Let's get this party started!

Ok - Easter is over, we have had a full moon and the vernal equinox has passed - time to think about late spring and early summer.

Sowing the seeds (of love)
I started sowing the first seeds way back in Nov 2007, I wanted to see if I could grow some plants in my new propogator -shed construction - I tried the following:

• Cauliflowers: these grew and are now planted out


• Spring onions: these grew, have been transplanted to bigger pots and are hardening off outside


• Lettuce: now these grew and I needed space in the 'shed' so 'dumped' them outside to 'do or die' - they are amazingly still alive - even after very very frosty nights


• Rocket: this [again] needed to be let loose from the shed [space reasons] - but these have done the best - absolutely thrived in the cold weather - including snow!!!!

Will post pictures of all these later - bet you can't wait!!!

Sowing seeds - since Feb 2008

This has been a fun moment - since having the 'shed', I can now start everything off as early as possible. Yes I am taking risks, but I'm that kinda guy!! If it doesn't work - what the heck!! Will post a list of these seeds and updates later.

• Potatoes - these went in on the 23rd March after being 'eyed-up' since Feb. They are the 'Swift' variety - so let's see what happens there!!!

• Jerusalem Artichoke - never grown these before - planted them around the 18th March - you eat the tubers and it is an edible sunflower - the flowers are a lovely yellow!.

• Pea & Broad Beans - originally sown in late-feb in the 'shed' but the flippin mice got them, so had to re-sow them - b*stards!! Nevermind - have replaced them with an RHS gold standard variety and some peas - inspired by the 'Victorian Kitchen Garden'!!

'The Victorian Kitchen Garden' DooVD

I have this amazing series from 1987 on DVD - biggup Peter Thoday (image) and Harry Dodson (RIP 2005)!! They talk about some 200 year old varieties of peas. I have been trawling the internet and found a website http://www.mammothonion.co.uk/ that were selling the very same 'Ne Plus Ultra' variety of pea and a 'Purple Podded' variety they talk about [see image above] - so all's good and I bought some.

Into Apri we go!!

The next coming month should be a fun time - so will keep posting the results - and failures. But it's all an experiment of sorts.