(19-09-2020, 07:02 PM)Veggie Wrote: [ -> ]Would you add anything to these lists or do you think they're sufficient?
Both lists are pretty comprehensive, though I'm not familiar with all the varieties. They cover almost everything I grow in my little home plot, apart from garlic, spring onions and herbs, which are not really going to fill a plate!
Also, for productivity I prefer cherry tomatoes and cos lettuce - the former seem a bit more reliable in in our unreliable climate, and I've been picking leaves from the latter, Charles Dowding-style, all summer from a handful of plants, so they're very space-efficient. However I'd need a lot more space (and probably a polytunnel) to grow the amount of tomatoes we eat in a year!
I'm going to try Feeding the family & Survival by following both Franchi & Real Seeds recommended sowing dates for the seeds they've sent. Other varieties are available.
In case you're interested in October, sow:-
Spinach (America)
Broad beans (Aquadulce & Wizard Field Beans)
Peas- round seeded (Piccolo Provencale)
Any recommendations for sowing now?
Beans and peas the same as October.
I sowed lettuce, rocket, turnips, radish, coriander and beetroot in the mini tunnel in the last two weeks as much in hope as anything else!
Did you think I'd forgotten this
Yes and No!! There was nothing to sow in
December - so I did that!
January - Round Peas (also Oriental leaves, Winter lettuce, Land cress - but they weren't in the seed collections)
February - Lambs Lettuce, Spinach, Broad beans, Peas, Carrots, Tomatoes, Mangetout (also can sow Winter Salad leaves, Oriental leaves, Peppers, Aubergines).
Today, I've sown Spinach (and Chard) & Broad beans.
To sow in
March :-
Carrots
Lamb's lettuce
Spinach
Broad beans
Lettuce
Broccoletti
Kale
Borlotti Beans
Dwarf French beans
Climbing French beans
Runner beans
Pumpkin
Turnip
Swede
Courgette
Beetroot
Chard
Mangetout
A busy month to Feed the Family & Survive.
Very busy and interesting. Does it advise on how many of each plant to feed the family?
I’ve always sown peas, beans, pumpkins/squash in April. Is that just your unique gardening style or are you following their advice?
How much to grow might depend on the size of your family.
As for dates, I took them from the sowing advice that came from Franchi & Real Seeds. Most months, they agree.!
March seems a bit early to me to be sowing french beans, courgettes and pumpkin - I don't like to put my tender crops out until at least the second week of May, and they all grow very fast so there's no real advantage to sowing them this early IMHO. Maybe at the very end of the month, but certainly no earlier than the solstice.