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Fellow Northern Brits - what seeds are you sowing out already?
Saw a forecast for frosts/snow (!) later in April and now not sure what I'm doing... No greenhouse, v limited windowsill acreage... Still go ahead with broad beans/beetroot etc?
Thanks!
@clarebee
Broad beans?, why not
They get eaten by mice and occasionally really mashed up by hail - but they seem 100% frost proof at any stage of growth
Or have i been lucky?
@OliverNoble @clarebee You've been lucky if you haven't had them totally covered in blackfly, but my experience has also been that they are pretty bullet-proof in the face of frosts
@statsguy @clarebee
I forgot about the blackfly, they *really* like broad beans, but usually you can get a good crop before the blackfly go wild -- blackfly are pretty much guaranteed to get the plants in the end -they're ladybird larvae food so I just leave them
But.....for all that, broad beans are pretty easy and tough plants (and delicious)
Edit: and bees love them too
@OliverNoble Sounds like broad beans are go, thanks!
@clarebee I used to sow in a sunny shed then transplant under cover in a homemade cold frame plus fleece then plant out under fleece when we lived up in the Massif Central and usually followed what Beechgrove were doing as it was more in tune with our climate than Monty Dons mild Herefordshire climate!
@DavidTanner Cold frame is a great idea! Shed/greenhouse/polytunnel out of my budget at the mo, but DIY cold frame sounds doable - thanks!
@clarebee You could just cover them in a mulch like straw once they break cover where a frost is coming
@TheDonsieLass Ah yeah - nice! Got a sack of strulch I could use - thank you!
@clarebee broad beans should be fine, they’ll slow their growth when it gets cold and should be fine if it’s above -5C (I covered my overwintering ones when we got -8 to -10C temps). Things like beetroot and lettuce should be fine, can cover them with fleece or a blanket overnight to keep warmth in
I recently made myself a cold frame from scrap clear perspex and scavenged bits of wood. Even plastic from large drinks bottles or milk bottles could be cut and fashioned into panes
@clarebee I’ve also seen people cut the bottoms out of 2L bottles and leave the lids off to make cloches, if you are direct sowing you could try that
@clarebee broad beans, peppers, tomatoes , chillis, squashes all still in pots on windowsill/greenhouse. Leeks, beetroot, spring onions, spinach and chard seeds now in ground in raised bed. Potatos still chitting.
@ianhodgepig Awesome - thanks. Sunny today, but so windy! Will go sowing tomorrow :)