The first seeds of joy!

It's lovely getting back into the greenhouse, isn't it, Ian? I've managed to plant some seeds this week too (flowers not veggie!) and I really enjoyed it. Hadn't thought of your 'tamping down' idea - thanks for that:)

glad youve got going with the seeds ian and kknow what you mean about those trays, but hey bet your glad you kept them now, i am with mine :o))

What better way to have a wonderful time than starting the growing process off on a sunny day in early spring! Glad you enjoyed it Ian but I hope you didn't neglect your Mothers Day duties by spending too long out there! I've got a couple of free packets of seeds and I now feel inspired to dig them out, get them planted and see what comes up :o))

Hi Ian
Glad to see you've also made a start, i've been watching out for your blogs, to see what i should be doing :-)

I have made a start and filled my kitchen window sill, with:

ice burg lettuce (now been thinned and potted up)
tomatoes (big enough to have their own little pots) 2nd batch just peeping up
cauliflower (they need potting on soon)
Yellow peppers ( just peeping up)
marigolds (potted on ) 2nd batch just peeping up
pansies (slow but sure)

not a lot of room left now, so taken over kids bedroom sills too :-)

might invest in small 4 tier plastic green house :-)

as i too want to start some sweetcorn, peas & beans off inside

Oh last but not least planted out 4 earlies potatoes in sacks.

Partitian fence is built now in garden, just need to crack on this week and get some raised beds built :-)

anything else i should be doing????

Hiya mate!

long time no GoY for me! All power to you with your seeds and the allotment. I can see big things ahead for you and although it will take time and effort, I know that YOU will get immense pleasure from this ongoing project.

Look forward to seeing the progress......:0))

Thank you all for your lovely comments!

Gee, you're welcome. Lol

Homebird, Yes they are pea seed and yes there is nothing I like better than planting seeds and watching them poking their little heads above the soil. :~))

Hi San, I must admit to being given about two hundred of them from Freecycle last year! I knew they would come in handy! Lol

Hi Lily, it's nice to hear from you, I helped Carol with lunch (couldn't possibly do it on my own. People can starve to death with my cooking!) Get those seeds out and into the greenhouse, I was in my shirtsleeves today in there!

Kimmy, A lot of veggies will go straight into the ground at the allotment as the only window sill we have that doesn't face north is our bedroom and that is full of Geranium and rose seedling (plus my seed potatoes). Lol

Oddbillie, I am so pleased to finally have my allotment and I am slowly but surely getting it into shape ready for the big plant off. I still have to get my poly tunnel down there but there's still plenty of time for that. (Don't tell anyone but I'm working on Carol with the aim of buying another, much bigger, one for the allotment! ! !)

what a good start u have made Ian....i have joined the veggie gang now and my boys have dug me a lovely veggie plot so there will be no stopping me now....happy gardening...

Hi Sandra, Congrats to your boys and you (or they) will never look back. Home grown veg tastes loads better than the shop bought rubbish!

gla dyou were able to start your seeds Ian...................

It's great isn't it being able to eat the fruits of your labours, I agree you can't beat the taste of homegrown. Great blog Ian.

some one has been bisy good luck with them all

Hi Holly, thanks x

You're right Doctorbob, supermarket veg are grown to a size and shape at the expense of taste. There's nothing better than a bent and knobbly carrot if you've grown it yourself. Plus it's got to be better for you without all those chemicals they spray everything with!

Hello Donnah, this is just the start of things to come! Most of my seeds will go straight into their growing positions down on my allotment but I just couldn't wait any longer to get my hands dirty! Lol

and where was Holly in all of this? I hope you have left her with some to plant :o)

Holly was busy poking holes with a pencil and pushing seeds in then filling in with more compost. I'm sure a 70ltr bag of compost should have done more than those we managed to fill! Lol
I can't go anywhere near the garden without her "help"

Good luck with your allotment Ian...sure all this preparation will stand you in good stead !

Thanks BB :~))

Been out and planted the free seeds now Ian (following your instructions of course). No idea if there will be anywhere to plant them but I'll worry about that when the time comes!
Glad you 'helped' with cooking the lunch - as you say, probably the safest way! :o))

If you can't find room for them Lily, why don't you put them on your garden wall (or somewhere similar) with a sign saying "please help yourself" your neighbours will gladly make use of them!
Oh yes, "helping" with food is as far as I go. When it's my turn to cook I get the take away menus out!

I'm not a bit envious of veggie seeds, Ian - BUT I shall copy that idea of using the trays to plant large FLOWER seeds in - copycat! lol.

Glad you are at last able to get going on the seed growing. :-)))

It's been another lovely day here again Spritz, so a few more seeds got the same treatment!

Good idea Ian, or give them to the charity shop. My ideal kind of cooking is 'take away' too!

I'll do the cooking if you give me the homegrown veg !!

Hi Lily, I will probably end up giving loads to our local Freecycle as well as some of our neighbours.
Terry, I can cook but people loose weight when I do! Lol

Hey you could start something profitable here Ian - some folks pay good money to lose weight !!

Lol Terry, The Ian Digs Weight Loss Clinic!
Two weeks with my cooking and you're guaranteed to lose weight!

Right that settles it then. Terms and conditons please and when does membership start ...... ?? !!!

Lol Terry, honestly mate you would be better off going on hunger strike!

Actually I'm a "her" and we females don't do hunger strikes .....!!

Actually I'm a "her" and we females don't do hunger strikes .....!!

I was missing your blogs & comments, Ian! I thought of sending you a PM but if you aren't posting it would seem that something else is keeping you from here & so would be a waste of time.

It's good isn't it to at last get your hands dirty & get things moving along! I've made a start on the allotment I'm sharing with a guy from church, Gerry is is name. We've been down together a couple of times & I've been back a couple of times since on my own to get on with the digging of a small section. It's such slow, hard work when you have to knee down to turn over every forkful of soil! It's just far too painful to turn over the soil upright! Still the 1st patch is almost finished now & all the Dandelions & other perennial weeds have been removed.

I've taken a few photos & have a draft blog in preparation.

Hi Terry, I'm sorry for the late reply but I'm here now! Just because you're not a man doesn't mean we can't be mates! Lol
Hi Balcony, I've been ill and not posting for a while. Carol wrote a blog "spilling the beans" all about it. You're right of course, this is my favourite time of year. Watching all those little seeds that I have planted starting to grow and poke their little heads up above the ground!

Hi Ian - I'm so very very pleased to see you're back and hopefully a teensy weensy bit better - and of course we're mates !!!

Lol Terry, as it should be! :~))

you cant beat planting the first seeds of the year. nice post indeed.

Hi Chrisx,
I think I may have mentioned it (once or fifteen times! Lol) that this is my favourite time. I spend hours in the greenhouse (NOT escaping my two females! ! !) just planting and potting on all kind of seedlings. It has been suggested that instead of giving them all away on Freecycle, like I did last year, I should try selling them on a car boot sale to raise money to pay for my web site!