buy a copy of Grow Your Own magazine - it's brill and has lots of useful advice and tips - together with a jobs to do this month section. It's ideal for newbies like us because its written in easy to understand language.
Good luck - looking forward to hearing how you get on!
DDL
You can always keep posting your questions here - everyone is very friendly and offers useful tips and advice, no matter how daft you may think your question is! (just have a look at some of mine!)

[bloomingbethan]

I do subscribe to gyo that s how i got started right im going to put on some old clothes and get out there build the mini greenhouse hope it doesnt blow away

[dexterdoglancashire]

Hi BB - do take care with your baby greenhouse in all this bad weather! DDL

[JazzDuke]

I don't get to choose my lottie until Feb so it's more hard work poring over the seed catalogues - I'll need a medium sized field by the time I've ordered everything.