My garlic on April 2nd, 2012

Spring is definitely in the air and now is when the gardening season starts properly. My garlic, onions and beans planted last autumn have doubled in size over a period of just one week. Weeds in a flower bed have done the same and are about to overtake the flowers! Tomato, leek and pepper seedlings have been growing nicely in the mini-greenhouse (turnips have been forgotten and “burnt” twice so far, so not everything is well in this kingdom, although amazingly they came back to life both times after a drizzle of water and a short spell in the cool air of the kitchen). But the leisurely pace becomes something of the past as of today as there are lists and lists of jobs to do in April! AND they have to be done ASAP, no more procrastination allowed!

I always get excited at the start of the new growing season as I always dream about huge crops of all possible kinds of veggies, herbs and berries and fruits, in reality though most of the time I’m flailing behind The Schedule as Mother Nature is not the one to wait until one finds time or mood to go and plant, sow or weed!

So here is The Schedule!

In the greenhouse:

Sow in trays lettuce, squash, tomatoes, aubergines, peppers, nasturtiums, sunflowers, beetroot, dwarf French beans, courgettes, cucumbers.

On the plot:

Sow direct parsnip, carrot, radish, spring onion, marigold seeds around plot’s edges.

Plant out turnips, second early potatoes, strawberries.

Harden-off leeks.

It sounds like a lot of plants to grow, but it isn’t going to be really. Our plot is not that big and what I am aiming for is just for 4-5 good plants of tomatoes, peppers, aubergines, squash and courgettes, and a few successive rows of lettuce and root crops, and then some herbs and a bit of flowers. My plot will keep me occupied but not overworked and hopefully we will have some veggies and herbs to enjoy fresh from the patch with our summer dinners! Truly self-sufficient it is definitely NOT going to be!

Nevertheless on our plot we follow organic principles and I try if not garden, then at least sow by the Moon (which is a mission in itself and definitely a topic for a separate post!) The concept of “from fork to fork” is rather appealing and I should be posting photos and recipes of all those wonderful dishes cooked using our home grown produce very soon!

For now the battle of weeds awaits!