The problem with seeds is that they don't last forever. Actually, some types pretty much do, but a lot of them need planting soon after being created, so a kind Christmas gift means I've ended up with more seeds than I have garden for. The 20 packets of seeds that came free with the
Kitchen Garden subscription my other half got me arrived in the post today and I now have well over 30 types of seeds, but unfortunately not all of different types, for instance I now have four packets of kale. I'm clearly going to have to start swapping my seeds or giving them away. But before I do that, I'm going to have to work out which ones I'm going to keep and where to plant them and when.
I've taken the first step and divided them into plant families (so I can plant the same type together and start my first year of crop rotation). Here's what I've ended up with:
 |
| The Potato Family |
Potato family:
| Plant |
Sow outdoors |
Sow by |
| Pepper (sweet) - California Wonder |
March/April for outdoor crops |
2017 |
| Pepper (hot) - Cayenne |
March/April for outdoor crops |
2017 |
| Tomato - Moneymaker |
March/April for outdoor crops |
2017 |
| Tomato - Gardeners Delight |
March/April |
2016 |
 |
| The Root Family |
| Plant |
Sow outdoors |
Sow by |
| Celery - Green Sleeves |
March - May |
2017 |
| Celery - Apium graveolens |
March/April |
2016 |
| Parsley - Petroselinum crispum |
indoor planting kit, sow anytime |
2016 |
| Parsley - Plain Leaved 2 |
sow outdoors March - July |
2017 |
| White carrot |
got it free from the allotment from carrots they'd left to go to seed, I'm guessing it's similar to: |
|
| Carrot - Ideal |
February - July |
June 2016 |
| Coriander - Cilantro (for leaf) |
March - July |
2017 |
 |
| The Brassica Family |
I ended up with a lot of brassicas. There generally seem to be a lot of brassicas, I'm not sure how to deal with that in my crop rotation, but I'm going to have to add a lot of compost and fertiliser as they won't be following legumes (which enrich the soil) in my first year of kitchen gardening and brassicas are greedy feeders that won't grow properly without enough nutrients.
| Plant |
Sow outdoors |
Sow by |
| Turnip - Purple Top Milan |
March - July |
2017 |
| Radish (last year's mixed pack of French Breakfast, Scarlet Globe, Sparkler, White Turnip and Pink Beauty) |
March - September |
June 2016 |
| Radish - Scarlet Globe |
February - September |
2016 |
| Rocket - Annual |
I seem to have mislaid the seeds and only still have the packet |
|
| Rocket - Wild Trizia (All Year Round) |
March - September |
2017 |
| Kale - Black Tuscan Cavolo Nero - Black Palm Kale |
in spring as soon as ground can be worked + late July - September |
end 2016 |
| Kale - Russo - Siberian 'Red Russian' |
sow indoors before transplanting out in mid-spring or outdoors in midsummer |
end 2016 |
| Broccoli - Purple Sprouting |
April - July |
end 2016 |
| Kale - Dwarf Green Curled (x 2 packets) |
March - May |
2017 |
| Watercress Aqua - probably one for swapping, I'm allergic to watercress |
March - August |
2017 |
| Cabbage - Greyhound |
March - May |
2017 |
 |
| The Cucurbit Family |
| Plant |
Sow outdoors |
Sow by |
| Squash Butternut - Burpee's Butterbush |
sow in greenhouse from March or after soil has warmed |
end 2016 |
| Courgette - Tondo di Piacenza |
April - May |
2016 |
| Cucumber - Chinese Slangen |
May/June |
2017 |
 |
| The Legume Family |
| Plant |
Sow outdoors |
Sow by |
| Pea, Tall - Mangetout - Carouby Maussane |
March/April and again in early summer |
end 2015 |
| Pea, Tall - Ne Plus Ultra |
March/April and again in early summer |
mid-2016 |
| Bean, Broad - Bunyards Exhibition |
monthly March until end of May + autumn |
end 2015 |
| Runner Bean - Butler |
indoors April - June, plant out June |
June 2015 |
 |
| The Lettuce Family |
| Plant |
Sow outdoors |
Sow by |
| Mixed Lettuce Leaves (Catalogna, Cocarde, Curled Red American, Grand Rapids, Red salad bowl, Rossa di Trento) |
March - August every 2 - 3 weeks |
2017 |
| Lettuce - Salad Bowl |
March - August every 2 - 3 weeks |
2017 |
 |
| The Allium Family |
| Plant |
Sow outdoors |
Sow by |
| Leek - Elefant |
March - April |
2017 |
| Leek - Atal |
April - July |
June 2016 |
 |
| The Beet Family |
| Plant |
Sow outdoors |
Sow by |
| Chard, Swiss - Bright lights - Rainbow Chard |
from mid-April until September, autumn plant for spring crop |
end 2016 |
| Chard - White Silver 2 |
April - July |
September 2015 |
| Beetroot - Boltardy |
March - July every 3 weeks |
2016 |
| Beetroot - Action |
April - July |
June 2016 |
 |
| Other |
| Plant |
Sow outdoors |
Sow by |
| Sweetcorn - Golden Bantam Dolce |
early spring under cloches in pots or mid-spring outdoors |
end 2016 |
 |
| Other herbs |
| Plant |
Sow outdoors |
Sow by |
| Basil - Sweet |
May - June |
2017 |
So my next task is to work out where in the garden I have room for all these plants.
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