A Breath of Fresh Air: Seeds and Stuff

Last year, I totally failed in my garden when it came to veggies. It was such a beautifully hot summer which went on for ages with not much rain, and I tend to forget about watering. I always assume that if I haven't watered for a couple of days, it's not the end of the world as we're bound to get some rain very soon. But not last year. The only thing I managed to grow was five solitary peppers! Oh, and lots of fruit - but fruit pretty much looks after itself - I had over ten pounds of plums, I lost count of the amount of pears, and I also had six or seven pounds of apples and pounds and pounds of blackberries. So I wasn't a total failure. (But I didn't water a single one of these trees or bushes either!)

So this year, I have resolved to be more organised, more kind to my seedlings, be more generous with feed and water, and this will hopefully lead to a much healthier diet for me, and also I shouldn't be quite so poor as I won't be buying pre-packed salad leaves or tomatoes. I can't believe I didn't manage to grow a single tomato either - normally I have hundreds of them and have to make my own passata for the freezer just to use them all up. Not to mention chutneys. I was very lazy indeed last year!

So, to help me with this endeavour, I am going to post a blog each month with progress updates to try and spur me on. At the end of the month, if I have nothing to post, it means I've failed again! This monthly post will be all about my seed sowing, how the garden is doing generally, what I've managed to harvest and possibly even the odd recipe in case of glut.

This is my potting bench cupboard - it's an old free standing double kitchen unit that Mum and Dad didn't need in North Walsham after they had their new kitchen fitted. So Andy and I chucked it in the back of the van and brought it home where it has stood in the outhouse for ages while I decided what to use it for. At one stage, it was full of old jam jars and jars of chutney that I made. And that was fine for a while. Then one of the doors fell off and I couldn't get it back on again without proper tools - I don't have any. I know I'm rubbish. So when Andy came up at Christmas, he did a proper repair job which means the door shuts and I can put my chitting potatoes in, without fear that Finn will get to them and eat them all while I'm at work.

Talking of potatoes, I bought two seed potato varieties - Charlotte and Pink Fir Apple. I have never grown Charlottes before, but have grown Pink Fir Apples many times - they are brilliant in salads and have a lovely nutty flavour. I haven't been able to find any Anyas yet - another of my favourites - but am still on the lookout for those. My work colleagues have donated all the egg boxes!

I have a book which I use to record what I should be sowing and when. I'm going to concentrate on flowers too this year - my pergola is looking very bare and Mum has given me some flower pots that clip onto the top of the pergola so I can have hanging down flowers - hence the lobelia seeds. Mary and Jim have also donated some seeds from their passion flower so hopefully they will grow up, to meet the lobelia coming down. We will see. The carrots this month are all for Finn - he loves them! So I have to keep them elevated (which discourages carrot fly anyway which likes to stay close to the ground) to make sure Finn can't get to them to eat them before they're ready!

I have no idea where this green box came from - I'm assuming Mum. But I have so many seed packets that I've had to fill up a tin as well. I need to stop buying more seeds and start sowing what I've got!