So after missing lots of last week due to the whole family being ill (not sure our healthy lifestyle agrees with us!) I was back out again digging out the new beds this morning.
Inside, my early tomatoes (following moon planting with them for an experiment) have been potted on. I have about 23 plants. Hmmm, and a couple of seeds left to sow next month too. Need a bigger greenhouse maybe? Some of them are looking a bit leggy still despite being potted on deeply.

I have moved some salad leaves (2 types) from the cold frame to the greenhouse as they are looking good (only sowed them a couple of weeks back), 2 out of 4 grafitti caulis have germinated in the cold frame. Still no sign on the onion seeds I sowed just into January. Might bring them indoors for a bit and see if it speeds them up. Nothing yet from the sweet peas or the broadbeans... BUT I am a very impatient person. I normally expect to see shoots appearing the next day or I am disappointed!
Moved the red fuego cabbage from the landing windowsill where it's coldish to the coldframe. They have been put outside most days if it was sunny enough so I think they will be ok.

Tonight I have sowed into the heated propagator: 5 varieties of hot chilli and one of mild chilli (WHY?? I only like them mild! I must be bonkers), 2 types of aubergine (I am told they can be tricky. I had a plant from the garden centre last year and it was fabulous), and 2 types of sweet peppers. Only a couple of seeds of each of the above as it's still coldish and I will run out of windowsill space before they can all go in the greenhouse! And for insurance of course in case they fail miserably...

Nothing like optimism!

The Journey So Far...

We moved to this house Jan 2008. Mainly because I had decided that we absolutely had to have a big garden for growing stuff, keeping chickens and so the children could run around. I had only ever grown a few strawberries, herbs and tomaotoes in pots before.

The garden was a mess, in two parts with half of it overgrown, and some massive evergreens near the house.

We set about clearing some of the trees (all except the apple), and bringing the two parts together.

We made 6 beds, 4 of them raised, which I thought would be all I needed for growing (beds were 8 feet by 3 feet each). I had some veg in the flower beds (courgette, pumpkin, squash and PSB).
We put in more fruit trees as well as a 4 year old cherry we brought with us from the old house.

We got 3 chickens, put them in a homemade 6 feet by 6 feet run, let them weed some of the ground for us, then moved them to a permanent run of about 24 feet by 20 feet. They are much happier in there but sadly the grass is long gone!

We bought a coldframe then a greenhouse.

I had success with most things last year (but don't talk to me about brassicas, I should have listened to the man next door) but have decided we need more growing space, so we are currently working to make 4 raised beds, 11 feet by 5 feet each, plus one smaller one at the side of the greenhouse. I hope this is the only time I will say we need 'bigger'!

Not been able to get out much this year so far as it's been sooo cold - and I have a lot of digging to do to get the new beds ready for planting!