How does your garden grow? Spring 2017

Isn't it exciting when little seeds you've planted start cautiously unfurling stalks and leaves, and turning into proper plants? Most of my vegetable planting is now done for the spring, so I thought I'd update you with what's in this year.

I used some plastic sheets to turn my vegetable boxes into mini greenhouses, which I'd like to think helped with the germinating process. One unexpected thing which sprouted were half a dozen courgette plants, which I assume are the same ones that never came up last year. I transplanted them to some pots, where one has already been savaged by slugs.

The seeds that I did expect were spring onions, carrots and rocket, which have duly come up in neat little rows. I haven't tried carrots before; they're supposed to be good companions for spring onions in some mutually beneficial way, so I'll put in another couple of rows soon and see how they go.

tiny spring onions and carrots

tomatoes and rocket

Other plants have been bought in. Someone in the village put a mini-greenhouse-full of tomato plants outside their house, with an honesty box for charity, so I acquired four for a good cause. The peas were a garden centre bargain - £2 for a tray which contained far more than I needed. I do hope they do well, as I rather fancy podding my own peas. I can't remember when I last ate peas from a pod - can you?

dwarf peas

Last year I coaxed strawberry runners from my old plants into growing by themselves. The old plants died off, but the new ones are doing well. When I turned the compost out of the old strawberry pots, I discovered it was full of woodlouse larvae, which may have had something to do with the demise of the strawberries. Are they bad for plants? I suspect ants of living in the other pots, which I wouldn't have thought would be much good for the plants, but so far they don't seem to be doing any harm.

strawberry flowers

So that's my attempt at self-sustainability this year. How about you? Are you growing anything?

Comments

john said…

thank u

11 November 2017 at 00:50

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