Welcome to Essex No Dig
There is always tasks to be carried out here at Essex No Dig.
Back in 2024 we found it wet OMG! Slugs galore and things were slow! 2025 Hot! Hot! Hot! and rain no where to be seen.
Jan 26 to end of Feb 26 no sun in the long range forcast of 10 days from 26 Feb 2026. So far non stop rain every day since the 1st Jan 26 and zero sun with poor light daily. Sunshine is forgotten and hit & miss.
Things are the same day to day basically and we are managing best as we can health wise too.
Daylight hours outside are getting Longer but the longest day 21st June seems far away.
BREAKING NEWS!! - 21st Feb 2026 - ALL SYSTEMS GO GO GO!! Well almost.
Radish, Spinach, Lettuce, Beetroot, Spring Onions all multi sown in Charles Dowding module seed trays.
Then we just stacked in the house hallway for 5 - 10 days till we see germination - So to keep control of night temperature fluctuations.
Spring Cabbage, Cauliflower, Savoy Cabbage all sown in seed trays to be pricked out as and when!!
We only sow n grow what we like and eat!
This year 2026 we had a go and sown some home saved Marigold seeds. Too early you think end of Feb? Let us know.
* Tomatoes Cucumbers, French Climbing Beans, Runner Beans & our Sweetcorn will be from March 10th and in April.
PAST NEWS - Lettuce crops poor in 2025 - 4 times we planted out and all bolted.. August we planted out more to try, along with more beetroot & spring onions all multi sown by us. 2025 we entered poor in our logs!
October 19th each year is our time for planting some Garlic and forward planning. October 2025 we also planted some of our home saved elephant garlic end of September as a trial for 2026 harvests.
Maintance, new constructions and any repairs continue.
2025 we left our polytunnel doors open Day & Night. Surprising results and we will continue this through the winter and future years ahead.
We find you need a minimum of 16c overnight temperature for most seeds to germinate still and take indoors to start germination.
We still find 5- 7 days in your house in a room, eg,hallway or heated greenhouse germinates most of the multi sown seeds we sow, then we move them outside undercover off heat in the poly tunnel or glass house.
Melons and cucumbers grew well in the glass house. Obviously something that has enjoyed the extreme heat the East Anglia Uk has been experiencing. Heat again in August 2025.
December - January. Time to sow chillies, peppers and onion seeds (*Boxing Day) in modules. If you have not sown Boxing day like us give it a go and multi sow someonion seeds.
Febuary is a good time for us to top up or make new woodchip paths.
We invested in a wood chipper and do it ourselves, along with local tree surgeons who are more than happy to tip a load from time to time.
* Top tip - always keep on the look out for tree surgeons working in the area and ask if they like to tip there wood chip off. Yes for Free!
A Mars bar and a can of Coke is much appreciated if given to them and a lot cheaper than trying to buying a load!
March - Normally - That is our start of operation Sow Sow Sow.
We check one last time, top up any beds with home made compost if we feel beds need it.
The real excitment has start from March 1st for us. Bench's up, propagators on Go Go Go! Time for us to sow our first multi sowings of beetrooot, cauliflower, lettuce, spinach, spring onions and a bit of rocket lettuce as well as a bitof little Gem and red grenoble lettuce.
The rocket we sow now, we find does not bolt so easily like in the summer. Potato time too.
The traditional day for planting potatoes is either St Patricks day March 17th or Good Friday which is 3rd April 2026. Both these days have one thing in common, days off work for most. So the window is from mid March to mid April depending on the weather and soil condition. Try our method grow in 30 litre pots and keep out of the cold or wet.
Tomatoes can be sown in March, but we only do a few and wait till April or even May, there are so many varieties to choose from now days, but we advise dont sow too many varieties, especially if just starting out.
Keep it simple, just say 6 - 10 different varieties max to start.
Top tip - Friends, Neighbours, fellow allotment holders all usually have to many sown and readily available to give to a good home.
A free way to try different types or free swaps and without the stress to care for when young.
Tomatoes, peppers, chillies, aubergines, cucumbers - Must have overnight warmth until at least April/May sometimes 1 -2 week in May for our climate where we are located.
Nothing is gained by planting early in a cold greenhouse either we have found.
We still have 10 recycled mushroom trays lined with cardboard, newspaper and planted up with six lettuce plants in each still cropping from autumn and pick till spring.
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@Essex No Dig
October is the time we sow/plant the garlic
Novemeber - January.
* We Replemish paths with woodchip!
@Essex No Dig
*14th February is very important to us.
* Our first multi sowings of the more hardy seeds that can tolerate a little cold are sown!
March Tasks.
Time to get the first cut in on our grass and collect all important green for the heat for our compost making stations. We keep the blade high for the first trim or two of the year, but so want the grass to kick start the compost.
We still continue to turn our double barrel compost maker 5 turns a day, even during winter as well as the start of spring.
March is also the time we get ready to plant out some of those sowings in plugs cells we sowd, when 4 weeks have passed and sow the seed potatoes in our recycled flower buckets we get for free!