I’ve started to see a lot of posts in my Facebook group
about seed sowing. Because the group is
global there are a lot of different temperatures and local weather factors to
take into consideration. Initially I thought the seed sowings were too early
but realise for peas and beans, they should be in the ground already.
I’ve had this
conversation with Leitrim based organic gardener Klaus Laitenberger before
about how we wait a few weeks longer than the seed packets tell us when it
comes to sowing as we are that bit cooler in the north West. Klaus realises
that this is quite a complicated issue and has given it some thought.
Klaus shares these
thoughts with us.
“In Ireland February is officially the beginning of spring”
Klaus begins. “I never fully believed it
as it is still is a very dark month, but in the last few years, February has
been one of the best months of the year so I’m finally convinced that February
is the beginning of spring.”
Sowing
recommendations:
Klaus continues “It is very difficult to give adequate
recommendations for sowing seeds. First
of all the climate within a country is quite different. I often hear about the sun in Dublin and
Wexford while we have our usual rain here in the north-west. It’s also a good bit colder up here. The inland counties tend to suffer more with
sharp frost.
Photo: The plants show us what the season is......
To make it even more complicated – in every year the weather
is different. There was one year when
the grass didn’t start to grow until May and Irish farmers had to import hay
and silage from France. In some years grass growth could start in February.”
So how do we know
when to sow or plant our vegetables?
“I regularly travel around the country and I am always
surprised about the different times when certain wild plants are in bloom. The blackthorn usually starts around 4 weeks
earlier in Dublin compared to Leitrim.
So this is where the phenological calendar fits in. Instead of sowing at a given time of the
year, you adjust your sowing to the occurrence of certain features in nature –
here the flowering or fruiting of well-known wild plants.
Seeds of some vegetables need a minimum soil temperature of
6-7°C so they will germinate. Others
need substantially higher temperatures.
I was told that in the olden days, German farmers would take their
trousers down and sit on the soil to check if the soil was ready for
sowing. Nowadays you could buy a soil
thermometer instead.
Alternatively we
could look at plants:
The first flowers that appear when the soil temperature has
reached 6°C are daisies, coltsfoot and hazel catkins. In early spring it’s
Forsythia and Primula flowers, Horse chestnut leaves and Gooseberry leaves. Mid
to late spring we can look for Apple flowers, Oak and ash leaves, Lilac
flowers, Cuckoo flower. Early summer we see Elder and Rosa rugosa flowers to
mention just a few”
Courses
If courses are of interest to you this year, Klaus has a few
set up to kick start the season at his home at Milkwood Farm in County Leitrim.
On the 11th of March there’s a “Complete Beginner’s Hands onGardening Course” and on the 12th of April it’s a day about “Growingin Polytunnels and Greenhouses”
The courses cost €65 per day which includes coffee and
scones on arrival and a home-cooked lunch. Sounds good to me.
