… has meant that there is very little I have been able to do. The plan to have my concrete laid (for the shed) and the beds all laid out and manured has been temporarily suspended until the rain stops and the land dries. I mean it hasn’t stopped raining since about October last year, but I’m forever an optimist.
I suppose it’s a good thing, If I had got everything set out and done before the storms then it would probably have been washed away by now. However, there is only so much I can do inside without thoroughly annoying my mother – I don’t think she is very keen on me using the AGA as my personal greenhouse/heated propagator.
In the meantime I’ve gone a little crazy buying seeds, my potatoes are actually chitting (I can see them doing it, it’s awesome), I’ve bought some seeding compost (John Innes), and I have spent far too much time buying multiple trays, pots and propagators from Wilko’s (an untapped gardening resource). I also designed a spreadsheet, I love a spreadsheet and I plan on logging each and everything moment so I know what I can do for next year.
Today, I seeded three things – chillis, parsley, and broad beans. The chillis are in the airing cupboard, as they must be kept at 25C whilst they germinate. The parsley is on the kitchen windowsill as they need 18-20C. And the broad beans are in the dining room, because they like the ambience of the room. I don’t know why they are in there, it was a good a place as any to put them.
I have realised I literally have NO idea what I am doing, and I keep telling myself that this is ok. But, I am envisioning that nothing will germinate. The books make it sound so easy, but I think I’d prefer to raise a cat or a sheep. At least a cat tells you when it is hungry (mine, very loudly and annoyingly), and a sheep can tell you when it needs help (bleating very loudly from the wrong side of the sheep fencing), but a plant does neither of these things before it suddenly gives up the will to live.
However, since writing this I have been to a talk on no-dig gardening which was fascinating. I now know what I need to do to get started, and I was given so many tips and tricks on how to maximise your yields. So we’ll see what happens, hopefully we get a break in the rain next week and the concrete can be laid. After that I can properly start setting the beds down…
…and I’m sure my parents will be happy to be shot of all the cardboard I’ve been hoarding since Christmas.
RAJ
