All Sown Up

- well not quite. This weekend was blessed with ideal weather for outdoor work. A full day out at the allotment on Saturday whilst yesterday was devoted to the garden. On a blissfully sunny October afternoon it is hard to get your head around how much earlier darkness falls and to realise that that you have not got that seemingly eternity of a June evening stretching ahead of you. There seems to be a mad rush to try to accomplish all you want to. I was however intent on sowing some sweet peas this weekend which I have done using my discovery of the year - root trainers! I ordered a couple of these earlier in the year from Sara Raven, making use of a free packing and post offer. They were used to sow sweet peas in the spring as well as for climbing French bean and pea seeds. When you get to the stage of releasing them from their cells to plant each plant has such sturdy, well developed root balls so planting them out is so much easier and with far less risk of root damage. I'm kicking myself for not trying them sooner. Although they are not made of the most sturdy of materials and will probably will not last much more than a couple of seasons, I'm so pleased with them that I will be ordering a couple more packs before next spring.  My spring sown sweet peas flourished and I'm still picking small bunches now.



So far lathyrus 'Fire and Ice' and lathyrus odaratus 'Almost Black' have been sown. I never soak my sweet peas seeds as is sometimes recommended but have rarely had any problems with germination. I've sown them one to a cell with the hope of seeing some green shoots later this month. Plans to also sow my favourite lathyrus 'Matucana' were thwarted as I could not find the seed packet that I thought I had. Will have to have a thorough search today. If unable to find them I will just have about enough time to locate another packet to sow by the middle of the month, which is the latest time recommended for sowing in the north of the country.

I've also spent some time preparing for the colder nights that are predicted for later this week. I doubt that we will have frost but just in case tender plants, that have been sitting out for the summer, are now near to the greenhouse in readiness for a quick move indoors. I also made a start on the task of sorting out plants that will be overwintering in the cold frames - pots have been emptied of their contents which have in turn been throughly inspected before being popped back in. I discovered a number of glistening slug eggs in the process so was pleased to nip these in the bud before they had the chance to become fully grown molluscs. Have you finished putting the garden to bed yet or are you like me still dashing round to fit it all in? I've still got perennials to plant and as for planting bulbs there's another story ......

P.S The bulbs were conveniently out of sight therefore out of mind but a box of bulbs from Peter Nyssen has just arrived this morning - the pressure is on!