Here comes the excitement! Are you ready?

Hands up, who has ordered their seeds yet? Also, who are the eager beavers that have started sowing?

I finally got round to ordering the last of my seeds this week including Cauliflower, Brussel sprouts and Cabbage. I’m determined to have all year round growing nailed this year! How good are you at avoiding the veg aisles in supermarkets during the winter months? I need to get better and this year, I will succeed.
I’m going to share all my seed choices in a future blog post and video but the majority are from my favourites from the beginning, Groseeds, as well as the new and exciting range from Suttons which I will be trialling for them this year. Hopefully you noticed a familiar face in their 2018 catalogue.

Whilst I have ordered everything, big tick for me, what I haven’t done is started sowing. Sweet peas, chillies, sweet peppers and broad beans can all be sown now, but I’m being patient. In all honesty, it’s not that, I still need to finish cleaning all my pots from last year and purchase my seed compost. Then, I will be off, no stopping me, so maybe this weekend.
I also need to start saving my egg trays and ask my very kind chef at work for their super large ones, then I can go buy my potatoes and start chitting them on the windowsill in early Feb too. I haven’t decided which varieties to go with just yet, what do you think? So far, I have tried Charlotte, Annabelle, Sarpo Mira and King Edward. Always going for an early and main variety, but I feel the Annabelle may just have to become an annual ‘must’. You know why! Give me some suggestions and I will pick my fate.

Amongst all those things I still need to do, what I have done, finally, is visit the plot, No.27. I went on Sunday and what a chilly but lovely day it was. Does anyone else get nervous if they haven’t been for a week or two? Or is it just me? Will it all be in once piece and will the weeds have gone bonkers; two questions that go through my head as I approach the site gate.
I didn’t stay long as 4 degrees isn’t exactly my ideal working temperature, I needed a bonfire to keep me warm,  but I got a few jobs done. Still many more to do too!
I tidied my mini wildlife pond and pruned my Autumn Raspberry canes, ready to start growing and fruiting again! Hopefully this year I will have enough for making jam, even if it means freezing them as I go.

I also took a few minutes to appreciate and take in the beauty of my hellebores, I just love them. When nothing else is flowering and the plot still looks so bleak, there they are, looking bold and beautiful, adding colour to the allotment. If only they would lift their heads and be proud! They are a must for every allotment and garden especially, in my opinion, giving hope and happiness until Spring arrives.

As I said it was only a quick trip within a busy weekend of gardening related fun, including visiting National Trust’s Greys Court and filming a video with Mike from The Vegetable Garden Show, based in New Jersey, USA for his YouTube channel (video coming soon!).
But a short visit that filled me with joy and comfort all the same. It got me excited for the growing year ahead, seeing the robins flutter by and land on a nearby post, giving a little nod as if to say hello. Flower bulbs peeking through the soil, showing sign that Spring isn’t too far away.

Have a wonderful week and I will be back at the same time next Monday. Follow my Instagram, Twitter and Facebook for daily updates. x