We’re a bit late with this thread this year. Unless I just can’t find it ( more than possible). We should have a fairly good idea what we want to do in the garden this year by now.
So please share your plans & hopes .

Mine is pretty much a continuation of last year. 
More cottage garden beds in place.
Drainage in the veg garden.
More beds in the veg garden.
Another Polytunnel up.

Doesn’t sound that difficult written like that, does it. 

What I have realised today. It hit me fairly hard. I’m really disliking the process of creating the veg garden. The planning stages have been fun. It’s the actual turning it into a usable garden isn’t really doing it for me. I think it’s because it’s taking such a long time. When what I really want to do and really really miss is the actual growing of the veggies. 
Creating the cottage garden however is a very enjoyable experience. I’m loving it. From the planning (scribbling on many many bits of paper) , to the making out the shapes & sizes of the beds, to the digging out the turf (rushes) , to the rock splitting (really love doing this) and manhandling them into place, to the repeated barrow loads of soil & manure to fill them, finally to the planting. The whole process is wonderfully exciting, satisfying & energising. The veg garden however, I just want it done yesterday but properly.

Over the Pond, employees have been asked, by a Muskrat, to name 5 things they've achieved in the previous week - that's if I understand it correctly?? 
Anyway, I thought we could put our own Nutty spin on this and list our own achievements.  
Remembering what we did last week may be a problem, so how about  a daily achievement? It could be something really challenging - like getting up before 10 or eating a whole Mars bar.    Please note, these are not my achievements although I did get up before 10 today.  
Over to you!

Morning Folks

Any idea what this is please, looks like some sort of brassica to me?

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Some interesting information has come out of these experiments. Worth a browse! 
https://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/what-we...archive/p3

Where can you buy seeds that have been produced in the UK - not imported in bulk from anywhere in the world and repackaged - you know who I mean.

Real seeds https://www.realseeds.co.uk/
Vital seeds https://vitalseeds.co.uk/
Wales Seed Hub https://www.seedhub.wales/
Seeds of Scotland https://www.seedsofscotland.com/
Beans and herbs https://www.beansandherbs.co.uk/


Please add to this list - I know there are more seed growers in the UK.

I’ve just signed up for a moon meadow guide from the butterfly conservation. It popped up on my Facebook feed. The link is via google not Facebook.
https://butterfly-conservation.org/join-the-dark-side

Happy Birthday, Danny Broadway! Hope your day is filled with happiness ..........and cake.  xx

We've all heard about the Three Sisters method of growing where sweetcorn, climbing beans and squash are grown together and provide benefits to each other. The beans climb the corn stalks, the squash shades the ground between the plants and the beans add nitrogen to the soil.  The RHS suggests growing sunflowers in the mix too. too. https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/grow-your-...ee-sisters

I've just read an article about Hodmedod's grower of Carlin peas who grows the carlin peas alongside Triticale cereal which provides a  support for the peas to climb up. https://digital-mag.co.uk/waitrosefood-m...eb2025/#90

This has me wondering what other crops could be "buddied up" (as the Hodmedod's grower calls it). Two plants grown in the same place providing double the harvest. 

I'm not really thinking about "companion planting" where one plant acts as a pest deterrent to another, like onions and carrots, but where one plant takes advantage of the physical characteristics of another - like beans climbing up sweetcorn. It could be like hedging your bets - if your sweetcorn is a failure, never mind, because you may still have beans, idea.

Any ideas for other combinations?

Have you guys heard of the latest trend on Tiktok and Instagram? People are laying out plastic or something that isn't penetrable, laying compost on it, sow seeds, then roll it up into 'seed snails'. It apparently makes it easier to separate the plants later on, and it holds moisture etc, and removes the need for seed trays.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9AinRRQ89o

Have you tried it? I might experiment with that!

Does anyone have any echium pininana snow tower seeds. They would be willing to swap. Hopefully I’ve got something in my stash you’d be interested in. Unfortunately my 2 snow towers haven’t made it though the winter so I can’t save seeds and I have 2 big gaps in my flower bed  ( which I can easily fill, I’m being a drama queen    ).
Thank you.