THIS month is the start of the sowing season. Clean off that heated propagator and sow seed.
There are a few seeds you can grow in a heated propagator or on a warm windowsill near a radiator now.
There are those who start their tomatoes now but I always advise against it unless you have the room and lights. Tomatoes grow fast and those sweet little plants you have by the end of the month will be gangly triffids by the end of March.
It’s not light enough or warm enough to get them going, so hold off and don’t be swayed by those rushing to grow them. Inevitably, they end up sowing again and wasting seed!
I suggest chillies and dahlias because they have a long growing season. If, like me, you can’t get your dahlias through the winter then growing them from seed can mean you get a real floral show treating them as annuals. I recommend the variety is Bishop’s Children.
Dahlias are easy to sow. Sow them in a seed tray, an inch apart in peat free compost. Cover with a sprinkling of compost. Pop somewhere warm and within a week you will have seedlings, and within a month small plants. By spring strong plants that will start to flower until the first frosts.
Do the same with chillies but unlike dahlias don’t pop one behind your ear to romance someone unless you want to be dunking your head in a cold bucket of water. They burn!
The Back Lane Veg Patch is a new garden under construction on the Saddleworth hills. This column focuses on growing food and flowers for use in the kitchen and home.
If you have any questions on growing you can contact Andrew on twitter
@Backlanevegpat1
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