Chitting

A useful day spent in the garden on Sunday. I managed to put back up all of the bubble wrap which had fallen down from the previous week (note to self: masking tape doesn't work). Mr HM finished distributing soil around the garden from the turf pile.

Nights are getting slightly lighter and my fingers are itching to get sowing seeds, so I did. I sowed Tomato 'Gardener's Delight' and 'Tigerella' and Aubergine 'Calliope'. It's probably rather early and I would have been better off waiting until February, but never mind. Having checked them this afternoon, they have now germinated - I have started them off in a heated propagator in the conservatory, covered with a thin layer of vermiculite. From sowing to germination in less than a week! My problem now will be to stop them getting too leggy in the low light levels of Late Jan/early Feb. If the tomatoes get leggy, it is possible to plant them quite deeply, as they produce roots from the stem to help anchorage. I've started these off early as last year, my aubergines only got to flowering size by September, so I didn't get any fruits at all.

The next seeds to get started will be the peppers I have just bought, from 'Plants of Distinction'.

I've also started some potatoes chitting. I got 1kg of 'Bonnie' free from T&M. I also got the following from Kings Seeds: 'Pink Fir Apple' - salad/maincrop; 'Lady Christl '- first early; 'Catriona' - second early. 'Lady Christl' will be grown in containers to give nice early potatoes, but the other two will be going down the allotment. I've started the first and second earlies chitting, although the jury is out on its usefulness. I won't bother chitting the 'Pink Fir Apple' as chitting seems to have no benefit for maincrops.