Well, here we go. January 2012 week 1 and it’s time to plant those first seeds (indoors that is). Lets see if we can get a few in early and starting to germinate ready for planting out down the allotment in a couple of months time. Let’s face it, I’ve still got to get the plot in order and ready for the seedlings so I’m in no rush at at this point but it does help by adding some sort of pressure to get things done. I’ve been keeping myself busy these lst few days going over and over my planned layout for the plots making slight little revisions trying to make it work in what I think will be the most effective and manageable way. I think I’ve cracked it now. Enough waffling about that. back to the sowing of seeds for our first crops. Taking guidance from the gods of growing the Royal Horticultural Society (http://www.rhs.org.uk/) of whom I now have an allotment notebook (birthday present from my darling girlfriend), an allotment journal (a present from my good friend the lovely Layla) and now an allotment handbook (Christmas present from my dear Ma) we have taken the first steps on our years journey to growing our own.
Before planting we filled a tray containing 40 seed pots with compost which at this stage is still shop bought, the type you get in a patio grow bag. The first 15 Seed pots into which we planted 2 cauliflower seeds from the variety “All The Year Round”. We added to this 25 pots into which we planted onion seeds form the variety “Ailsa Crag”. A Further 18 slightly larger pots the type typically used for planting on we planted leeks “Lyon 2 Prizetaker”. The reason for planting more seeds than we required was in case some don’t germinate and if they all do by chance then we can either pass them on to someone else of just add them to the compost we are currently making at home. So with the first seeds of the year planted its back down the plot tomorrow (Saturday 7th Jan 2012) to get the rest of the digging done and to make sure that nothing got blown away by the recent gales and storms that have been battering the country.