Ready to roll

[brumbird]

Hey folks

I have finished the patch! My plans are actually comin together. Now feel weirdly apprehensive about sowin stuff as i feel sure nothing will come up.

[craftymarie]

Excellent! That looks very well organized. I have the same worries about planting and stuff not coming up but am sure that's normal

I've had the best luck to date with sowing in modules before planting out - I tried that one year with some flower seeds and the pigeons ate everything. But perhaps I should have netted it all!

Good luck with it.

[Bigmallly]

I agree with Marie, I have more luck growing in modules first but it's personal choice.

[brumbird]

Well i have sown a load of stuff in the conservatory - just put the broccoli and sprouts outside today as they would have baked! So would you sow everything forst then plant out? Like even radish and lettuce? I have some netting i was going to put on to stop the cats digging and remind the kids not to trample on it but not sure how to make it child friendly (ie if they fall on it i dont want them poking their eye out) think a new thread about this may be in order

[muddled]

Stuff sown in modules then planted out is deeply satisfying...like a makeover show, at the end of a mornings work the patch transformed!

For things that I do successionally like beans and peas, lettuces and so on, I plant out the modules and sow a row of seeds behind it that will come up a week or two later.
Its always good to a 'plan B' in case of slug attack and to fill gaps left by harvesting so I try to have a range of things in modules, ready to go out at any given time.

And as its your first year it will be good to try both methods and see which you prefer anyway!

[SarrissUK]

I start lettuce in the greenhouse very early in the year - actually, I always have lettuce on the go, it's hardier than you might think. I often sow it direct too, especially in polystyrene boxes that sit invisibly along my kitchen wall (no one ever goes in that alley).
I always sow carrots, beetroot, radishes direct where they will grow old.

[Bigmallly]

Get the kids to make some cane toppers out of ping pong balls , let them colour them, put a hole in them & let the kids put them on the canes, they will then remember where they are and what they are for.........You could use different materials as cane toppers, it depends what you have lying around.

[Tripmeup]

Some things are better suited to growing in modules and then planting out then others..Lettuce, spring onions and sweetcorn are examples...Carrots, radish and turnips probably work best when direct sowing...
Best of luck

[Muddy_Boots]

I always use the old small plastic bottles you get water in as cane toppers, stops me from putting my eye out as I've had some near misses in the past. Thing is they don't come off either and if you need to net then the bottles stop the netting sliding down the canes as a bonus.

[brumbird]

I bit the bullet and planted beetroot! Gonna do radish tonight. Thanks for the ideas peeps, i have a bunch of sunbleached ballpit balls which i can use on top of the canes

[Dalrimple]

I use fired shotgun cartridges for cane tops ,you can get loads from your local clay pigeon shoot, all bright colours so you can see them and they atract bees to the plants
Dal