I dont know where January went to, but February is here already! This for me is the real start of the gardening year ‘ February Fun Time’ is when I start to sow in earnest. I get so excited with the promise of the new growing season, that even the bad memories of 2012 are fading fast. I like to get a start on the year by sowing indoors and in modules. Broad bean Aquadulce Claudia have been sown in modules and new for me this year, the pink seeded ‘Karmazan’. I have sown early peas Douce Provence in modules too and my early potatoes are chitting nicely. I have Kelsae onion and Mammoth leek seedlings coming on nicely, with lettuce and herbs seedling coming through. The house windowsills are fast filling up with chilli and early tomato plants, oh! I do love this time of year. Check out the great seeds available in the Seedparade seed shop.
Time too for tiding, my growing beds are weed free, but I have a fruit growing area that needs attention and lots of potted plants and bulbs, that also need a bit of housekeeping. I shall start on the pots by removing any weeds or dead plant material. Then I will top dress the pots with fresh compost and a little granulated seaweed. I grow lots of lillies in pots and quite a lot of fruit trees and bushes, so I have a lot of pots to sort out. I need to make a visit to a local forest to collect pine needles, these make a great mulch for my potted blueberries and camelias, it gives them an acidic boost.
Like many folks my garden has been affected by the constant wet of 2012. I need to renew my access path to my raised beds, it is still deep mud even now. I think the best solution is to dig out the mud, line with porous membrane and fill with gravel. This will give me a free draining all weather path. I just need to convince my back it will be worth it!
The weather hasnt been too bad the last few days in my part of North Yorkshire, a bit chilly, but lots of sunshine and now wind. Hopefully it will help to dry the garden out.
Lots of birds visiting the feeders including Siskins and Long Tailed Tits. The woodpeckers and Nuthatches love the peanuts, everyone else favours the sunflower hearts.
I was looking through some of last years photos of the growing garden, I was amazed at how great everything looked! That of course was before all the rain. Still it was great to see all the growing plants. The photo below is for a bit of inspiration. Right I’m off now to sow more seeds!
