It may be cold, but there is loads you can start sowing already! So dig out your seed box, get your boots on and let’s sowwww!
There’s something for everyone in this week’s episode, whether you’re a leaf-muncher, a herb lover or a comforting carb craver, including a delicious mystery vegetable that you can plant once and harvest forever!
Links mentioned in video:
Seed Starting Masterclass
These Magic Flowers Will Repel Pests and Feed Your Plants
5 Must-Grow Perennial Vegetables
Ginger Masterclass
You Must Sow These Seeds in January
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www.GrowVeg.com/planner
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Can’t wait for winter to be over and spring to arrive? Well neither can I. Well now’s the perfect time to make early sowings to get a head start for when the weather finally does warm up. And in this video I’m going to be revealing a really rather tasty
Staple vegetable that you can plant and then harvest year after year after year. Let’s get started. Come on Rosie. It’s time to wake up the first salads of the season. Now many salads are very cold tolerant so it’s worth sowing them this month so that
You’ll have young plants ready to go outside once the weather has finally warmed up. The first salad I am going to sow is lettuce. It’s a loose leaf type of lettuce and the seeds here are really really tiny, so I’m going to just pinch them across like this
And then lightly cover them over. Now there are two things that will dramatically improve your success with sowing lettuces. The first is to use really fresh seed. The seed doesn’t last that long so it’s important to make sure it’s viable.
If you have old seed do a little germination test to make sure it’s still good. I’ll link a video below on how to do that, or buy yourself some fresh seed. Now I’ve sown it here and then it’s very lightly covering it over
Just a little bit like that and gently firming it in. Then the second thing we can do once we’ve watered them is just to cover them to raise the humidity. So let’s give them a bit of a a water first. Now a lot of you have been asking about this.
This is what’s called a pump action sprayer. Just pump it up and it pressurizes it and then it gives a lovely fine mist of water which is really useful because it doesn’t disturb the seeds you’ve just sown. Right that should do it.
And then just secure it over with a bit of clear film like that. Where’s the rubber band? There it is. Or you could put it in just a bag and then put it on the window sill. So this is is going indoors to germinate in the warm on
A window sill where the light will also help those seeds to come along. Now once they’re up they can come back out here into the greenhouse or into a cold frame and then grown on a bit. They will go into their own little plug trays and then they’ll be planted out in
Early spring about 10 to 12 inches, which is 25 to 30 cm apart in both directions. These leafy lovlies will form the bulk of my salad bed and I will include some radish and salad onions in there too. Now if you’re looking for inspiration for your own
Salad bed then why not check out the free trial to our Garden Planner linked below, where you will find a beautiful ready to use salad garden in the sample plans collection. And what better way to trumpet in the growing season than with a sensationally smooth, almost seductive crop of spinach leaves?
These sorts of greens are impossibly good for you. They make you smile, they make you glow from the inside out. I would say it’s worth making an early sowing of spinach so you get an earlier harvest because what happens by about early summer is that
The plants invariably stretch out to flower called ‘bolting’ and then your production of leaves really really slows down. So this time I’m going to sow them into these plug trays here and I’m going to sow about three seeds, two to three seeds per plug.
And they won’t need separating or anything like that, they’ll just go out as they are. So let’s get these beauties sown. They’re nice light seeds actually so you can see them against the darker potting mix. And I’m just using like for most of the things sown today, an all-purpose peat-free potting mix.
And then just of course cover them over again with a little bit of our sieved through mix. Now these are going to get a nice drink and then they’re going to go inside to start off as well. They’ll come back out here the moment they have germinated to grow on
And then they will be planted into the salad bed out there maybe a month on from that. Now to harvest them it’s a real joy. You just take one or two leaves from each plant at a time and then leave the other ones to grow on.
And let me tell you, those first leaves of the season are absolutely sublime. Marvelous marigolds, awesome alyssum, I love my alliterations. Now there’s a reason I go on about these beautiful veggie garden flowers time and again and that’s because they’re so useful in the garden.
These guys really help to attract pollinators that you’ll need to pollinate your vegetables and they will attract pest predators. Basically, grow these guys and watch your gardening worries melt away. As you can see from the table here alyssum alone is incredibly powerful. Get them started now so you’ll have plants in
Flower to attract predators before those pests arrive. I have to say it’s barely above freezing out there but when it’s sunny like this, this is what really fires me up. You can just feel the sap rising and the joy and ah! Now we’re going to start with our alyssum.
This is a real real trooper because it flowers all summer kind of on and off and actually here it flowers into kind of early winter as well, so this is a really good sort of value for money kind of flower. Now the seeds are probably the smallest seeds you can get,
They’re really really tiny like little specks of dust, so I’m just going to very carefully scatter them thinly over the surface like that. Probably all I need there actually. And then I’m going to very very lightly cover them over, just the tiniest amount like that.
You can actually sow these direct into sort of the of the cracks of walls and things like that later in spring, but I just want to get myself a bit of a head start. Next up, marigolds. Now marigolds, these do need a little bit more warmth to germinate
So these are going to go onto a warm window sill just in the light to germinate just to hurry them along basically, but these guys will go onto a heat mat to get a bit of bottom warmth to get them going. Now let’s get the seeds out here.
They look a little bit I reckon like kind of tassled wands. If I pick one up you can see what I mean. So these guys get just sown flat across the surface like this and then just cover them over as before. Now last year’s marigolds really sung their heart out
And they added a lot of color to the garden as well which I really really love. So as I said, I’ll give these both a good water and then they’ll go indoors to germinate. Once they’re up they’ll come outside here.
The marigolds will come out a bit later cause these do need to be kept completely frost-free. Then I’ll transfer the seedlings into their own plugs or pots when they’re really quite young still because the roots won’t be too developed at that stage
And I find it a lot easier to gently get them planted that way, rather than having a big root system that’s quite tricky. And then they’ll go outside as soon as there’s no frost out there to liven up our summer veg beds. I love how easy these are to grow.
And the other great thing is they will readily produce their own seeds. Here are some of those marigold seeds here for example. These ones were produced last summer and they’ve been sat about outside all winter long, so I haven’t sown them, but next year, or this summer,
I’m going to collect my own seed and keep the cycle going like that. Now if you’d like to know more about these vegetable garden flowers or my other favorites, do check out our video on that which I will link to down below.
A few weeks ago I was extolling the virtues of Jerusalem artichokes or sunchokes and I’ll link to that video below. Well guess what? Now is the time to plant them and I can’t tell you how excited I am about that. And here are the tubers now.
These guys are super super productive they yield up to 2 pounds or a kilogram of tubers per plant. And they’re available just when you really crave them, in the winter and they’ll be yielding their creamy, smooth, earthy tubers throughout the winter. They’re really magical.
Now if your ground is really frozen solid right down then obviously wait till it is workable. There’s been a bit of a frost here but I can still get into the soil so I’m going to crack on with them. And the first job is just to space them out and
I’m going to space them about a foot or 30 cm apart in both directions. You could get away with spacing them more like 1 and 1/2 foot or 45 cm apart if you have a bigger area to cover. I have to say it looks a bit like Rosie’s been busy in here…
To plant them I’m just going to dig a hole about 8 inches or as close to that as possible and that’s 20 centimetres deep and pop it in. Now this has got quite a lot of garden compost added already, but if your soil’s less rich you could go in with a handful of
Your own compost into the bottom of the hole just to help things along. Now Jerusalem artichokes, these are really really hardy hardy plants. They’re hardy down to about zone three which is something like lows of minus 40, so you’re not going to get any problems from them being in the cold soil.
They’re also remarkably pest free as well and of course they yield their tubers when they’re needed most. What else can I say about them? Well they’ve got really attractive flowers later on in the summer and of course they grow nice and tall which makes
Them a great choice for a kind of natural shelter or wind break. And they can cope with a little bit of shade as well so this is such a hardworking vegetable for your garden. They’re also perennials so some of the tubers that I harvest in the winter will be held back to replant
And they’ll go straight back in here to then give another crop and I can do that again year after year, after year… So with this all planted I’ll just give it a good water when it’s really dry just to help it along and other than that it’ll be left to its own
Devices till it’s time to harvest from early winter. Come on, hurry up, get snap pea! Sorry, oh dear… uh anyway… Snap peas also known as sugar snaps are a real joy because there’s no fiddly shelling involved and boy oh boy do they taste amazing.
Now I’m on a bit of a general health drive at the moment. I’m trying to eat more salads for lunch and adding some of these guys into your salad, well it just brings a bit of a smile to your face. Snap peas and snow peas are also known as mangetout,
Which is the French for ‘eat all’ because you eat the whole thing, peas and pods and all. And they pack down really well into containers for freezing and there’s no sort of blanching needed, just freeze them as they are,
So this is a really good one to grow and you don’t need to worry about gluts for that purpose. Now I’m going to start these off in exactly the same way as I did for my regular peas back in the autumn and they’re going to be sown into these toilet roll tubes.
You can see them growing behind me, my autumn planted ones, but I’ve eased one out here because I wanted to show you the advantage of these nice long toilet roll tubes. It encourages the roots to grow down
And if I flip it over you can see the roots are really kind of raring to go, so these will really take off when they’re planted out. Now you can sow them directly outside but starting them off like this means you can get an earlier start
And they’re also protected from things like slugs and pesky persistent pigeons too. Let’s get on and sow our snap peas anyhow. So I am just going to pop in two seeds per roll and then cover them over
And ideally we want them about an inch or 2 cm deep once they’re covered over . Now these will grow on in here until they’re maybe sort of 6 in or 15 cm tall, by which time it’ll will be nice and warm outside and they can be planted out. Right, good girl.
Here is some lemongrass that I started from a piece of stalk earlier last spring, last year and it’s really grown on and it’s hiding indoors at the moment to keep it out from the chill, but I have to say it’s making a really rather handsome house plant.
This will come out back here once it’s warmed up later on in the spring, but I’d like to start some more of it because I’m really getting into my Southeast Asian cuisine right now and lemongrass is a real star in that department, as well as ginger of course
And we’ve done a video on that too which I’ll link to below. Now this time I’m going to start it off from seed so I’m just using the usual all-purpose potting mix and I’m going to sow over the top. Now sowing early like this is really advantageous.
This will be grown on in the warm indoors and then we’ll get a longer growing season so I’ll have more chance of getting some stalks to harvest this year before overwintering the plants to grow on again for the following year. And then just cover them over very lightly.
Now lemongrass does need light to germinate so you really don’t want to cover them much, just the very slightest amount. Oh hello Rosie. And then give them a light water to get them started. I know darling, I’ll be with you in a minute. There we go.
Now like our lettuce seeds we’re going to get some good results if we just cover it over with a bit of clear plastic like that. I need to find another band to secure it. But then this is going to go indoors
And I’ll probably put it on my heat mats, but if you don’t have one of those don’t worry, just a sunny warm window sill will do the trick. Once the seedlings are up I’m going to carefully transfer them into their own pots in clusters of about three to six seedlings per pot.
And then once they fill those smaller pots I can pot them on into larger pots and they will be grown on in a sunny, warm position. Now it’s important to keep them comfortably above freezing point, so I would say at least 43 Farenheit or 6 Celsius thereabouts.
And once plants have nicely bulked out I can just break off bits of grass to use in my cooking and then leave the rest to grow on. I’m especially looking forward to trying lemongrass tofu and perhaps a deliciously aromatic Thai tom yum soup. Mmmm, delicious.
Now if you’ve got ideas for using lemongrass I’d love to know more so drop me a comment below. There’s lots more that can be sown now, including all of the veggies featured in last month’s sowing video. That includes sweet and chili peppers, eggplant or aubergine and carrots
So if you missed that one I invite you to head on over there next. Happy gardening and I will catch you next time.
38 Comments
Thanks for the tips in this video 👍 (is it you in the kitchen garden magazine too?)
I grew a few bits last year for the first time ever and I’m excited to try more this year 💚
So with the mangetout, you sowed two per tube, do you think them to just one at some point? And would a mini PVC Greenhouse be good enough for them? (I have no windowsill space left!!) 😆
Nb These artichokes are invasive, my father planted a few 50years ago, they are still growing. They also have a similar effect as sprouts! So maybe better to swap some produce with a neighbour, rather than let them loose in your garden. Once established, like borage, you will really struggle to manage/ kill them.
I just started prepping my beds to move my plants outside! I am so ready for spring!
Chicken tinola added with sayote and lemon grass is 👌🏼👌🏼👌🏼👌🏼
Your soil looks soooo yummy!
Maybe a good idea to mention season as well as month so we in the southern hemisphere can work it out. Our summer is December- February.
These days youtube never recommends your videos 😞lucky I've seen some posts on Instagram and they made me come back
Only now I'm harvesting my sunchokes and it was such a treat 🌱🌝
Love to see your garden. Regard from Indonesia. We use lemongrass for cooking vegetables, making sambal, boil it with tea, or cook it with rice.
What's your lovely dog's name? 😊
Hey Ben, it seems like a given, what with your heavy coat on while in the greenhouse, but I’m gonna ask anyway: is your greenhouse heated? I have a small greenhouse for the first time, but it is not heated . So I’m wondering if it’s still good to get things started out there? Plans include a small solar cell to run things like heating pads 👍🏻
I love spinach as well but I haven't had much success with them. I tried both directly into my own soil, in pots as well as in a raised bed filled with potting mix. And they rarely grow beyond the size of my thumb for several months until summer arrives and they instantly bolt…
Maybe I should just try different seeds?
I live the Netherlands btw.
Thanks for the video! What is that soil shaker you are using?
Your videos really make me smile. I’ve also watched this about 6 times to get all the gold nuggets. I’m so excited to get started. I can really feel spring coming!
Nice video! I want to get started in my garden🌼
I believe you can dry lemongrass to use for tea, it is so delicious!
For along time everyone was pushing peetmoss potting mix, now all of a sudden I’m noticing people saying peet free. Why is this?
Enthusiasm is wonderful 😊
👍
Ben, two word alliterations don’t really count – it’s three worders that we all want!
Thank you very much for your tips very helpful, I have a question about blueberries, I tried many ways to start from seeds but nothing succeeded even nothing sprout.
Marigolds??? Or targetees?
Thanks for this helpful video 😊
What zones are good for feb starting? Im a Nova scotian planter
Hi Ben, I have been looking for video's that teach what to look for when deciding which seedling is the strongest and which is the weakest. I've been watching your videos for a few years now and also other garden teachers saying to pot on the strongest out of the newly germinated seedlings, but no one has defined how they make that decision, Strong verses Weak. I find myself apprehensive when trying to choose on my own. New to gardening 3 Yr. would love to see you do a lesson on that.
My favorite youtube channel for gardening by far. Always a delight to see the monthly picks, cant wait for march.
I'm gonna try and find as much of these seeds as possible, to sow this year! Looking forward to a beautiful garden.
Oh and yes Lemongrass, try boiling some in a black tea! Its super tasty!!
Could you please do a video on weeds? When I plant some fruits, vegies or flowers, weeds pop up and sometimes its hard to tell them apart!!
Thank you! God Bless 🙂
Thank you! I’ll get them growing asap!
Rumor has it that lemon grass is a better misquote repellent than citronella
Yes, lemongrass does make a great houseplant. I keep 1 in the kitchen by a large window for ease in making curries, and another in the living room just cos l really like it as an ornamental plant!
Lemongrass tea is lovely 🥰. I never seem to get peas of any variety to grow, or carrots! D love to grow lots sugar snaps wah
I wish you would explain what to do with the potted Alyssum seeds, Ben. Do they need warmth, light, inside, outside in an unhzeated glass house???
Always happy to see your videos Ben..your enthusiasm is infectious. Up to the 10th is a barren phase so not ideal for seed planting. Indeed on the 10th there is also a lunar Perigee cycle which I would also avoid 12 hours either side of as moisture levels peak and fungal risk is higher. Better to start planting above ground crops from the 11th and watch the lunar cycles to help stress free growth 😊
I really can’t thank you enough for making these videos. I live in Florida and started gardening during Covid lockdown. I can grow year around here so I took advantage of that. After stumbling across your channel I realized I could create life out back instead of seeing so much of the opposite on the news. I built 7 4×8 raised beds and just went to town, practicing what you taught me. Now I’m fairly addicted to gardening and feed my family and neighbors. So thank you for teaching me how to grow life, and sustain existing life, feeding family and friends.
Hi, I thought you have to wait for carrots and plant them outside. Thank you for your lovely videos. Too much to learn
I am learning so much from you! I am ready to start my seeds indoors now. Even though I am a seasoned gardener, there is still so much more to learn about gardening. This year, I am paying more attention to what you do to plant your seeds. I planted way to many Roma tomato plants last year and had to find people to give them to. This year, I have realized, less is more. I am being more selective with what I plant and I am gleaning all the knowledge I can from your videos. I love the way you are simple and basic. That's what a lot of people need! just simple basic advice like you teach in your videos. Thank you and God bless you real good (as my Gramma used to say).
you got me into gardening and my first year was hit and miss, but great fun! The recent storms decimated everything I have, my greenhouse was destroyed completely, so this year, completely fresh start 🙁 But I'm eager to get going with these tips
Hi there.
I am sure if you have your Lemon Grass in Pots around your Summery Garden. . . You will 'Lure' in a Swarm of Bees ! Lemon Grass Essential Oil (Scent) replicates the 'Smell' of Her Majesty the "Queen Bee".
Many Beekeepers add a drop or two of LGO to a Cotton Swab and add this inside a Tall & Big Wooden Box (Capacity = 41 Litres minimum.) When a Hive Swarms "1/2 the Colony of Honey Bees leave with their Old Queen" to new Pastures ! Free Bees. . . Whats not to like. Or Call in your Local Beekeeper to take unwanted Bees away.
He or She will be delight to have a New Hive to call their own.
While the remaining Bees, say in the Apiary of a Beekeeper, will make themselves 'a New Queen' and thus the Colony will thrive and survive the next Winter. 🤞
I too love Lemon Grass in Thai Cooking.
Also went a few days ago : to one of those German owned, UK 'Supermarkets' where they had some freshly picked 'Italian Lemons : with some Stalks and Leaves on ! . . . I bagged a couple of Lemons, and gathered up as many lying Stalk debris as I could.
These are now growing 'new' Shoots, Roots and Leaves.
Soon I will have Lemon Trees all about the Home. Hopefully they can be in the Greenhouse, and maybe in the Garden in 'Pots' during June to end of August. But as I am in cooler Scotland 🏴 they will spend most their time near a Window or in the Glass Front Porch, before any Frosts return once more. 🤭
Loving your Channel : Just bought a x50 Seed Veg, Fruit and Flower Selection off the UK Amazon Site. . . So will be planting lots of Pollinator friendly Plants. And hoping to up my Salad/Veg/Herb/Fruit intake.
One thing I do have in bucket loads is lots of yummy Honey ! 🍯
Ps.
Ben . . . Where can I find your Helpful "Garden Bed" How to Planner ?
Looked in the Description. . . Didnt see a "Link" nothing in the Transcript either. Am I missing something here.
Must be because I couldn't locate any such 'Info'. . . 🙄
Have lots of Pallet Wood the plain (untreated) Heated ones.
Would they be OK re Bed 'Edging' if say painted with a Waterbased "Eco-Wood" anti Rot Preparation. Or similar ?
Want to make some Raised mini Beds to Grow Flowers and Herbs in, near by Hives.
Try and make them before
the Bees get 'to busy' Buzzying about in this Area, I have in mind.
Hope you can advise to where I need to look. . . Cheers. 😎
I love lemongrass! The leaves make a wonderful, soothing tea, especially at bedtime. Puts me right to sleep!