With the warmer days and recent sunshine bringing the daffodils out in a welcome display of spring, I am spending a very rare evening actually sat on the sofa!
It is a pretty rare occurrence for me as I would much rather be out and about doing something (even if it is sowing seeds by torchlight in the greenhouse) than sitting with my feet up. However the evening’s are not yet light enough for me to do any real gardening after work so instead I am sitting here looking at the list of seeds I have already sown and thinking of the season ahead.
I am sure I’m not the only gardener getting impatient to get back out there in the fresh air now there has been a hint of spring, but this evening is giving me time to think about what I grew last year and what I want to do differently in the year to come.
My main aim last year was to grow more winter veg and produce that can be stored so I didn’t have to shop for veg in the depths of winter. I had some success with this plan, but it definitely could have gone better!
It’s nearly the end of March and last weekend I picked my last cabbage and the last lot of sprouting broccoli. I still have a few Brussels left, lettuce is growing the greenhouse, the kale and swiss chard is still going strong and there are a few carrots left in storage. Oh and not forgetting the multiple bags of potatoes that we always seem to have left due to my father in law wanting to sow a strip at the top of a field instead of just a few rows in the veggie patch.
Despite this list of produce that has kept us going over winter I was still a bit disappointed with last year. Due to the hot dry weather, not a single of my parsnip sees germinated, even after multiple sowings. I also completely forgot to sow any leeks and I was so late planting out my brussels there were no where near ready for Christmas dinner.
Sitting here reflecting on my trails and disappointments of last year is helping me devise my plans for sowing and planting this year.
It’s strange really, I spend so much time doing, that I very rarely take the time to just sit, think, reflect ad plan for what happens next. My one evening at home has given me the time to write lists (and a very rare blog post) and think about timings for sowing and rotation for planting. I normally just sow all the seeds I buy (and save) whenever I find the time and you can guarantee I run out of space to plant everything.
Now I can’t guarantee that I won’t be trying to squeeze in extra rows just to find space for everything, but hopefully this little bit of downtime will reward me in the year ahead
B's Backyard 