There are still a lot of jobs to do in the garden in November, particularly in this mild weather; there are seeds to sow, crops to harvest & there is the general tidying up of the vegetable garden.
Sow in November:
broad-bean-rows-seedlings
Plant in November:
November Harvest:
fresh-celery
big-sprouts-below
Other gardening jobs to be done in November:
dig
- digging, if it is not too wet, otherwise leave till the new year
- applying well rotted farm yard manure or compost to ground where next year’s crop will be peas, beans, onions, leeks, celery or spinach
- clear fallen leaves and put them on the compost heap
- collect, clean and store bean supports
- check stored crops & remove any which are starting to decay
- keep an eye out for pigeons & slugs which may be a problem in November
http://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=2283&awinaffid=86595&clickref=&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thompson-morgan.com%2Fseeds1%2Fproduct%2F138%2F2.html
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Seeds for leafy Brassicas are usually sown into a small patch known as a plant bed, and when the seedlings are strong enough, they are transplanted into their final position. So growing leafy brassicas is a two stage process:
- raising the young plants from seeds in a bed
- transplanting the young plants, from their bed, out into their final growing position
Sometimes gardeners miss out the first stage and buy the young plants in.
Leafy brassicas include brussel sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower & brocolli. Root brassicas, such as turnips and swedes, are not transplanted. The seeds of root brassicas are usually sown on the site they will grow for their lifetime.
preparing-to-plant-seeds
- It is most important to prepare a seed bed to give the best growing conditions for the seeds.
- Place markers in position at either end of the row, using a tape measure to give the correct row width.
- Gently firm the soil down.
- Use a walk-board, which is not resting on the soil, but supported at either end of the bed. Line the board up with the row markers.
- Draw a seeding groove with a spade. Use the walking board to produce a straight line, & work carefully to get the correct depth.
making-seed-row
creating-seed-row
Sowing Vegetable Seed
* *only place a few seeds in the hand
* *pinch a few seeds between finger and thumb and work them out
* *try to get them dropping singly, not in a bunch
* *take plenty of time, as it is worth the result
* *make a mark in the row, before taking another pinch of seeds from the hand, as you loose sight of the last seed
* *avoid sowing doubles
seed line
*Cover the seed with fine soil. Then put a few small cobbly bits on top & gently firm in. These lumps help to keep the soil open and prevent capping
*Water the vegetable seeds in.
Planting brassica seeds carefully will allow them to develop into good, strong plants.
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Carrots---Nairobi
Carrots are hardy enough to start sowing the seed right now.
- the soil must be dry
- if it is wet, cover the soil for a week or two to keep the rain off
- carrot seed can be sown directly into the ground outside & does not need any protection
Click this link to buy carrot seed to sow now.
SweetheartCarrots
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Below is a list of vegetables that can be sown now for results in the coming months, and they are half price for the next week!
- Beetroot
- Peas
- Calabrese
- Carrots
nandor-carrot
- Lettuce
- Salad Leaves
- Spring Onions
- Radish
- Sprouting Seeds
- Sweetcorn
sweetcorn-cob
- Dwarf Beans
- Runner Beans
runner-bean-branch
- Soya Beans
- Turnip
- Swede
These half price seeds, can be sown now to produce a great supply of vegetables through the summer.
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One way to speed up the germination of parsnip & parsley seed is to allow the seeds to soak up moisture before they are planted. Both parsnip and parsley seed are notoriously slow to germinate, but this speeds the process up.
To aid germination:
- wet a towel & wring out the surplus water
- cover half the wet towel with a single layer of seed
seed-on-wet-towel
- wrap the other half of the towel over the seed, so that it is covered
- keep the towel moist & at room temperature
- sow the seed 24 hours after wrapping in the towel
- once soaked, the seeds must be sown, as the process of germination will have started
- do not allow the seeds to dry out, as the germination will be upset
- do not keep any seed that is left over, for sowing later, as it will probably not germinate once it has dried out
Gardeners are always wondering why their parsley & parsnip seed is not germinating, so try this way to speed up germination.
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This collection of equipment shows the tools we use for sowing seeds:
seed-sowing-tools
- a wide toothed rake for raking soil before sowing – which will allow some lumps to be left on the surface. This helps to reduce soil capping.
- rake for tamping down (firming ) the surface
- tape measure
- walking board – to spread weight over the soil & avoid compaction
- trowel
- marker pole – with seed spacing marked on the pole
- marking sticks – for marking row ends
Collecting the equipment needed for sowing seeds before starting saves time.
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Beetroot, also known as Red Beet (latin name – Beta vulgaris) was planted today:
* variety – Boltardy
* rows 30cm apart (wide enough to get the hoe down)
* depth 2cm
* seeds 2cm apart in the row
The seedbed was dry because it had been covered to keep the rain off.
- beetroot-seedbed
The corky beetroot ’seed’ in the packet is really a fruit containing several seeds. So they will need thinning, even though the ’seeds’ have been carefully spaced.
beetroot seeds 2cm apart
- beetroot-seeds-2cm-apart
seed 2cm deep
- beetroot-seed-2cm-deep
- beetroot-row
The beetroot seeds were then gently watered in to tighten the soil in the row.
- how_to_grow_beetroot_sheet
Contact us if you are planting beetroot seeds and would like a pdf of the How to Grow Beetroot sheet.
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purple-sprouting-broccoli
Today we are still harvesting purple sprouting broccoli, and at the same time planting seeds for next year’s crop. In fact we are planting lots of brassica seeds including brussel sprouts and cabbage.
preparing-to-plant-seeds
- It is most important to prepare a seed bed to give the best growing conditions for the seeds.
- Place markers in position at either end of the row, using a tape measure to give the correct row width.
- Gently firm the soil down.
- Use a walk-board, which is not resting on the soil, but supported at either end of the bed. Line the board up with the row markers.
- Draw a seeding groove with a spade. Use the walking board to produce a straight line, & work carefully to get the correct depth.
making-seed-row
creating-seed-row
Sowing Vegetable Seed
* *only place a few seeds in the hand
* *pinch a few seeds between finger and thumb and work them out
* *try to get them dropping singly, not in a bunch
* *take plenty of time, as it is worth the result
* *make a mark in the row, before taking another pinch of seeds from the hand, as you loose sight of the last seed
* *avoid sowing doubles
seed line
*Cover the seed with fine soil. Then put a few small cobbly bits on top & gently firm in. These lumps help to keep the soil open and prevent capping
*Water the vegetable seeds in.
*The right time to sow vegetable seeds varies according to the
weather experienced in the spring. A cold spring will mean the ideal
time is later than if it was a warm spring.
*The soil takes time to warm up, to reach the right temperature for
seeds to germinate.
*Weeds are a good indicator. If it is warm enough for weed seeds to
grow, it will be warm enough for some vegetable seeds to be planted.
*Look out for the first seed leaves of weeds (they are called cotyledons).
cotyledon-of-weed
weed-cotyledon
*As soon as the weeds appear, hoe them out.
*Read the back of the seed packet to see the recommended time period
for planting.
*Listen to the weather forecast & cover the seeds & seedlings when frost
is expected.
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