The Magic of Seeds, the Brassica Cage, Planting Shallots & the Greenhouse

Seed Sowings

It’s magical!!  Less than 48 hours after sowing them, the seeds of my cabbage and cauliflower had pushed their way through the surface of the compost into the light. I always get excited when this happens. Childish I know, but it really is Hogwarts stuff.

As soon as they had emerged I opened the vent in the propagator and a couple of days later moved them, uncovered, to my conservatory window-sill. The calabrese and lettuce followed a couple of days later, and then the tomatoes.  The aubergines and sweet pepper are still keeping me waiting though.

Today (26^th Feb) I have sowed a couple of varieties of chilli pepper, “Hercules”, an F1 variety, and “Jalapeno”, well-known from my visits to a local Mexican restaurant.  I also sowed 2 trays of leeks, “Autumn Giant 3 Albana” and “Mammoth Blanch”. (I want to see how large I can grow them!)

Rethinking the Brassica Cage

I have made a start in salvaging what I can from the tangled ruin of my brassica cage.  After two seasons I have reluctantly decided that my full-sized, walk-in cage made from cheap plastic piping is just not working. It is simply not robust enough. Not only did it blow down in the gale, but also, in lighter winds, the joints were blowing apart. The cage has needed constant attention.  Also it is a real pain to move every year from one part of the allotment to another.

So what are the alternatives? It may be possible to root the posts in scaffold poles, hammered into the ground, if I knew where to find them. But still there would be the problem of the joints, and moving it every year. Maybe I need to give up the idea of a movable, walk-in cage and make some individual cages for each bed which can be lifted easily from one bed to another, and propped up along one side for weeding.  I may still be able to salvage some of the existing pipe framework and reuse it. Hopefully a cage 3 ft tall will not blow down in the same way as my 6ft cage did.

Whilst clearing the cage I decided to harvest the remains of my brussel sprouts, several kg worth. The larger ones are destined for the freezer, the smaller ones for immediate use.

The Greenhouse

I have also cleared the remains of the lettuce from one side of the greenhouse and weeded it – the couch grass has already started showing inside, and it’s easy to untangle and pull up when there is nothing else growing.