Grow - Down Another Rabbit Hole

Veg Patch Before

In my new house I have a tiny bit of garden that I am now responsible for, in which has a bit of grass, a pathway and an overgrown bed, probably used for something like flowers before. Either way it is a little neglected and I feel like I myself can give it a bit of love that it needs. I first thought that I might find some low maintenance, pretty type shrub to put into the bed and that would be that. But the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to try my hand at growing some vegetables and I ended up falling down a massive rabbit hole of veg gardening, and found several books to get my nose into.

When I made this decision it was getting on into the second half of February and it was just in time to start getting things in the garden ready for a new life. I was down visiting my Mam when I found these books and read nearly two books on growing vegetables, as well as finding bits a pieces in another reference book that my Mam had. By the time I was making my way back home, I had bought myself some seeds, a book, borrowed one of my Mam's books on long term loan, and decided what I was going to plant and had most of a plan of action thought out in my head.

The day I got home I got out into the garden and spent a good three hours digging and making good the old flower bed ready to become a veg bed and hold some new life. I also managed a cheeky trip out to the local garden centre, just to see what gives and to pick up a bag of compost and one more pack of seeds.

After The Digging

My afternoon of digging, did make me ache all over, and I was back to work the next day, and was a little stiff and achy then too. But I felt so much better for being outside and the exercise it gave me. It is so nice to be in the fresh air when you have spent a lot of the winter cooped up inside. The idea of growing new things also filled me up inside. I have a few fond memories of when I was a child trying to grow things in my parents garden, with varying degrees of success. I remember enjoying the digging so much, I think it was a welcome tonic to sitting at a desk for days in a row when I was at school - I've never been one for a desk job!

After the mammoth weeding session, I dug in some fertiliser into the bed to get it all set for when I plant some things out. I found when digging that some bits of the bed were a little better then the rest. The section nearest the house was rather stoney, but the rest seemed less so. When I was digging I pulled out most of the larger stones, but this stoney part seemed pretty full of gravel almost. I marked the section off with a piece of bamboo that I found in the garden, to seperate it from the rest of the bed. It gives me the chance to properly plan what I am going to put in that section.

Fast forward a few weeks and it is now the middle of March, I've luckily been able to keep on top of the weeding, although there has been minimal weeds. There has been a couple of storms as well, but that seems to have helped to soak the bed. But the local cats seem to think I've made them a new giant litter tray. - I dug out three poops in about as many days. I gave it another quick dig to try and level out the soil, and I'm starting to get all excited again. I also planted some of my first seeds.

My plan for the garden was to plant spring onions, leeks, carrots, basil and spinach. I think saying all of those things are for the garden is a tiny bit misleading, as I don't think the basil is going to go outside. When I did my reading up to start with, those were the veggies I thought would be best suited to what I wanted to achieve and what I had. In my grand plan, I have started the basil, spinach and the first lot of spring onions inside. The basil I expect will stay inside in pots, but once the weather has decided what is going on, then the spring onions and the spinach will start to be planted out. Eek! I feel like things are finally happening!

New Seeds Just Planted

The carrots and leeks are in need of more thought. I have yet to decide on a variety of leeks I will use. I know the variety that I want, but I can't seem to find it in the shops I have looked around, so I might have to see what gives online. The carrots I do have the seeds for, but am yet to decide if I try them in a pot to start with. I am also very tempted to try some potatoes. I know they are fairly hardy and are good for planting in a plot that is relatively new, but I am weary of biting off more than I can chew.

So this is the new rabbit hole I've been dragged down this year, and hopefully I can get something out of it, even if that is a sense of  feeling closer to the world around me. I will try my best to keep you all updated. Green fingers crossed that these all work out.


** This post was written before there was a country wide lockdown, I hope that everyone is doing what the government has mandated, and is staying safe inside, only going out for the essentials. I am classed as a key worker, so am still going to work when I'm on shift, but doing what I can to stay indoors when I'm not. **