Seeds, Seedlings and Young Plants

I seem to have a house full of toilet rolls and egg boxes full of compost and seeds or baby plants of vegetables and herbs and I still have 4 egg trays of potatoes chitting away. On the vegetable side I have Halloween Pumpkins growing at a great rate, Peas not far behind and Sweet corn has started to shoot up. Lots of seeds are just keeping me in suspense, I’m not sure of germination times.

 This week I have sown herb seeds of Motherwort, Wild Bergamot, Chives, Calendula, Coriander, Dill, Lemon Balm and Meadowsweet. I am waiting for the Basil I sowed last week to show itself. I should know what these young plants look like over the next few weeks.

 In the garden most of my herbs have survived the harsh winter weather we had before Christmas. Roman Chamomile is quite leafy, Sorrel has leaves, St John’s wort is doing well, Comfrey has little leaves, my single Meadowsweet has small leaves and Valerian leaves are coming up red at the moment. Marshmallow looks like it is still with us but I can’t find my little violet. I planted some Elecampane root from Sarah but nothing is happening yet. Rosemary, Blue Hyssop, Bronze fennel and Thyme are accounted for.

My first glimpse of Meadowsweet this year

 My herbal ally, dandelion seems to be getting leafier and I seem to have loads of them all of a sudden. The population will start to dwindle as I try more herbal recipes with them.

Dandelions are growing quickly

 The vastness of our allotment 100ft x 45ft has struck us now it has been ploughed and we can start to use it. We have a major couch grass problem and I’ve invited lots of family and friends over on Saturday to have a dig and weed party. I’m sure there is a herbal use for couch grass, I must check before I throw it all away. Hopefully I’ll get some early potatoes planted Saturday which will give me room for more seed-containing toilet rolls of herbs, flowers and vegetables.

Our bare plot is in the centre