{"id":298,"date":"2010-02-25T11:28:00","date_gmt":"2010-02-25T11:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gsu.eventmedialabs.com\/?p=298"},"modified":"2015-07-20T23:26:29","modified_gmt":"2015-07-20T22:26:29","slug":"sowing-seeds-in-february-tomatoes-beans-peas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/greensideup.ie\/sowing-seeds-in-february-tomatoes-beans-peas\/","title":{"rendered":"Sowing seeds in February – Tomatoes, Beans and Peas"},"content":{"rendered":"
As our 11-year-old was at home unexpectedly from school yesterday with a tummy bug, I had to cancel my plans and spend a day at home. Looking around the house I could see lots of jobs waiting to be done but none of them took my fancy. And then I remembered my seedlings. I\u2019d taken four trays along to Tuesday\u2019s spring workshop to demonstrate the different stages of growth, and they were all now well overdue for transplanting.<\/p>\n
Despite having forgotten to pre-soak the seeds, the majority of Nasturtiums (Tropaeolum) had germinated and all of the Sweet Peas (Lathyrus odoratus) and Marigolds (Tagetes petula). I\u2019m really pleased that I got it together and sowed them early this year. Nasturtiums are a great companion plant \u2013 the colourful flowers attract predatory insects as well as deterring whiteflies and cucumber beetles. You can also add the edible petals to summer salads surprising your families. Last year I\u2019d sown a packet of expensive Nasturtium seeds into pots and none germinated. This year I bought three packets from Aldi and am sowing them all!<\/p>\n
Having moved all the seedlings from seed trays to pots I then had a root around my seed tin to see what else I could sow. I\u2019ve been saving toilet roll inserts for the beans and peas so I squashed them until they were square-shaped (they fit in a tray easier), filled them up with a multipurpose compost (the instructions on the bag told me it was good for seedlings) and planted them up with peas (Pisum sativum). This year we\u2019ll be sowing two varieties Kelveden Wonder \u2013 a 1st early wrinkled variety that we enjoyed last year, as well as a mange tout round seed variety (Oregon Sugar Pod) that I\u2019ll be sowing directly into the soil sometime in April when\u00a0it’s warmed up. By starting some of the seeds undercover I\u2019ll be sowing successionally \u2013 hopefully avoiding a glut later in the year. The peas I started off in November in the polytunnel are starting to come up already, despite the snow outside.<\/p>\n