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What are the views on when to plant outside. I am itching to start planting stuff now, but for the extra few days/weeks growing time is actually better to hang on and plant stuff out when I know that the frost won't kill them. - It has been such a cold March that I have a feeling that the cold weather has not left us for good.

hi a very wise man on me allotment said to me dont go by the callender but by the weather. i will start planting spuds and raddish beetroot and springonion within a week or so alot of people have done theirs already.
regards gunners

Depends on your soil too - light sandy soils warm up quicker than heavy clay. As this spring is 3 weeks behind last year, at least where I am, I'll delay things a bit. However I didn't start until April last year anyway because the veg patch wasn't ready before then.

I lke that go by the weather - I think you are both I had pretty much come to the conclusion that I will be better off waiting until next weekend or the end of this week for a lot of things.

Depends on what you want to plant! Onions should have been in some time ago - but the snow prevented that (the cold would not have harmed them). Jerusalem artichokes can go in, too, and probably a few other things I can't think of just now.

On GQT yesterday, someone (probably Bob Flowerdew, but I was tired & can't remember for certain) said in these days of erratic weather patterns we really shouldn't rely on dates to decide when to plant. It's a matter of learning to recognise the right time by the weather.

The prog will be repeated on R4 at 3pm on Wed.

Cheers for that Ranter... will try to remember to tune in as that is the time I'm out in the car on the school run.

Mind you, we have to guess up here anyway as most planting dates are suggested for further south and we have a shorter growing season.

Ranter wrote:On GQT yesterday, someone (probably Bob Flowerdew, but I was tired & can't remember for certain) said in these days of erratic weather patterns we really shouldn't rely on dates to decide when to plant. It's a matter of learning to recognise the right time by the weather.

The prog will be repeated on R4 at 3pm on Wed.

Yep I listened to that too, strangley enough I can't remember if it was Bob or not either.

Who was it said that you had to sit on the soil with your bare bum, and if it wasn't cold, then it was time to plant?

Millymollymandy wrote:Who was it said that you had to sit on the soil with your bare bum, and if it wasn't cold, then it was time to plant?

I don't know but they're probably hiding behind a tree with their candid camera!

Wulf

Millymollymandy wrote:Who was it said that you had to sit on the soil with your bare bum, and if it wasn't cold, then it was time to plant?

Wasn't that John Seymour in Complete Self Sufficiency?

I admit it - it was me what mentioned sitting on the soil with a bare backside to see if it was warm enough to plant.

Never tried it myself, but it's reputed to have been the process used by farmers in Lincolnshire in the 'olden days'. I'm a Yellowbelly & have to admit that I've never seen anyone doing this. Gave up hiding behind trees with my camera at the ready a long time ago...

I looked and you only wrote that on Mar 20th so we don't have very good memories do we? Actually, I had heard of it before.

I agree that its best to go by the weather than by the calender...

I will tend to plant out my pototes around about now, onions and shallots normally at the end of January if the weather permits...

As for beans and peas and flower plants, they tend to go out when the last frosts have passed here in Gloucestershire, which could be around April / May......

As for sitting on the soil with a bare butt ~ LoL, i might give that a go, and see what the neighbours think of my antics.....