Autumn Sowings 🍂

Some seeds need to be sown in late summer or autumn as they won't germinate without a period of cold. (vernalisation).

You can faff about with putting them in bags of sand in your fridge or you can take advantage of the cold weather we get in the UK 😊

Sown in October, November or December, (unless you're somewhere really mild,)  your seeds will be subjected to a good 3 months of cold which should be enough to make them spark into life.  

You should see lots of little seedlings start to pop up in March **

If you are somewhere particularly balmy with really mild winters, sow earlier rather than later. 

** If you have a lot of Mice and Voles in your garden, you may find you need to cover the trays/pots etc. to stop them getting eaten.   

Yellow Rattle seeds are particularly loved by Voles and as they're usually just pressed into the compost/soil rather than buried, this can be a problem.

 I invested in some net bags, (carrot sacks), from E-bay which were large enough to cover a big seed tray and can be re-used year after year. The advantage of these is they allow the rain through so no watering needed, (at least not if you're in the North or West). If you use a seed tray cover, you'll have to check occassionally that the compost isn't getting too dry.

All of the following need vernalisation so can be sown between now and Yule, (earlier in really mild areas)