I'm later planting my tomatoes and peppers this year. Most year I sow far too early then they either sit there not growing or get too leggy. I decided to just try putting them in a bit later and see if it makes any difference or not.
In truth I would have planted them in the week when I had a bit of time on my own (when the boy naps), but I'd promised the girls they could help and they were so excited about planting two of their favourite veggies.
So this afternoon we managed to get out there and sow them all, the girls filled the pots whilst I organised what we were going to plant. I love them planting a crop that we harvest over a long time like this, as they have a real sense of pride as the eat them.
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| Such concentration |
My youngest daughter was determined to plant all the sweet peppers, as they're her favourite, where as my eldest was just as happy to plant the tomatoes. I know it won't be long before they're raiding the greenhouse and I'll have to be quick to get a descent amount before they eat them all!
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| being careful with the seeds |
Chilli pepper - long pencil cayenne (home saved seed)
Chilli pepper - Pimientos de Padron
Sweet pepper - Poupila
Sweet Pepper - Sweet Sunshine F1 (one of the few F1's I'm growing this year)
Sweet Pepper - Lunch Box Mix
Tomato - Golden Sunrise (home saved seed)
Tomato - Millefleur
Tomato - Harbinger
Tomato - Best of all
Tomato - Jersey Sunrise
Tomato - Legend
Tomato - Amish Paste
Tomato - Abraham Lincoln
Tomatillo - Large purple/green
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| Showing me how they'll grow! |
I can't wait to try some of these in the summer! I'm really excited about trying the small sweet peppers I've picked out, some grow the size of a chilli so I should have no problems ripening them! Looking at the list I might plant a few more chilli pepper yet so I'll raid the seed box tomorrow to grow a few hot ones (although I have a fair few left int he freezer from last year).
Everyone else got their tomatoes and peppers in yet?
How many varieties are you growing?
now i'm feeling really pressured! i need to do this in the next couple days and i am totally unorganized. what a wonderful learning experience for your children!
ReplyDeleteThey do it every year and they love the process of it. it was great when my younger daughter came back from nursery and the teacher told me she'd saved all her pepper seeds for me to plant.
DeleteWow I don't have any where warm enough to start them here as it is getting in the 20s F at night. It will probably be another month before I get anything done. Good luck with them, it seems to take pepper a little longer to start coming up for some reason.
ReplyDeleteThese are growing on inside, on a heated propagator, it'll be a while till they're in the greenhouse!
DeleteMy favourite Pepper is one called 'Long des Landes'. As the names suggests it is a long thin-ish pepper that grows to about 6 ins long. It is the Pepper that you find in Tapas bars in Spain. They are fried in olive oil for about 5 mins, sprinkled with coarse sea salt, and eaten tepid. Absolutely wonderful; I recommend.
ReplyDeleteThe Padron that i'm growing is for the same use, fried then salted and eaten, I'm looking forward to those! I'll look out for your sort next year - unless you save- the seeds and fancy doing a swap?
DeleteI don't think you are late Kev. It seems to me that too many sow too early when it comes to tender crops unless that they have a heated greenhouse. Plants soon catch up and I prefer to pot on healthy grown plants than ones that have suffered a bit from leggy growth or cold. Even if tomato plants are saved from frost they do not like low temperatures (you often see a purple tinge on their leaves if they get too cold).
ReplyDeleteI'll grow them on in a window sill for a while, they'll get potted on and then grow on before being moved into the greenhouse in may. I'll probably sow some more yet later on, and normally when it comes time to plant you can't tell the difference, but Im desperate to get planting!
DeleteI used to sow end of February but now leave the above plants until the end of March, other wise they grow way too tall, but not leggy to go outside, which is where they have to grow.
ReplyDeleteI sowed in January one year and they were about 3ft tall before they had a truss on them! I still had some very early tomatoes off some of them!
DeleteI'm itching to plant, but it's too early. We are suppose to get more snow today and tomorrow after it being warm yesterday...
ReplyDeleteIt's getting warmer here, that's why I couldn't hold off any longer!
DeleteThat is a fab amount of toms Kev. So far the toms I have in the Poly House planted are Costoluuto Fiornetino and Gardener's Delight and some mixed sweet and piquant peppers. I've other stuff in, too, two types of aubergine, cucumbers, early cabbages, spring onions and a few lettuce just gone in. Suuuuuch an exciting time!
ReplyDeleteI love this time, in the next couple of months I go a bit crazy!
DeleteLovely pictures. They look so excited to help!
ReplyDeleteThey love it! I only have to mention planting seeds and they're getting their boots on ready to help!
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