Today, my gardening has involved the sowing of some seeds that I ordered a couple of weeks ago. I had to go and get some more potting mix as I didn’t have enough for my sowing requirements. This is why there was a delay in my seed sowing-I only got the chance to get some potting mix yesterday.
The potting mix I bought was for my seed potatoes that are now sat in some potato bags. I am growing three different varieties this year-‘Desiree’, ‘Sebago’ and ‘Dutch Cream’. I am fairly new to this potato growing business-I tried last year, but come away with about ten absolutely tiny potatoes (they were very tasty though). I think the main problem was that they didn’t get enough water, so that will be something I need to keep an eye on this year!
I already had more than enough seed raising mix to sow my other seeds that I bought at the same time as my seed potatoes. These other seeds are spring onion ‘Evergreen Trident’ and ‘Red’, leek ‘King Richard’ and Brussels sprouts ‘Long Island’. I am keeping these seeds indoors by the big window in the sitting room. There are two reasons for this-the first being because it’s warmer, the second is that I want to prevent as much snail damage as possible.
On the snails, I have seen no snails for the past few days. This is really good news, as they have been a nightmare over the past few months. That doesn’t mean to say they aren’t present any more, it just means I have to keep an eye out for them!
With my other plants, I haven’t anything different to report than what I have already mentioned over the past week. MY beans, peas, nasturtiums, brassicas, strawberries and sweet alyssum plants are all growing really well. My radishes are still a bit squashed and my beans still have no flowers.
Of the seeds sown last weekend-tomatoes, chillies and capsicums, none have germinated as yet. I’m not sure how many will, as it is very early to be sowing such seeds (it is still winter here in Sydney) and they are a couple of years old. Im hoping I’ll see some of them germinate over the next week. If not, I still have plenty of time to sow some more seeds ready for the summer.
This week, the temperatures we had have finally felt like winter. The coldest overnight minimum that we have had is 6.6 degrees Celsius, while the maximum daytime temperature we have had is 18.7 degrees Celsius. We have only had around one millimetre of rain this week. I’m glad that its not hot at the moment, as my plants don’t need a huge amount of watering-its not a daily job at the moment, thankfully!
That is my Sunday in the garden. I was going to sweep up as well today, but the ground is yet to dry fully from the little rain we had yesterday, so I’ll do that over the next few days as it dries out. I’m just happy that I have my potatoes planted!