{"id":304,"date":"2010-04-06T01:16:00","date_gmt":"2010-04-06T00:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gsu.eventmedialabs.com\/?p=304"},"modified":"2014-12-29T17:46:34","modified_gmt":"2014-12-29T17:46:34","slug":"choosing-vegetable-seeds-how-and-what-do-i-choose","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/greensideup.ie\/choosing-vegetable-seeds-how-and-what-do-i-choose\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Choose Vegetable Seeds … What Should I Buy?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Seed<\/a><\/p>\n

Choosing a variety of vegetable plant or seeds to grow in your garden can be difficult – there are so many to choose from. Looking at the hundreds of seed packets on offer in catalogues or on garden centre shelves can be bewildering, so where should you begin?<\/p>\n

There are several factors to bear in mind before you open your wallet and keeping a list of possibilities in said wallet is one of them. It’s a bit like the golden rule of grocery shopping – never shop on an empty stomach. So when shopping for seeds, never shop without a wish list.<\/p>\n

How do I make a wish list of seeds?<\/h2>\n

To put a wish list together you will have to ask yourself a few questions:<\/p>\n

1. What do you or the people you’re growing for like to eat?<\/strong><\/p>\n

There’s no point planting a big patch of radishes if only one of you eats them, so your list should start with what you and the people you’re feeding like to eat.<\/p>\n

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\"PSB2. How much space do you have? Will you be growing in containers, a small back or front garden, in flower borders, raised beds, or a larger allotment?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Seed companies are now producing plants developed to grow specifically in containers, such as dwarf baby tomatoes that can be grown in hanging baskets and can withstand drought better.<\/p>\n

Cabbages take up a lot of room and take a long time to grow. Choosing Savoy, red or white cabbages will give you a winter crop when everything else is sparse and they’re often more expensive in the shops too.<\/p>\n

Some vegetables can be very decorative such as courgettes and rainbow chard. These wouldn’t be out-of-place in flower gardens and runner beans can be grown over pergolas and archways.<\/p>\n

3. Do you hope to provide all of the vegetables for your family’s needs year round or just ones you particularly like that are perhaps unusual or expensive, such as shallots or asparagus?<\/strong><\/p>\n

To be fully self-sufficient in your vegetable requirements will need quite a lot of space and a greenhouse or polytunnel. You will also need to be fairly organised – by making comprehensive plans for your crop rotation – and be prepared to put in the time and effort of year round sowing, planting and harvesting.<\/p>\n

4. How much time do you have to tend to your crops? Some will need more care than others.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"tomato<\/a>Upright tomatoes for instance will need daily watering and side shooting (pruning), whereas bush varieties don’t. Bean and pea pods will need to be picked on a daily basis too once they’re ready. As soon as you stop picking them, they will stop producing pods.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

If you plant a three metre double row of runner beans under good soil conditions, not only will you have to pick them daily, you will also have to eat or store about 27kgs of beans. Storing beans usually involves blanching them (plunging them in boiling water for a couple of minutes), then bagging them up and freezing them.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Carrots\"<\/a>5. What soil type do you have?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Knowing whether you have sandy or clay soil will help you choose varieties. For instance carrots prefer to grow in a light soil. If you have to grow vegetables in heavy clay, choosing a round, quick maturing early variety is likely to give you better results. (As the roots wont need to swell as much, they wont be as bothered by the sticky clay).<\/span><\/p>\n

6. How acid or alkaline is your soil?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Most vegetables prefer to grow in a neutral soil with a pH of around 6.5 to 7, although potatoes are much happier growing in acidic soil of 4.5 to 6.0. If you try growing them in soil with a pH of around 8, they’re not likely to grow as well.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"aphids\"7. Are you aware of any pests or diseases in your soil such as eelworm or clubroot?<\/strong><\/p>\n