What I’m sowing and growing in May ~ it's all coming together nicely
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- Опубликовано: 29 апр 2024
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If you don't have a heated greenhouse, it's not really going to matter much in May as it's warm enough without heat. However if you don't have a greenhouse this section of my ebook is the one you want. It has guides for conservatory, greenhouse (heated and unheated) polytunnel and outdoor growing www.notion.so/steverichards/G...
The database I'm looking at for May is here: airtable.com/appZUuG0p5vkxzPm...
The seedlings that I'm looking at are almost all from March and April and you can see the details of them here: airtable.com/appZUuG0p5vkxzPm...
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My books and videos are all grounded in what I actually do, I make sure you can see the evidence. For example if I suggest sowing carrots in November, take a look at my monthly tours to see them growing and my harvest videos for May to see the actual results. I'm not just about regurgitaing information from the backs of seed packets!
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Great set up Steve and nice to see what you're growing.
Looks absolutely amazing Steve!!
Welcome reminders as ever Steve, thank you! Fell a little behind due to holidays and commitments, but we’re about there now. In a wonderful way, you’re my barometer, as when you sow and plant it seems to work perfectly here😊
That's great, it's always a challenge recommending when to do things, given the range locations that viewers are in, just adjusting everything on last frost date isn't very useful.
Wow your greenhouse is dreamy - inspirational! I love that you share so much with us. I have learned so much from you and will continue to keep learning. You are a wonderful example of generosity thank you 🙏
my pleasure, I'm lucky to be able to do it : All the best - Steve
There is still a lot of very slow growth for me and even some stunted growth. It seems always overcast and raining but your place looks clear and sunny Steve.
We've had our unfair share amount of rain Lynn, well above normal and very cloudy. That's affected plants outside like the early kale and lettuce and the onions, but under cover growth continues to be strong : All the best - Steve
Because you constantly grow plants for the first time have sown flower seeds to plant out in our spring, sometime in September.
We are eating lovely tunnel house spinach and the lettuce is finally growing, it was too hot in there when they were planted 5 weeks ago.
Very nice. Far better than shop bought
Some things, I ran out of carrots for a week in April, so I bought a few and they were quite nice, better than my stored ones, but not as good as the ones I'm harvesting now : All the best - Steve
Thanks for the update, Steve. I am curious to know whether you have more seedlings growing than last year, or would you have squeezed the equivalent of all those plants either in the conservatory or polytunnel this time last year? Now that you have had your greenhouse for 6 months, what would you say has made the most difference to you from having your greenhouse? The convenience, the space or having the warmer temperature for your plants perhaps? I guess the answer to that question could take up a whole newsletter?! The whole set up of your greenhouse looks so attractive and your plants look so healthy! Best wishes, Justine
I've a few more, certainly more cucumbers, early tomatoes, early strawberries and early courgettes. I've also potted plants on more, so they take up more space, but are healthier. The biggest change is much less in the conservatory and the polytunnel, so the plants are happier and life is so much easier for me. The only downside is later fruit set for the peppers (too cold in the greenhouse) but that seems to be an advantage so far as the plants are much healthier : All the best - Steve
Thanks for sharing, your plants are very healthy. Do you have any video on plant feeding/ compost etc? My greenhouse temperature was above 40c yesterday evening though all the vents were open. How do you manage yours during a very hot day? Thanks
The key is to have both double doors completely open and a fan on still days, trying to keep the temp below 30c and ideally about 25c, otherwise I wont get many tomatoes or peppers setting fruit. I don't have a video on that specifically, I cover it in my videos on sowing, pricking out and potting on. I'm just using cheap multi-purpose compost from the garden centre, the cheapest for me is Erin Multipupose, 3 bags for £15. I'm using just water 1/3 of the time, very dilute seaweed + water 1/3 of the time and very dilute tomato feed 1/3 of the time, I substitute the tomato feed for dilute fish feed for leafy plants. I'm using much lower dilutions than the manufacturer recommends because I prefer feeding a little every 3 days, rather than lots every 2 weeks, especially in hanging baskets : All the best - Steve
@@SteveRichards many thanks Steve, much appreciated! I’m planning to get an electric socket inside greenhouse soon.
Really enjoy your videos, massively impressed by the planning you do to get fresh food throughout the year. As you work the soil so intensively, what do you do to keep it fertilized and fresh?? Do you get your soil tested for pH and nutrients??
I don't test, because I think it's a bit beyond what I need at my scale and expertise and the number of successions I grow, that all have different needs, makes it very complex. I believe that soil is healthier when it has things growing in it, but I take your point that I do take a lot out, so over the years I've put a lot back in. In the early days I put in a lot of fully composted wood, a lot of manure, rock dust, home made compost and seaweed. Now I tend to mulch with 1 inch of farmyard manure each year and then feed as appropriate to the plants, so for example I use blood fish and bone for root veggies. I grow on sand so unlike Charles Dowding who grows on perfect silty loam on top of clay, I can't just put down compost : All the best - Steve
@@SteveRichards it's interesting to hear how you manage and improve your soil. We're on very heavy clay, it's fertile and I rarely need to feed plants but soil structure can be challenging as it has a tendency to be hard. It cracks and turns to concrete in dry conditions and heavy rain can compact it too. I have noticed that weeds and perennial plants have no difficulty growing in it though, and for veg I've found the no dig approach with a generous mulch of manure or compost really helps to protect the soil surface from weather and gives young plants a chance to get established. Luckily I have a never ending supply of horse manure from my own two horses, and I sometimes apply it twice a year. My challenge is carrots! I'm going to try growing them in pots this year. Your greenhouse looks fab Steve!
@janwilky I grow all of my early carrots in tubs, it works well. I especially find an October sowing under polythene works well for a spring harvest
@@SteveRichardsThanks Steve, I did overwinter some in the polytunnel last year and it worked well. Just need to get sowing some now!
Hi Steve, always enjoy your videos. Can I please ask what type of fan you use in your greenhouse/pollytunnel? I have a polycrub and the temperature is going to be too high in the summer months. I remember you speaking about a low cost to run fan? Thank you
Yes, see this chapter of my ebook for details. Heat is such a problem now it's warming up. Fortunately I have two double doors, 4 roof vents and 3 louvers, without all that I'd not be able to keep it cool enough for fruit set
@SteveRichards Hi, thanks I didn't think to look at the ebook. I have a Quail house/greenhouse in one set up that I'm trying to tweak to get perfect both for the birds and the veg/fruit. Cheers
Welcome reminders as ever Steve! Fell a little behind due to holidays and commitments, but we’re about there now. In a wonderful way, you’re my barometer as when you sow and plant it seems to work perfectly here😅
Never seen such a tidy greenhouse... Where you once a project manager by any chance... ? ☺
ha .. no, I've done hundreds of projects, but never as the project manager, sometimes as the solution manager, sometimes the architect, sometimes the programme manager. I'm nowhere near detail oriented or organised enough to be a project manager : All the best - Steve
@@SteveRichards I can tell you've worked in IT.... All the best.
For some of the time, spent a lot of time in engineering design, manufacturing, business process re-engineering, product development, business development, technical management and organisational design with a fair bit of IT in there too : All the best - Steve
Good show, cheers Steve. When you buy wholesale seeds from Moles, what size pack do you get for carrots? I've never bought seeds by weight, regular seed packs seem to be random numbers, gone thru 4 packs already! I made the mistake of putting my early carrots in tubs under my GH bench, or the mistake of not using trays under my mod trays, not accounting for drippage which took out a lot of seedlings.
These are the last two packets of carrots that I purchased from Moles
Carrot F1 Eskimo (pelleted) (VCA403)
1x1,000 seeds Untreated Only £2.20
Carrot Early Nantes 2 (pelleted) (VCA412)
1x2,500 Untreated Only £3.40
I give a lot away to my plot neighbours
@@SteveRichards Thanks Steve, I was looking at their Organic range, which for some strange reason are listed by pack weight. As an aside I read James Whites research (Rutgers) showing beneficial symbiotic organisms are actually carried in the seed germ, knowing conventional Ag can limit soil biodiversity, tilts me towards a preference for organic seeds.
@glassbackdiy3949 is be surprised if it made a difference when growing in soil already very rich in microbes.
@@SteveRichards I have newly imported topsoil with
@glassbackdiy3949 yes, I’d not thought about that, microbes at germination. But the don’t think I have an issue with seedling health
Never grown sweetcorn, how many plants would i need? And what the spacing?. I need to get my butt moving, struggling at the moment after a bad fall
We only eat it fresh and we grow it in succession, so we harvest for about 4 weeks. Each plant produces 2 cobs, so we work out how many we eat each week, multiply by 4 and divide by 2 and that's the number of plants. I feed about 10 people in late summer, each person eats 2 a week, so that's 10*2*4/2 = 40 plants. That's how many I sow, I often plant less, because I run out of space, see my growing guide for spacing etc : All the best - Steve
@@SteveRichards cool thanks for the information, I've never grown sweetcorn before thought if try some think new