You would think given I’ve worked as a Head Gardener for a number of years now, that I would sow a lot of seeds but truth be told I don’t!
Sowing seeds is a pleasant, usually warm, sedate , indoor job and I’m the sort of person who saves that job as a treat for another member of the team, possibly someone who is physically is a little less robust than myself. After all you cant expect everyone to stand out in the freezing cold, hacking rain day after day if you’re not prepared to do it yourself! I think its termed leading from the front.
Read more: Sowing the seeds…That said I LOVE propagation, I love the act of taking cuttings, splitting, dividing and sowing seeds. Making new plants feels like a kind of magic and its one of the things that lured me into gardening. I would help grandad sow his vegetable seeds into perfectly straight lines and watch with delight as a few days later the seed leaves would start to appear.
So today I took some time to start what I hope will become an exciting growing season and I tried out a few new things.
At last years Garden Press Event I was given a few things to try out, my lovely little Lime tree from Dobies for example. That’s been doing great and I’m hoping I might even get a fruit this year! I was also given some seeds from Unwins which I never got a chance to sow, so I thought I’d better get a wriggle on and try them out now!
Plus for the eco aware of you out there I’m trialling some Gro-Sure fibre pots. Apparently they’re made from wood fibre and can be planted straight out into the ground. This obviously eliminates the need for plastic pots but I have questions!
I’m going to be using Unwins Broad Bean ‘Meteor’ as my control in this experiment and a peat free compost. I will plant 20 in the Gro-Sure pots and 20 in conventional plastic. Planting them out when they have germinated and the first 2 sets of leaves appear, early march.
I will report back on which ones grow best!
That’s if I don’t have any mice steal the seeds!
I’m also looking forward to growing some beautiful ornamental flowers to grow amongst my vegetables and herbs. One of the ones you can start now, If you haven’t already is Sweet peas. Such a rewarding plant to grow. The more you cut, the more you get and they smell absolutely divine.
I’m starting off with another gift from Unwins ‘Platinum Jubilee’ but I’ll be adding a lot more to this selection with at least 3 sowings in the coming year.
I’d also like to point out this cute little dibber from Greenman Garden Tools, I was kinda skeptical about it at first but as my pointy finger is just starting to show the first signs of arthritis this lovely little dibber was just the job for making a decent dent for my seeds, plus it feels really nice in my hand.
I added some Spring Onions and Nigella to the mix and that was a brilliant couple of hours spent messing about in my glasshouse. I’m so looking forward to the next year of sharing organically grown fruit and vegetables again but I have a question for you guys and I would REALLY appreciate your thoughts on this as I cant eat tomatoes!
What in your opinion is the best tasting Cherry Tomato?
Please tell me in the comments section below
I’ll leave you with a view of the woodland which someone has very correctly described as Magical!
I cant wait to share how things progress this year!
Louise Nicholls - Adventures in horticulture 
It’s nice to see your gardening passion reignited, Lou. This is my first year growing seeds, normally I buy small plants, or the sad, half dead ones, and watch them hopefully grow happy and healthy. Looking at your photos I seem to be sewing my seeds correctly!
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sowing seeds is really rewarding! and thank you I feel really inspired 🙂
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I love Sweet Million for a red cherry tomato and a couple of years ago discovered a yellow variety called “Yellow Pearshaped” they have a great taste and are so pretty in a mixed bowl of tomatoes. They both cook and freeze well too.
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ooh good choice! Thank you!
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Hi Louise, I’m not big on growing veg, but I have been growing tomatoes for the last few years, and the best I’ve tried is ‘Sungold’, which is orange in colour and was sweet and tasty. It’s a bush variety, and is recommended for growing outside.
Good luck with your seed cultivation, Graham
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brilliant cheers graham
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We would agree with the above. sun gold is mine and my husbands favourite cherry tomato
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Thats brilliant, thank you rosemary 🙂
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Hi Lou, a few years back at the garden press event I asked all. The seed companies for their sweetest cherry tom. Answer: Sweet Aperitif. Finally got around to growing it over the last 2 years, it’s yummy and very moreish!
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Hi Andy, that’s brilliant, I’ve literally just ordered 2 of these plants (along with a few other cherry tomatoes) to go in the glasshouses. Hopefully I’ll catch up with you there this year!
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Hi Lou,
I’ve been following you for a while on social. I always enjoy your inspirational and thoughtful posts. I’m trying to grow a lime tree. I live in Spain and you would think the conditions would be suitable, but it’s quite cold here in the winter and the lime tree is looking sad. It’s outside in a pot. The leaves are very yellow. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks Julie
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ooh thank you that’s really kind of you to say!
And interesting, I definitely would have assumed you would be ok with a Lime in Spain but I always forge how cold the nights can get especially if you live in an elevated area. Is there a sunny south wall you could move it to? Also check its not waterlogged, sometimes the drainage hole in pots can get clogged this can cause plants to be too wet. Limes do like it a bit warmer than Lemon trees, I’ve got mine in a cool sun room but it would prefer it warmer if I’m honest, you could try fleecing it, that may help.
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