Sowing Our Seeds: Getting Started in the Garden This Year

I love Spring! It’s such a hopeful time of year. The days start to get longer and warmer. The grass starts to grow. Bluebells and daffodils add splashes of beautiful colour. And it’s time to get started in the vegetable garden.

Every year it feels like the race is on to get all the seedlings started, especially the heat-loving plants like tomatoes and peppers, to maximise our chances of good yields over Summer.

This year we’ve had to be even more organised, as we have a small person running the show!

Getting Organised

In order to get the most out of the garden, we start planning way ahead of time. In mid-November, we usually take stock of what has done well in the garden over the year, and reflect on the productivity of the various crops. Did we grow enough tomatoes? Were there too many courgettes? Was this year’s main crop potato variety as good as the one we used last year? How well are the onions and garlic storing?

This allows us to adjust the number of plants we think we will need next year, and consider trying new varieties. We finalise the plan for what we want to grow and place our seed order in December.

Gardening Planner or Journal

This year I have kept a gardening journal in a tabbed project book.

In the first section, I have created an alphabetised list of all the seeds we are sowing this year. I have included details of when to sow, the preferred conditions, when to plant out and when to harvest. This acts as a quick reference when we are out in the vegetable garden and has been very handy!

The second section is a weekly itinerary from March through to June, and the third section from July to October. Each week I have set out the jobs that need to be done, categorised by: seeds to sow, seedlings to plant out into beds, crops to harvest and any other jobs. I have also left a few pages in each section to take notes about what worked well, and what could be done differently next year.

The fourth section contains some sketches and plans of where we have planted different crops this year, to help with crops next year.

And finally, the fifth section gives an overview of which fruits and vegetables we are harvesting for each month of the year, with space to jot down recipes for breakfast, lunch and dinner which make use of the crops we are harvesting.

This is the first year that we’ve kept a detailed journal. Already it has been so helpful in keeping organised. I’m sure all of the notes will be a huge help next year, too!

Starting Early

It can feel strange sowing seeds in module trays when it is cold and miserable (or this year, snowing) outside! But placing your module trays on a sunny windowsill indoors is a great way to get your seedlings started early, thus extending your growing season and maximising your harvests.

We eat A LOT of onions, so always get a few trays started in February. We also get our tomato and pepper seeds started late February / early March. This week, we’ve potted our seedlings on into 3 inch pots and we’re beginning to harden them off in the polytunnel. Exciting!

This year more than ever, I am so excited to get the garden going and involve our little one in it as soon as possible. I hope these little tips help! I’ll keep you updated on our progress over the coming months.