With Easter being so early this year it is a great opportunity to get out into the garden and start planting your seeds. I always plant into trays first, then transfer to the ground. This way I get to choose the largest and strongest plants to go into the garden.
But sometimes I feel like I am all thumbs and the poor roots take a bit of a bashing as they are moved from the tray into the ground. So this this year I have whipped up a few of these.....
Cut srtips of newspaper around 6 inches wide, they can be as long as you like, and wind them around a can or bottle. A prima flower bottle is perfect. Fill them almost to the top with soil and pop your seed on top, then cover with a thin layer of soil. Stand all your 'pots' on a tray and water as you need. When it comes to planting out the whole thing can do in the ground as the paper is bio-degradable. This saves disturbing the root, and is great for flowers like sweetpeas! You can use toilet rolls for this too :) Well obviously not the whole roll, just the cardboard inside thingy!
It takes a couple of weeks for your seedlings to appear, so that leaves plenty time to prepare the beds and pots for planting.
In the autumn I turn all my beds over and smooth the soil with a rake or french hoe. All I have to do now is gently pull out the rogue weeds, give the bed a light covering of compost, and turn it in with a fork. Of course you need to be gentle around your perennials.
I am a gardening novice, so everything I am learning is through trial and error, but we have some neighbours who have been growing vegetables for 70+ years. Ron, who turned 83 in December is one of these people! This is a photo of his allotment taken in April 2007, and looking out my kitchen window it looks like this again now.
Ron has turned all the soil over with a fork and been over it with a rotavator. It's ready to be planted! I will take progress photos through spring and summer!
PS, thats our house in the background :)
If you have photos of your garden or any hints and tips to share, please do!! And we'll see you back here on the 1st April for now in the garden!
haPPy plaNTing!!
Caz
xx
Wow Caz, what a beautiful house and garden you have :)
Posted by: Cath | March 18, 2008 at 05:52 AM
Bought lots of cheapie plug plants at Netto's at the weekend, so need to get them potted up asap. Might make some of these coz I'll no way have enough small pots - what a brilliant idea!
Posted by: jakey | March 18, 2008 at 08:21 AM
Great tips Caz, your garden is amazing!
Posted by: Charlotte | March 19, 2008 at 01:37 PM
Thanks for the paper pots tip, excellent idea :-D
Anne x
Posted by: Anne Evans | March 22, 2008 at 08:05 PM