What I'm Sowing and Growing in March | year-round self-sufficiency

[@escapetoanenglishcottagega3633]

Just sowed my dill and coriander after watching this ... we will see New to blogging with my channel but loving the binge fest I have every Friday on other vegetable growers blogs and you tubes so much better than TV

[@myrustygarden]

Wow the garden looks like it is the middle of summer and the poly tunnel is amazing. Thank you for sharing your videos and knowledge with us all. 🐝 safe and stay gardening 🇨🇦✌️💐🥕🌶🥬🧑‍🌾

[@SteveRichards]

Hi Ali, it's late March and April for me when everything really starts to shine, all the seedlings from winter are in harvest and the conservatory is bursting with summer delights eager to be planted. I'm just back from my weekly planting day, which I did with my daughter, so much promise : All the best - Steve

[@ewellacres]

one of the great things about gardening is making plans and being able to utilize the space most efficiently as possible.

[@SteveRichards]

I'm doing a lot more of that right now as we have less space this year : All the best - Steve

[@bernadette6211]

Thanks Steve, I'm following along, I find your videos very helpful. Outside of my own garden I also teach in a special needs school. We are blessed to have a lovely organic garden there. Today we picked nine boxes of salad leaves to send home with students and staff. This little production line was totally inspired by your videos. 😊🙏

[@SteveRichards]

Oh that’s lovely Bernadette, Debbie was a special needs teacher and the kids had an allotment too : all the best - Steve

[@ronaldandsusanshaws-growing]

Hi Steve, Thank you for another great video, Take care and I'll catch you on the next one.

[@kimwilliams7051]

Good video Steve 👍

[@swimsinocean]

Wishing you an abundant growing season...

[@SteveRichards]

Thanks Melody, these last two weeks have certainly been a brilliant start to spring, we don't really have a growing 'season' though, every season is a growing season. Spring is the most fun though, summer the most relaxing, autumn the most work and winter the most creative : All the best - Steve

[@christinefarrow5188]

It was useful hearing about the sowings that didn't work out, we all have them.

[@SteveRichards]

We sure do Christine and it's key to cut your losses and sow again asap, or at least it is if you only eat the food you grow : All the best - Steve

[@tinamagdaleena]

We are putting up a polytunnel here in Delaware, USA zone 7. Your videos are totally awesome! I am learning so much. Your seedlings look amazing! Thank you for sharing!

[@SteveRichards]

Thanks for the feedback Tina, a polytunnel makes gardening so much fun, I just spent an hour in mine this morning chatting to my daughter in the sunshine! : All the best - Steve

[@markwiltshire1852]

Winter has arrived in the south west today😡. A complete contrast to the weekend. Take care.

[@SteveRichards]

That's the beauty of my setup Mark, I don't really care about the weather, sunshine is nice, but if it's blowing a gale or frozen, I just close up the covers a bit : All the best - Steve

[@markshaw5835]

Great video, with lots of information. I can't wait to start growing and sowing more and more

[@SteveRichards]

I know how you feel Mark, I've just spent the day planting and filling in labels for tomorrows sowing! : All the best - Steve

[@markshaw5835]

@@SteveRichards I'm waiting to see if my seeds come up. But I need to sow more which I'll do Wednesday properly

[@jacquieexpat]

Thanks for the great video Steve. I wonder if anyone else thought their cat was stuck in a room when you were talking about your tomatoes! We did haha!

[@SteveRichards]

Lol, we have two cats and Sid is the video makers nightmare at this time of year. When he's in he wants to be out, when he's out he wants to be in! : All the best - Steve

[@angelinegrows7765]

I’m planning winter polytunnel crops this year 😁 thanks for all the fab information

[@SteveRichards]

That's exciting, a well stocked polytunnel in winter is such a joy! : All the best - Steve

[@jacquieexpat]

Will you be doing a video on grafting your tomatoes? I’d be really interested to watch you doing it.

[@SteveRichards]

I might Jacquie, but this is the video that I will be watching to teach me kzbin.info/www/bejne/a3i9moeQZ6uLatU

[@jacquieexpat]

@@SteveRichards thanks very much, I might give it a go! 👍

[@Julian-ck6lf]

Great video Steve, good tips timings are similar for me in Cheshire , will look at the links cheers!

[@SteveRichards]

Thanks Julian : All the best - Steve

[@robwalker651]

As an "answer" to the failed sowings part.Have you ever thought about the quality of the seed and how it is saved/selected from the suppliers?I have had a mixed response to my Bolardy,sowed in a propagator at different times the latest 15 Feb.I sowed 3 per cell and what germinated did in 5 days, many only 1 germinated and about 25% of the cells never showed.I know Charles Dowding has his doubts about Boltardy,my sowings seem to back this up.Indeed in previous years i have sown them direct and had pooor germination.However until i sowed them in cells i could not say for sure but now i can.Regards Rob

[@SteveRichards]

Hi Rob, I've not really gone into the details, my issues are almost always with spinach and onions. Last year one pack of onions from Moles had zero germination, out of 2 sowings of 120 seeds. This year the spinach is really bad, but I have plenty of new seeds and I will soon have exhausted my old packets : All the best - Steve

[@SecrePeach]

Steve, what a wealth of information. My poly is empty but the beds are supercharged ready .... I hope 🤞🏼 for my main crops of tomatoes, cucumber, peppers, and hopefully a melon (ambitious I know). I have a tray of beets seedlings am I able to plant them in the poly?

[@SteveRichards]

Beets grow well in the polytunnel Karen, even in summer. In my experience they are ready 2-3 weeks earlier than beets grown in a low tunnel/cold-frame : All the best - Steve

[@SecrePeach]

Ooo you’ve made my day Steve! Finally I get something right🥳

[@Horus45]

Great, informative video as always Steve. Have the seeds you've sown to date all been under growlights? I've sown a batch of leeks and onions in February, and they're wispy strands compared to yours that you have shown in the clips in this video. They're now in a cold frame to benefit from the lights, but I think perhaps they didn't have enough light at the very early seedling stage.

[@SteveRichards]

Yes will, if you take a look at the January sowing guide for onions it says "days under lights = 30", January is too early really without lights in my opinion, although they will probably be ok, mid-February is best. Also bear in mind I don't pot my onions on, they stay in the modules from sowing to planting, so no transplant shock : All the best - Steve

[@lucynickless4242]

Great video update👍. I'm busy planning out my sowing timelines for the year using your ebook as reference. We want to grow more veg year round after a great growing year in 2020. Such a wealth of knowledge that you are so kindly sharing. Can I ask where you buy your seed modules from? I usually use reclaimed pots etc but can see the advantage of having some module trays. I've been looking for long lasting ones but so far haven't found any. Any recommendations thoroughly appreciated. Thanks. 🙂

[@SteveRichards]

That's lovely feedback Lucy, modules etc are all listed in the basics section of the ebook www.notion.so/Sowing-1da0d88186f945839ebf7bad97df1139

[@lucynickless4242]

@@SteveRichards many thanks Steve ☺️

[@AJWGBFX]

Ha ha! "I couldn't help myself". I think we all suffer from a rush of blood occasionally when it comes to early seed sowing!

[@dn744]

I have never tried Oca. What flavour is it similar to? 1st rate planning guide.

[@SteveRichards]

It's exceptionally crisp, fresh, crunch, a bit like a lemony radish : All the best - Steve

[@sabinewittenburg5789]

Steve, your seedling look amazing and very strong. My tomatoes look kind of pale with the veins showing. they grow in compost just like my peppers and aubergines, which look perfectly fine. Any Idea what they might miss? Thanks and best regards, Sabine

[@SteveRichards]

Tomatoes need a lot of sun Sabine, much more than peppers. It's very early for tomatoes in my opinion, earliest is 8 weeks before your last frost, I do mine even later : All the best - Steve

[@sabinewittenburg5789]

@@SteveRichards Oh, that might be why. Thanks Steve!🙋‍♀️

[@deborahlee1072]

Hi Steve. How do you achieve even light distribution on the lower shelves beneath the grow light. I find that the top trays block out the light below. Thank you

[@SteveRichards]

I have 4 shelves, the top and bottom shelves have grow lights above them, the middle two are for germination, one has the propagator on it right now. As the weather warms up I also put trays on the middle shelves (which get very little light) that I'm moving outside on sunny days : All the best - Steve

[@martynrsmith8475]

Steve Is there anything in your ebook etc that shows the approximate dates for sowing to pricking to planting out.

[@SteveRichards]

Not for pricking out, I'm gathering that data this year. For everything else though, I do. Each growing guide has that data for each succession: steverichards.notion.site/Individual-growing-guides-bc279089de074c0ab0bfedc4f41d54dd?pvs=4 but you can also look at every type of veg and succession here: airtable.com/appZUuG0p5vkxzPmp/shrxYsVK76nzMD7KG I'm working on, but not quite finished, guides for each type of veg for each type of growing environment (polytunnel, greenhouse etc) www.notion.so/steverichards/Outgrow-6f57489ae10a4721b48b421826203814?pvs=4#cfde22687e204a40bf8238e3f2da9f20 but this only has sowing dates, you need to go to the other sections for the details. Unfortunately I don't have reliable planting and harvesting dates for every type of environment, for every possible sowing date! : All the best - Steve

[@martynrsmith8475]

@@SteveRichards Am I right in saying Pablo beetroot is a mono variety and do you put 3-4 seeds in a module or singly.

[@SteveRichards]

Pablo is multi and yes, I generally aim for 3 seedlings per module

[@abubakar98k]

Great video. I'm planting too many things. I think I'm just too excited. Is there still time for sowing onions from seed? I'm a little east of you, near Preston.

[@SteveRichards]

I've never sown seeds this late Abubakar, but it's worth a try, they grow much faster in spring so they would catch up. You'd definitely get a crop, not sure about the yield. I like to have my onions out of the ground in early August, so I can plant my autumn spinach, but if you sow now you'd likely leave them until September : All the best - Steve

[@abubakar98k]

​@@SteveRichardsThanks, I've actually already sown some onion seed toward the start of February, then another set a week later. I just wanted to know If I can plant some more if needed.

[@SteveRichards]

now is also a great time for spring onions, pickling onions, leeks, green garlic etc

[@abubakar98k]

@@SteveRichards I actually started my main garlic last year in September and then another batch a few weeks ago.

[@cathy9900]

I'm growing Taunton Deane kale from a cutting for the first time, can I ask does it need netting in spring like cabbage to protect it from cabbage whites? Whenever I see it on your video it doesn't seem to be? Thanks for all the great videos 😃

[@SteveRichards]

Hi Cathy, it will get a few caterpillars, but we've always been ok with manual control initially and then a spray of Bacillus Thuringiensis every couple of weeks if it's really bad. Regardless the plants will almost certainly recover from anything, once they are well established. In the first year though keep a close eye on them : All the best - Steve

[@glassdaft]

Where do get the Bacillus Thuringiensis from please ?

[@Lifegrowsonandon]

@@glassdaft ebay

[@SteveRichards]

As @l4 says eBay, but it generally comes in a large tub, much more than you will need. I share mine out with my allotment neighbours : All the best - Steve

[@robwalker651]

How do i get your 2021 planner,i have your airtable as you kindly gave away but it has no updates on it after 2019,thanks Rob

[@SteveRichards]

Hi Rob, I've not updated it since then Rob because I've introduced a lot of new features that are specific to my needs, mainly automation for my diary and my eBook. I'd have to strip all of that out for a general audience and I don't have time right now. However all of the data is still freely available and here's the link to the whole database airtable.com/shr3a08O1Rz1193zp : All the best - Steve

[@robwalker651]

@@SteveRichards Thanks for the link,it made me laugh when i saw some of your sowing locations,especially the "top of wardrobe".Most houses they have cases or dust etc,you have plants lol.

[@SteveRichards]

It's a big wardrobe Rob and it's a brilliant sowing space, out of the way, invisible from the floor, steady temperature : All the best - Steve

[@SteveRichards]

Was that link what you were looking for?

[@robwalker651]

@@SteveRichards yes perfect cheers