Wednesday 12 January 2011

Planning the growing year



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It's that time of the year, folks. Yes, it really is time for the seed ordering and kitchen garden and allotment work to be planned.

This year we are using seed from the Real Seed company, and I'm keen to start the transition over from hybrids to traditional seeds and try to start a seed library of our own. This will be another steep learning curve on top of the already steep learning curve, but I am itching to get back into our allotment. I really have missed it. I never thought I would ever really *like* farming, but it really has woken a part of me up and connected me in a way I didn't know was possible. I really *love* our bit of land like it is a part of our family.

To bring some organisation to all these seeds last year I made this wallet/pouch/wrap, decorated with a bit of appropriate embroidery. It is an easy way to keep it all together for the time being.

There they wait - these amazing packets of life. There they wait til the alchemist brings all the elements together on his land and let's the amazing power of creation take hold.

I honestly cannot wait.

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For more in-depth blathering on about these matters you will find me over on my Backyard Homestead blog, which has laid dormant in the winter months.

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11 comments:

  1. My seeds are bundled up waiting for me to find the energy to get outside. My garden is unfortunatley a neglected mess but I have big plans and if I pull just one carrot from the ground this year... I'll be happy.

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  2. That's tht spirit! Me too! Baby steps can get you to where you want to go.

    Garlic needs going in now though. Will have to do that ASAP

    And have you seen the 'Cottage Garden' ob BBC2? It's on iPlayer too - I loved it. Got me back in the mood for some hard graft ;-)

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  3. all this talk of allotments, seeds, growing, is getting me very excited!

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  4. Yeah, the garden is still moving whether we can see it or not. Can't wait to get back in there and get our hands dirty

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  5. i have been pouring through seed catalogs and Carrots Love Tomatoes myself. my garden is getting a little makeover this year...going all raised beds. so excited as well!

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  6. Yes, we've decided to go with raised beds this year too. For kitchen gardens/homesteading/allotment etc sizes it increases yields.

    Get the garlic in! I'm a little obsessed about garlic right now...

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  7. I like the carrot embroidery.
    And you got leek seeds, awesome! I like it almost so much like garlic (no day without garlic) In Florida is leek freaky expensive, there they're smaller than in Europe and just one cost around 1.99 $ in a good season, crazy. On my windowsill Siberian paprika is growing. The white flowers are already there, but plant-mites and aphids
    are my problem right now. At the beginning of fall fungus gnat did damages on my plants. I guess its the heat of the radiator.

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  8. Leeks are stupid prices here too - which is why I'm so keen on growing my own! food prices are getting higher every day here all round.

    Pests - try crushing some of the pests up in boiling water and spraying back onto the plant - this acts like a natural pesticide.

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  9. actually, mash them up in a cup of water, stand in the sun for a day, filter through an old stocking and dilute in 4L of water before you spray.

    or grate 4 cloves of garlic, add to 1l of water and leave overnight, grate some soap flakes into the water and then use to spray. You can also add chili if you're brave!

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  10. Here we're still covered in snow/ ice so trying to be patient, waiting for it to be warm enough so I can actually dig into the ground without needing to use a pneumatic drill!

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  11. Yeah, we're confined to the planning and seed buying for the time being!

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