Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Sowing Times - The plants tell us...











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.

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