Sowing the Seeds of Love

Right the time has come to fill my windowsills with seed trays. Tomatoes and peppers need their head start in January/February so that when the frost has gone in March/April they're ready to go straight outside either in pots or into the soil in the sunniest place possible.

So I began with filling seed tray cells with 1 Gardener's Delight  tomato seed each, tomatoes are probably the easiest crop to produce with the best most satisfying results. In the other half of the tray I have sown 1 mini bell pepper seed per cell. I've had some bad luck with conventional pepper varieties as they seem to grow to a certain size when I have to pick them because if I leave them any longer they rot, but when I pick them and try them out they don't taste sweet just bland and boring. I have chosen this mini variety hoping they will take less time to mature and just like cherry tomatoes they will have more taste.

I have also put in a row of butternut squash seeds, according to the seed packet they shouldn't be planted till May but I'm really eager to see how they do as I've never grown them before as they take up alot of space. Mr Veg has a great recipe for a goats cheese and squash lasagna which we'd love to try with home grown squash. If the growing is successful I'll share the recipe.  

In another tray I have descended to put in more James Wong seeds I've never tasted before. These include Chinese Chives which are supposed to taste of roasted garlic, Microgreen Herbs which grow quickly like cress and go great in salads and on top of burgers. The final seed I've set off are Inca Berries which are cherry tomato sized yellow fruits that are supposed to taste of gooseberries, kiwi and pineapple, so really looking forward to tasting them. The great thing is once grown they should produce berries right into winter.

Hibernation and New Year Plans

My posts here are becoming a bit few and far between..... Sorry. I am planning on picking up properly again soon but at the moment the wild weather is rather keeping me in a semi-hibernation and out of the garden.

That said I have noticed one or two things. The first is the holly bushes I have in my new garden, these bushes come December are usually full of berries, this is to help support birds and small mammals through the hash winter. But this year the bush is empty and the same is true of the holly tree back at my old patch. Does this then mean a mild winter? Also as I put out fat balls weekly for the squadron of sparrows that visit my garden they are not going down as quick as they usually do, the birds mustn't be too concerned about building fat reserves then. So my best guess (better than the Daily Express anyway) is that it's probably gonna be a wet, windy but mild winter, not bad for wildlife.

Regarding my new years resolution my first was to break the plastic bag habit, there really is nothing worse than seeing a supermarket bag flying around in the wind or even worse, stuck in a tree for days/months on end. I've even dug them up in my old patch. Yuk! It benefits sea life too, it sickens me when I hear of whales found with a stomach full of rubbish or rescued turtles and dolphins caught up in plastic. So no I don't need a bag I've got a cotton one thanks ;-).

Next is simple I'm going to try and help my local wildlife even more, by planting insect friendly plants around my plots, hopefully adding a small pond and making some little hidy holes for mammals (or whoever wants to use em). I've seen foxes round the area on my late night and early morning drives so hopefully over the coming year I'll have more to report on these urban cuties. Oh then there's Bill. Bill is our resident squirrel, at the moment he's a little shy, I catch glimpses of him on my way to work, but back in Autumn he was out front searching for conkers so I threw him a few peanuts. I like Bill, even though I'm a big supporter of native species I guess round here is not ideal for reds anyway, Bill can stay.

                                                               Say hello to Bill!