Today didn't get to lottie as ground frozen so started off some chillies and stuff; got peas for shoots, broad beans, sweet peas and risking my luck with some toms and celery but thinking the light might be needed as well. (Broad beans aren't in the propagator).

What's everyone else got started??

Westi

onions and leeks are now well up and out of the propagator. Just showing their heads are AYR cauliflower and lettuce. Alpine strawberries haven't shown yet.

Containers of compost are warming in the greenhouse ready for the first sowing of broad beans and peas this coming week.

I won't risk tomatoes and peppers just yet as the light isn't good enough and although they will germinate they tend to suffer and I lose most of them. Best wait till March before sowing them.

Filled the first batch of pots today, watered with Cheshunt and put in the propagator. Switched it on and will probably sow tomorrow when they have warmed through.

Morning Westi, lots of pots of Hyacinths in mine at the moment, trying to bring them on a little.
But with Spring being with us by the middle of the week i shall start a few bits off.

I sowed my chillies & peppers two or three days ago. I know light level is a bit of a problem at this time of year but I find they often take quite a long time to germinate on my bay windowsill.

Will probably be sowing my leeks sometime this week but tomatoes will wait until late March / early April I think. I've always sown these too early in the past and struggled with plants going leggy which I have to plant outdoors and cover with individual cloches which is never a very satisfactory solution. Am currently saving my loo rolls for parsnips & climbing beans which will also have to wait until later.

Put my sweet peas to soak today on damp kitchen paper and prepared the roottrainers for them to be sown in two or three days.

Sowed shallots 'Prisma' in clumps of 4 or 5 seeds in roottrainers (on the windowsill in an unheated room in the house) and planted ten shallot sets 'New Moon' into individual pots in the unheated greenhouse.

It really felt quite spring like with 6 degrees, a gentle westerly breeze and the sun shining!

Sowed all the pots I put in the propagator yesterday.
A salad leaf box of Rocket, Greek Cress, four varieties of Lettuce and a few Radish. Also 6 varieties of Lettuce in small plugs.
A module tray each of Cabbage Primo, Cauliflower Snowball and mixed tray of Parsley.
Small pots of 5 varieties of Tomato, 3 varieties of Aubergine and some Basil. Also a half pot of Basil for the kitchen window ledge.
I am going to experiment with grafting this year so sowed 6 3½" pots with Tomato rootstock Aegis which will have fruiting varieties added in four days time, as per Moles instructions. I'll report how I get on, mainly seeing if I can make old varieties that we like more vigorous (haven't seen that idea tested anywhere). I've also planted one pot with the rootstock and an Aubergine to see if I can graft those, haven't found any instructions but guessed sowing them at the same time might work.
Propagator set at 65°F with lights on timer 05:00 to 10:00 and 16:00 to 22:00.
Also filled 270 small pots for sowing Onions and Shallots next weekend in the greenhouse and 12 half pots for the Sweet Peas which I germinate in the propagator then immediately prick out to individual pots in the greenhouse.
I'm trying get ahead inside as hopefully will be able to work outside later in the week, frost still not out of the ground today.

Evening Geoff, i will be very interested in the results of the old varieties of tomatoes being grafted. Sounds very interesting indeed.

Hope all goes well......

Got going at the weekend and today. In propagator or heated bed - peas (Excellenz), spring onions, lettuce, radish, broad beans (Sutton) and a few carrots - all for later growing in the tunnel for early crops. Also chrysanthemum cuttings. Peppers also sown in propagator at the end of last week. These are my normal sowing times and usually work OK even here in N. Scotland. Will delay tomatoes for a couple of weeks.

Feels good to be sowing again!

Chris

aubergines in the heated prop. and sprouts, calabrese and lettuce on the greenhouse shelf.

I also tried an experiment, by putting spanach seeds in the greenhouse beds a few weeks ago! It was quite warm in there until it snowed! (the ground never froze as far as I'm aware) they are not showing yet, but here's hoping!

The first few peas (Hurst Greenshaft) and broad beans (Witkiem Manita) are now in roottrainers (16 cells each), just to be planted under cloches in the garden, the bulk of them (+ other varieties) will be sown much later for the allotment, but it's nice to have some early ones just for a taster early in the summer.

We also ate our first rhubarb yesterday, not forced, but it's Timperley Early and always produces very early shoots, short, but very succulent. The plants are more than 30 years old and have never been divided or tidied up, though we keep them weed free and they get a thick mulch of well-rotted manure every early spring.

Currently in the propagator are asparagus, cucumbers, peppers.

Already sprouted and either in the greenhouse or window sills I have alpine strawberries, aubergines, cabbage, AYR cauliflower, coriander, leeks, lettuce, onions and tomatoes.