Nature at its best

What glorious weather we've been enjoying! I hope it's been sunny where you are too.

This weekend my hubbie, doggie and I went to visit my brother, sister-in-law, niece and nephew. Having spent a lovely afternoon at their allotment I was inspired to get cracking on my own veggies. So, I have now planted my second early potatoes in their stack of tyres, four rows of red onions, a row of spring onions and a row of leeks. I'll add more rows of spring onions and leeks in the next few weeks so we can enjoy our crops over a longer period of time, plus a few other veggies like beans, tomatoes and salad leaves, and hopefully some strawberries too.

Last year I had moderate success with my crops so this year I'm hoping to do better. I think I've learnt from the mistakes I made last year, we'll have to just wait and see how I get on! For those of you who are interested I use organic peat-free compost and don't use any chemicals to help things grow. If nature and I can't do it on our own, it isn't worth doing! If you're interested in finding out more about organic growing, take a look at the Soil Association's website.

If you've never tried growing your own food I urge you to have a go. There's something quite soothing about handling soil, planting seeds, watering and tending to them. And of course eating the products of your hard work is hugely rewarding. You don't need huge amounts of space (I don't), a windowbox is enough to grow salad leaves or herbs, most things can be grown in pots and, as I've demonstrated, potatoes can be grown in old car tyres! Growing your own food costs a lot less than buying it from the supermarket, plus you know exactly where your meal has come from.

The other great thing about gardening is that it gets you out in the fresh air and (hopefully) the sunshine. Studies have shown that being in nature lifts the spirits and makes people feel happier. So, now nature is well into its stride with flowers blooming, bees buzzing and butterflies swooping about all over the place, I thought I'd give your eyeballs a treat with some images of nature doing what it does best…

1. Parade Magazine, Nature Conservancy Contest Winner, 2. Fields near home, 3. Nature pearls, 4. Blossom close-up, 5. Conch (or Whelk) Shell- Nantucket, 6. Spring Lamb, Spring Flowers

Comments

[Caiti]

I long for the day when I can have a vegetable garden! I live in an apartment where I don't have my own yard or even a balcony/patio. I might do some microgreens and herbs on a windowsill, but I'm looking forward to the day when we upgrade to a house with a yard!

[Kirsty]

We are very sad veggie-growers this week. Our first few batches of seeds, planted indoors to avoid the chill outside, suffered damping off and died. We also lost half our strawberry plants, either to Verticillium Wilt or maybe Vine Weevils (Steve is inclined to blame the evil-weevils, but I'm not so sure!). Potatoes are sprouting like crazy, though, and the raspberries, rhubarb and little patio apple tree are also showing signs of life.

We watched The Edible Garden last night + are now feeling much inspired to try seeds again, but this time outdoors so they get more light and fresh air. Hurrah!

Am also loving your idea of staggering the planting so everything isn't ready at the same time. Will I be pestering you like aphids for more tips like that? Hell, yes!

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