You Must Sow These Seeds in Spring
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- Опубліковано 9 лют 2025
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At last! Spring time has finally sprung! The birds are singing, the flowers are blooming and life is good for the humble gardener. At this time of year there is much that can be sown, but Ben has chosen a selection of favorites to cover all bases: some solidly sturdy vegetables, everyone's favourite warm season crop, glorious greens and a reliable companion flower that won't let you down, served sunny side up.
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🎺 I've actually lost sleep because I've been awake excitedly thinking about what I'll be doing in my garden the next day. I can hardly contain my excitement that spring is around the corner.
I Hear ya!! Bloomin can't leave the allotment alone. 🤣
@@invokalink162 haha. Wonderful. It's just me and my little back garden! I stare at it for ages just planning things.
I’ve got seedling plantings in my bedroom window so I can nurture them daily!
@@bradlafferty yuppp! Me too. I have 4 windowsills in my home and every single one had about 6pots on them. Willing the rather to become warm finally!
Me too 😭
Your videos have set the gold standards for instructional videos - no long intros (the trumpet gimmick of this video may be a slight departure?), straight into the subject, concise and yet informative. Too often, many videos faff about with someone holding forth about the history of the plot, why they are making the video, blah, blah, blah. So thank you for not wasting time and for some very useful tips. 👏👏👏👍
Thanks so much for this lovely feedback. Happy gardening! :-)
Eternally jealous of your greenhouse. So great looking.
I'm very blessed that this greenhouse was here when we moved here. Very lucky! :-)
Last year I sowed my seeds and dutifully wrote on the pots in marker what was in them. I watered them in and immediately washed off all the labels. Surprise veg all summer!
I cut plastic milk jugs for my labels. Works great. And did you know that you can remove permanent marker with dry-erase markers!?!
You make me feel happy and hopeful ❤ Come on Spring!!
it's gonna be a great year folks
Parsnips truly are the king of root vegetables. I recommend adding a scattering of sesame seeds near the end of your honey roast parsnips. Bloomin loverrrrly. 😁
That sounds like a superb idea! :-)
Watching your videos gets me so psyched up for garden season!
Egad! I had to check the date of this video! Here, where I live, we have a high of -16°C today, going to -25°C overnight. We're expecting a huge dump of snow this weekend. I'm not complaining: we have had drought and intense wildfires the past few years, so we'll take any precipitation that comes down.
Another reason to check the date: Ben! Do you not age? You look just as young and fit as you did when I started watching GrowVeg several years ago. Gardening is good for us for so many reasons.❤
Your videos are so well done, fun, and informative! They get my little green fingers twitching.
Oh wow, thank you for your kind words. I'm losing my hair though! :-)
We got our greenhouse built and finished just today! So excited to get started
Great job - what a fantastic springtime present! :-)
It's snowing today. And I'm in Bath. Not the north! I am envious of your lovely greenhouse to do things in when the weather is bad. I shall have to take over the dining room and annoy everyone instead. You're making me think of that lovely smell of tomato plants.
I think you should definitely take over the dining room - it's only for a few weeks or so! :-)
Here we go again Ben - Happy gardening!
Keep going. We are all looking forward to spring.
You are correct all I have at the moment is purple sprouting
And to less rain!! Here in East Sussex I think it has rained almost every day! My allotment is very muddy and unworkable, so frustrating especially as the days are longer now!
Love the idea of sowing little poached egg flowers just outside the bed! Thanks!
I will be growing these poached eggs flowers too
I cannot find poached egg plant seed. Any suggestions on where to find them?
@@WaterOne-lt6xt I've just ordered some from Suttons online. They had 2 choices £1.99 for normal ones and £2.49 for ones that self seed so I bought the self seeding ones
@@WaterOne-lt6xt Hi, my posts keep getting deleted. I'm in the states and found mine from an online place that starts with an A. 😂
Love your tip to put the leeks between the flowers, so I can make us of my flowerbed for some vegetables and nobody can complain 🙂 as they're looking great between them. Yippee!.
I absolutely love your happy energy and ❤️ your love for your garden
Could make you forget you was in a war zone this man, so positive & happy 😊
What I wouldn't do for your greenhouse 😊 I have one of those green plastic ones but it does the job and grew my first ever tomatoes, cucumber, aubergine, chillis and red peppers in them ladt year.
I already have my red peppers and aubergine growing on a heat mat 😊
This is my second spring growing. Im so excited. I sowed some parsnips, turnips and beetroot yesterday. Im in the south of England so a bit warmer down here.. I also planted some California poppies down a little gravel section down the side of my house near the wall. They remind me of my trip to California...
I absolutely love your channel. Ive brought some borage and will definitely be trying to make some fertilizer from it as well as grass clippings. Thanks so much for your valuable knowledge Ben... 🌱🍀🌱🍀🌱🍀
You're off to a flying start all ready - great job! I agree, those Californian poppies are just stunning. Happy gardening! :-)
Spring needs to get here already!
Can’t wait to get my garden going, love your content too. You do a great job! Keep up the awesome work and best of luck!
Thanks so much. Spring can't be too far off now I hope! :-)
Once more a great video !!! Parsnip is one of the "lost" vegetables in Belgium but oh so tasty. Every year I make a decent amount of super simple parsnip soup. 400 g parsnips, 80 g leeks, 80 g shallots and 150 g sweet potatoes, possibly a chili pepper from the garden. Peel and cut the parsnips and potatoes, as well as the shallots, leek and chili.
Stir everything and add about 1 liter of (homemade) vegetable stock. Puree, add parsley to taste and season.
And if I have a large quantity of parsnips, I fill jars of about 300 ml and water bath the soup for 2 hours at 100°C. Enjoy!!!
That sounds like a super-tasty soup! :-)
Thank you Ben, you make the sun shine.
I love parsnips. So sweet roasted. yummm
Love seeing the green and growing thing since we have a snow storm again today. Can't wait for the weather to change so I can start growing things!
Ah, yet another lovely vid. Yes, thank God for spring. This morning my first seedlings greated me. It always makes me jump for joy.
I didn't know you play the trumpet, Ben. Would love an intro with the trumpet one day ;-)
Haha - yes - beginner's luck borrowing my daughter's trumpet! Great to have seedlings up and greeting you - spring is the most magical time of year. :-)
You have such a wonderful way of energizing us gardeners in every presentation! Carry on!!👍👍
I will, thank you! :-)
I can’t wear gloves when gardening either 😆 but found if I put hand cream on before I start it seems easier to clean up afterwards 👍
Wise move. :-)
Best get cracking then! I’ll have to say this to my British neighbor. Love this channel!
that Wren really likes shouting at you and your pouched egg plants. I have the Cornell Merlin bird app which I use to play bird songs to the birds in my garden. The Wren really loves shouting back at me
It's a very vocal little bird!
I guess you could say Rosie has a well developed palate with the onions. haha I've interplanted onions with my collards to see if that deters the slugs and time will tell. I just loved your cheery attitude in the video, makes me want to plant even more!!
Love the idea of interplanting onions with collards - let me know how it gets on. :-)
Howdy, Ben and Rosie!👋 It is indeed such an exciting time of year!😃
I'm having all kinds of fun potting up and watching the seedlings grow.🌱
We are already seeing 80s for highs here...Central Texas.
I see Rosie has a fresh spring cut...she's looking adorable as always.😃💕
It is indeed a thrilling time of year. Things have warmed up quickly where you are! :-)
0:01 wakey wakey lol I've been looking forward to this one Ben
Top tip on leeks, I love them and they're worth growing when you see the prices in the supermarket but the thinning is always a fiddly job. Thank you!
YAY!!!!! Garden planting party!!!!
I always enjoy your videos! Very informative and FUN!
After seeing Charles downing 2 years ago I can’t proudly say I am 100% no dig on veg. On a standard allotment plot that’s a lot of money to start out. I have also sorted my composting out. I get the equivalent to 10 bags of 50ltrs per 6 months. This is helpful with cost
That's a fantastic amount of compost - great job! :-)
What is the sprayer that you are using please 😊?
@@GrowVegI just did the lazy man's thing & bought premixed Foxfarms Ocean Forest for trans-potting my coffee shrub & avocado tree both indoors now still. They'll stay indoors until midsummer, as Shakespeare would say.
I spray them twice each day with distilled water & water them adding a tiny measure 1/2 teaspoon of liquid fertilizer 10-10-10 twice weekly.
If the British had known war was coming back in 1939 then they all could have grown their own indoor coffee plants & not had to settle for faux !!!
They trusted Chamberlain too much. Now they (the Continent) have Putin staring down at them.
Fortunately marry olde England shall always be safe behind her wooden (now steel) walls as the ancient Athenians.
I love leeks, too, Rosey!
Tomah'to - tomay'to :) always exciting when this time of year has come. Everything is gently starting in these late stages of Winter. And there are so many good days yet to come . I'm so happy Winter has almost come to an end. Every season I'm trying a new tomato variety. This year I'm going to try 'Saldun Moldovan'. Varieties i sow each year are: Red Oxheart, Aunt Ruby's German Green, Black Cherry, San Marzano, Cherokee Purple and Pineaplle. Thanks for the video and have a happy sowing everyone!
Some lovely varieties there - and always good to try something new. Enjoy! :-)
@@GrowVeg Thanks :) let me know if you want some seeds for this or next year. These are all heirlooms. Red Oxheart is our family favourite. cheers!
Must be much warmer where you are Ben. Here in south Yorkshire my allotment plot is still very cold and wet. I am sowing but everything under cover on my home made 'hot bed' in my greenhouse at home. I can't wait for spring. We had sun yesterday, it was just wonderful
Little bit warmer, but frosty nights have returned so caution and juggling with some seedlings needed! :-)
Sowed my first seeds a few days ago. 3 different kind of tomato and 4 different kind of chili peppers. I will be sowing my cucumbers and pumpkins in a weeks time. The rest of my seeds I will sow in ground when it gets warmer. Lettuce, raddish, peas etc. Im so exited for the season. Damn I hate my long winters 😅
Lots to look forward to - spring has sprung! :-)
I think it is time for your cooking and preserving book!!😊
There are a million books already out there. DO WE NEED ANOTHER
@@christophermee5214 Yes. Already preordered before he's even finished writing it.
I love your enthusiasm and your excitement! Here in New York we are about 2 weeks behind you for spring coming, but the weather is warming next week so out we go into the garden!
You'll soon catch up! :-)
Dang, you might be a “good old southern country boy” with those collards! Another great video…thanks!
I need me a furry pet for my garden for sure☺️
🐝Thanks for the great video 🌻 YES give me spring!!
Hi 👋 I shall be doing my leeks tomorrow. Thank you for another fantastic video. God bless Rob from Wales
Cheers Rob! :-)
Looking forward to this
Thanks for sharing what’s happening over in your garden and what’s gonna happen in March? Can’t wait to see what you come up with
Thanks again Ben!!! Love watching your videos.
Really enjoy you upbeat videos! Looking forward to what spring brings this year :)
How funny. I'll be sowing poached egg plant for the first time this year, and around my veg beds to boot. Glad to see it's a good idea.
Thanks for sharing
Oh my goodness Rosie is SO CUTE
Thanks so much. :-)
Springs already here in US Zone 9b! Direst sowed buckwheat seeds Saturday and just waiting for the seedlings to be big enough to harden off and transfer!
Thanks for another great video as ever! I had never heard of poached egg flowers till I watched one of your older videos. So I sowed a packet 2 years ago and they self seeded literally all over the place! 😂Some would say almost like a weed! They stayed green as you said all winter and we had a few frosts down to -6. With time I now recognise the baby plant so if it pops up where it’s not wanted I either lift it up and plant it somewhere else or throw it on the compost heap. Great little plant. I now wouldn’t be without them or nasturtiums.
I'm delighted to hear you've fallen under the charms of the poached egg plant. :-)
Thank you for the informative video, I'm going to seeding my tomato tom.
Still too cold in New York, zone 7. Can’t wait until it gets warmer ! 😊
i still have a foot of snow in Northern Ontario! I cant wait to get going
Awesome video, 😀
Great video, can't go wrong with tomatoes 🍅, lovely stuff, solid advice. Keep it up 👍💪
Cheers so much! :-)
🎉 Yay spring! Thanks for your cheerful video. I actually forgot about parsnips, must get on that pronto. 😅
You're awesome 🎉 I so appreciate your positivity 😊
Love your videos because I learn so much. Try lime around your plants to keep out the slugs.
Great suggestion, thank you. :-)
Love the videos, they're brilliant. Just started my first allotment and am looking forward to getting some tips off you. Thanks 👍
Great job Matt. Enjoy! :-)
Really love your video's. Keep up the good work. looking forward to a lot more of your stuff. grts from belgium
Always informative and entertaining
Thank you
I'm envious of that greenhouse, I admit. But I do plan to create a small one for myself this year. I'm glad you brought up leeks. I'd been thinking I needed to start them. I have onions and garlic to start. Garlic is in the ground. But waiting another couple weeks on the onions. Nothing like a crunchy radius with a sandwich.
Loving Every Video Ben* Learning So Much* Thanx
Thanks Ben you and Charles are the best.
you need a duck for those slugs ! :) A ducks heaven, your garden is !
Good morning Ben, that is such a great feeling to have, enjoy it, and the garden is looking great, great expectations I might add. I had to giggle at Rosie and her love for the leeks, she knows about the good stuff. Amazing how some animals just love fresh vegetables, we had a dog he enjoyed eating the real fresh baby carrots, he plucks them up, lies on the lawn and munches away to his hearts content, and he felt like another he would just go and help himself. We would just find the greenery - love smart animals. He also enjoyed eating oat crunches, he seemed to enjoy a varied diet, just like us. So happy spring has sprung, we are starting autumn, it is such a delightful season, everybody loves autumn. It will give us an opportunity to prepare a rich soil for the coming season, it can mostly all settle in. Have a wonderful happy day. Kind regards.
Have a wonderful day also. Autumn is a fab time of year - the cooler air and colours. I love it. Enjoy! :-)
Hi Ben and Rosie, thanks for the video. Both educational, I learned a new word- glaucous, and so full of positivity and enthusiasm (as with all the videos) that I always feel I can get anything done after watching. A great way to start the day! 😊
Thanks so much. Happy gardening! :-)
2 weeks on, it's still bloody cold here in Cumbria...
Still, my tomato, pepper, aubergine & cucumber seedlings are now coming on (plus some overwintered Sungold cuttings).
Great start already! :-)
Hi Ben this Monday the 26 feb I started of my tomatoes aubergines and marigolds
Great job Leo! :-)
@@GrowVeg thank you
I love roasted parsnips too! Absolutely delish as part of a Sunday roast. I prefer mine with garlic, though, not sweet. But to each their own.
Oh yes - with garlic is utterly sublime too! :-)
I love that these are cabbages😅🥰
Instead of marking the parsnip seed row with sticks, I like to sow a line of radishes along the row. The radishes will be ready to harvest long before they can interfere with the parsnip growth, and provide a great marker for the parsnip seeds.
Very nice video🌻
having started the chitting process for my 1st and 2nd earlies, as well as my maincrops, with my chillis and aubergines under a grow light doing well, as well as my plan to sow tomatoes on my heat mat under a dome (and now with an extra plan to sow some parsnips) I'm feeling massively reassured at the content of your video!
Glad you are so optimistic about a nice sunny spring, as soon as the rain stops in sunny Kent and the sun comes out for a few brief hours it pours down again. I make sure not to go in my vegetable garden at this time of year without my phone in case I have to make an emergency call to get some help to pull me out of the mud again. Should I be growing Rice?
Haha - I know EXACTLY what you mean right now! :-)
Great content, Ben. I start tomatoes first week of March in zone 7b Virginia. However, I have started my peppers and are slowly coming up. Great content love your greenhouse.
Thanks so much. Great to have your peppers coming up already. :-)
Very uplifting positive video Ben. Thank You.😄
Poached egg plant fan club! They're native here in the Pacific Northwest US.
They're fab aren't they?!
Brilliant! I've never seen them before, so I thought they might be native to England, but luck is with me! They're native to my home!
Hey ! You woke me up !lol!
I’ve used crepe myrtle branches and twine around my garlic plants to keep my little dog out…. Seems to do the trick 😊
Super suggestion Emma, thanks so much! :-)
I love my matabis- perfect for hot flushes or a cool down in the polytunnel when it’s hot 🥵
It has many uses! :-)
My peaches are blooming so its time to finish all that winter pruning im about 1/4 done with so many branches
Hello, couple of questions 1) I was wondering what temperature I set my heat mat ? You mention 50 degrees Celsius is the environment but I can't measure that and don't have a thermometer
2) also I dont have a grow light as such but do have a couple of Desk lights I am thinking of changing the bulb colour. Am I right in thinking seedlings need blue and red coulours ?
🙏 Finally, i want to express how greatful I am for your content, I thoroughly enjoy watching your month by month advice. Thank you. I have just started gardening last year following the recent effects of my disability and lack of mobility. Your content has helped me to developed into a hobby where as other things are no longer accessible. This has helped me with my mental health ❤
So pleased you found this channel. And I am thrilled that you are finding gardening with your mental health - it certainly helps mine. 😀
In answer to your questions.
1) I aim to germinate warm season crops like tomatoes on a heat mat but really any indoor place would be fine as the pots would get the background heat from room. Any heat mat would be above about 15C or 60F or so. Then once the seedlings are up they just need to be kept frost free - ideally warmer than that.
2) I think you may be able to buy natural daylight bulbs specifically for growing plants, so these could be worth investigating. Plants need a specific spectrum of lights, which tend to give a blueish glow, but a bulb specifically for growing plants should match what they need.
@GrowVeg thank you for your advice. I'm all set now and despite my tomatoe seedlings a little leggy, I'll just transplant deep when ready, hope that will encourage root growth. Rest of seedlings broccoli, swiss chard, cucumber, 3 types of basil lettoce, and more cabbage and peas are lookinf fine. Thanks again, it's all trial and error so I'm determined to find out what works best in my west facing house.
@GrowVeg and I've just purchased the daylight bulb you mention for my next batch of seedlings so hopefully that makes a difference.. hope 40w is OK but will let you know 🤞
Would growing leeks among marigolds stop Rosie from rolling around in them 🤔. We are due snow next week so still holding off until it’s all done. Have a fab week Ben, Ali 🌦️🇨🇦
Thanks for the suggestion Ali. Yes, I think I need to grow them somewhere they are harder to get to, or perhaps camouflaged a bit. Worth a try. Hope you get to see spring soon. :-)
Your channel is so beautiful that it contains enough of everything in it with perfection and an excellent artistic touch❤❤ I always support you and wish you to achieve a bright future❤Best regards❤
Thank you so much! Happy gardening! :-)
Thanks for support Me 🌹🎉🌹🌹🌹🌹
Ty so much❤
Hi Ben.great video always! Can I ask if you've got a link for your light growing system please. It's great. Thank you 😊
Thanks Tracy. I don't have a link to the grow lights I'm afraid. They're actually really quite old and I would recommend some LED grow lights instead if you're looking to buy. They will use a lot less energy (so cheaper to run) and have a spectrum of light better suited to plants. This buying guide offers a few tips: www.growveg.co.uk/guides/3-shopping-tips-for-plant-grow-lights/
You mentioned tightly closing up your seed packets for next year. Would you mind sharing where/how you keep and store those seeds? t Do you put them in an air-tight container? Dark location? In the fridge? I haven't had much success holding onto seeds. Thank you!
I put them into a simple lidded tin container - a Tupperware container would be even better. I add a few sachets of silicon crystals in there to keep the air dry. They're then stored in a cool room, but a fridge would be even better.
Can't thank you enough, Ben, for the inspiration I get from your enthusiasm🙏🪇😊 Susanne in Sweden
Rosie is a menace! 😂
I love your greenhouse ive found a place where you can design your own greenhouse they also assemble it , theres no way i could do it myself, theyre expensive so im currently saving, might take me a few years lol, great video's really enjoying 👏
Hope you manage to save enough and get that greenhouse soon! :-)
@@GrowVeg thank you 😊
Can I please get the details of design your own greenhouse.?
I'm up and running l have a polytunnel on my allotment 🎉🎉
Great recommendation. I lost about 80% tomatoes last year due to blight.
Hope you sidestep blight this time round! :-)
Thank you! 🤞
Thanks for another helpful, informative video. Please will you link to your grow light apparatus at 3:28?
The lights are very old, and I was given them, so I'm not sure where you'd find them. I'd recommend looking for LED grow lights instead, which will be a lot cheaper to run. More on this here: www.growveg.co.uk/guides/3-shopping-tips-for-plant-grow-lights/
@@GrowVegThanks very much for getting back to me. Your light box is just perfect, what a shame it's not made any more.
What is your last frost date for our reference? Thanks for this video!
My last frost date is usually around late April. Very occasionally it can be later than this, so I need to keep an eye on the forecast just in case. But this is so rare that I am quite comfortable assuming I'm good to go before April's over.
Rosie, could you please ask your master about the mesh size of his trusty green garden sieve. Is it 1 cm spacing?
I sieve the soil from my balcony pots to isolate curly white grubs and drainage beads before I reuse it. 1cm is not quite small enough for both small grubs and small beads, so I think I have to get an 8mm version. I tell the grandkids those grubs are "land shrimp" and to get the grill ready...
Rosie suggests his master's sieve is more like 8mm in screen size. I like the idea of land shrimps - sounds very tasty... woof!