A bit of a squash!


The biodynamic calendar (https://uk.rhythmofnature.net/biodynamic-calendar) said it was a good day last Saturday for anything to do with crops that produce fruit, so time to sow the squashes!

There are summer and winter pumpkins | Energiq



                                                                                     
 These are a really easy and productive vegetable to grow, as they can be stored to give you delicious stews, soups and sweet pies throughout the winter. We have a second allotment to fill, so we're  going big on these!
I always aim to grow and plant two plants of the same variety per pot, as it helps with pollination, and so 50 modules works out at well over 100 plants of 11 different varieties!



This has the potential to cause a great deal of confusion, as they all look very similar when they come up. Careful labelling is crucial, as you can see we have a plan, with numbers and labels all ready to go.


We loosely filled the modules, levelled them off and watered lightly. "Plant wet and sow dry" is the old gardener's saying, it's better to get a little moisture under your seeds, rather than giving them a drenching on top. Sow the seeds lengthways on their sides rather than flat, as this will stop them rotting and give both roots and shoots a chance to head in the right direction.


Labelled, topped up with sieved compost, these now need to go somewhere with a relatively constant temperature of about 18-20 degrees. Temperatures in the greenhouse are currently between about 2 overnight and up to 30 on a sunny day, so not ideal. Inside upstairs is the only place we have where seeds will be happy, so they go in multi-storey stacks on the landing, checked every morning for germination. Once they are up they need the light, so the twice daily hokey-cokey of plants outside to the garden and back to an inside windowsill begins!
They'll be ready to go out sometime in June, so watch this space!

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