Medwyn Williams is preparing his beds for planting
There’s a lot of prep to do, getting beds ready for planting out and sowing seed
There are a number of things to do this week, both inside and out, if the weather’s kind. One thing I need to do outdoors is prepare the raised steel containers that I grow my shallots in. I had a disaster with them last year through my own fault, by not creating enough drainage holes in the bottom of the containers. The result was that the whole growing medium just below the surface turned into a mud bath and the shallots died back.
That certainly won’t happen this year as I’ve increased the drainage slots with a grinder disc as well as drilling out larger holes. I’ll cover the holes with a layer of broken roof tiles before filling the container with the growing medium. I use top soil from the field mixed with some well-rotted horse manure. Prior to planting them out, hopefully during early to mid-March, I’ll give the bed 120g (4oz) of Medwyns Complete Base Fertiliser, as well as 120g (4oz) of Powdered Gold (Nutrimate) per yard/metre run of bed.
Inside the glasshouse I need to sow a few vegetables such as early celery, chillis and peppers. I’ll leave my hybrid celery ‘Evening Star’ to later as there’s always a risk of heart rot if it reaches maturity too early. However, if you do have a show during early August and you want to try the old favourite ‘Ideal’, now would be an ideal time to sow it!
We grow quite a large range of chillis and these plants do need a long growing season to achieve their potential. I space the seed out on top of some F1S compost, cover over with superfine Vermiculite and leave to soak up the water from below in a tray. More importantly, they’ll need warmth to germinate so they’ll sit on a heating blanket and they’ll need some warmth around them to grow on.