ENTER SPRING
It seems the year is already getting away from me...
How is it nearly the end of March already? Spring is my absolute favourite time of year - Mark prefers the hot and hazy (when we are lucky) days of summer and he is already dreaming of a sunny weekend for Green Man festival in August - but for me it is springtime that brings me so much joy.
Firstly the clocks change, the light levels increase and I can start spending a bit more time outside. I am 100% a fair weather gardener and the dark winter months are difficult to get motivated in. While it has been a little wet recently we have managed a few good sessions at the garden and have a great mindset ready for the growing season.
Secondly seed sowing… once I start I absolutely love it. Last year I put it off and found it all a little overwhelming but this year I am cracking on with clear focus. March is super duper busy for growers - the year starts nice and slowly with a few sowings in February and it really kicks in when we hit March. So far in the house and polytunnel we have the following growing in seed trays:
Lettuce / Radish / Beetroot / Kohl Rabi / Tomatoes (4 varieties) / Cabbage / Spinach / Celeriac / Chilli / Peppers / Aubergine / Peas / Kale / Turnip / Cosmos / Marigolds.
In the garden we have direct sown carrots (mixed with a little radish) and in the polytunnel direct sown some mixed salad, Agretti (monksbeard) and have planted our first early potatoes. Everything in the polytunnel and garden is under fleece on the cold nights and the carrots are staying under fleece all the time. It is a constant rotation in the house as the light comes from one direction so as soon as the night temperatures hit a constant 10* everything will be moved to the polytunnel as the light is much better there.
The only down side to being organised is that we have no free surfaces in the house and Mark is eating his breakfast sat on the sofa as the kitchen table is out of bounds. Last year I used the spare room for the seedlings but having them in the kitchen means I pay better attention to them plus we don’t heat our kitchen so the temperature doesn’t fluctuate too much which they seem to like although it does mean it is a little cool for germinating the chilli and aubergine.
Next week I am going to plant out the second early potatoes and probably re sow most of the things in the list above to ensure that we have some succession plants to extend the seasons as much as possible. One thing that I need to resist doing this year is direct sowing, from everything I have read sowing into modules and planting out should help increase the amount of produce we get from the garden. Obviously this takes up a little more space but by planting out seedlings and established plants means we don’t waste time waiting for seeds to germinate in the ground - not every seed will germinate - plus if the plant is a little bigger it might be less tempting for the slugs and other pests.
Follow us on Instagram for photos of the garden - I will try to post a few more pictures so you can see how it is now and then again in a couple of months. Best of luck with your seed sowing and keep in touch!