Getting Ready For This Year's Gardening

Dear Family & Friends

The first month of the year is a good time to start planning for the year's gardening activities. I got out some of the seeds I have...some of which I bought last autumn on big Sales...at 10 stotinski (less than 5 pence) a packet. I love bargains...it makes me happy:)

seed packets brings a lot of joy and hope:)

Now is the time to check my schedule which seeds can be sown as early as February...indoors. Spring onions and leeks are some of those, as well as salad green leaves like lettuces and spinach.

spring onion seeds sprouting indoors - ready for spring planting outdoor

Sometimes I wish I have a green house...but I've learned to make do without. Life doesn't need all sorts of gadgets. If you don't have them, then it's time to be more creative. We got plenty of old windows and I've used them to make some sort of temporary cold frame which can house some seedlings for the few weeks before they could properly be planted in the ground.

My temporary make shift greenhouse out of old windows.

Not every plants needs to be babied...These onion sets can even be directly sown in the garden once the soil is defrosted.

50 pence worth of onion sets - best way to get lots of big onions by end of summer

I have also buried in the ground my Jerusalem Artichoke tubers by now. Last year I only grew a couple of them as I wasn't sure about this plant after reading some negative comments from other people. I've tried it and found that it's a beautiful plant. It has tiny sunflower-like bloom a few weeks before harvest time, then we get crunchy tubers by autumn for food which we cooked immediately..just as you would a potato..and it taste good. 

Jerusalem Artichoke tubers which can be planted outside by this time

Other plants that I have been growing indoors while waiting for the warmer weather are some herbs that we use a lot in our meal. I've propagated and rooted rosemary, lavender, thyme and scented geraniums in the kitchen window ledges. A recycled soda bottles acts like a greenhouse to aid these babies.

Propagating rosemary plant inside a soda bottle during the winter season 

As you can see, even when you've got no greenhouse or heated propagators....if there's a will, there's always a way. Some of my seeds are sown in recycled pots and I place them inside a clear plastic bag to germinate... they work just as well like that. 

my mini green house...seeds sown in cups, all snug and warm inside a plastic bag!

The important thing is to start and give it a go...don't let anything hinder or discourage you...life can be made simple. Gardening is something everyone can do and it's very therapeutic too...good for the soul:)

Wishing you a good weekend:)

Yours