Planning and Sowing for 2023

 This year sees me planning a bit differently to other years. I've always liked to experiment, which is something that I will carry on doing, but I will also try to concentrate on getting bigger yields or the fruit and vegetables that I love to eat. There's also a change in how I'm gardening. So what's going to be different?

No dig

Last year, I started a no dig plot in my back garden. Having seen and read what Charles Dowding is doing, I must admit that I'm a fan of no dig for several reasons. Crop yields are better, I like the idea of not having to hurt my back with turning soil and the impact on the environment in a positive way far outnumbers everything else. So, on my plot I've been laying a little straw, then cardboard and homemade compost on top. The only downside is despite having a couple of compost heaps, I don't think I'll have enough so it looks like I'll have to buy organic compost in to top it up. 

Creating a forage area

This will be the big project for this year. I was hoping to do this for some time but never had the opportunity. An area of the garden that used to house my ducks (I have no more ducks now), is empty and in need of sprucing up. I wanted something that was going to encourage wildlife and give me some fruit and veg back, so I'm creating a second wildlife pond for the garden and will be planting native wildflowers along with perennials that I can pick. There's already a hazel tree there, although the local squirrel always beats me to it on picking the nuts, but I aim to add bilberries, wild garlic, alpine strawberries and somewhere for mushrooms. This won't be an easy task I think, but I'll keep you posted on the progress.

Container growing

This year I'll be growing more in containers too. I didn't get the best out of my potatoes in the garden last year, so I'm going to grow them in large bags instead. This way I get more room for other plants in the veg plot. There's also dwarf fruit trees, but these are still very young so I'm not expecting much this year.

                                                 

                          Some more container growing: coriander seed germinating in a hydropod in my conservatory. 

More, more, more

I have to admit to myself that although it's a nice idea to grow lots of different things, I need to be a bit more realistic in my goals. This year, there'll be more tomatoes, onions, beans, sweetcorn, squashes, chillies and soft fruit. I will have other plants too, but there'll be harsh words with myself if I get carried away again! The idea is to be able to grow lots of certain veg to be able to store it. I have some passata, garlic, chutneys and pickled/dried chillies from last year but it soon runs out. Wouldn't it be nice to have enough for the whole year?

Did I say I wanted lots of tomatoes?

This is what I want more of this year

 What I'm already sowing

There's some differences in methods this year. I'm only just starting to sow seeds. In previous years, I've started off as early as January, with the aid of heated propagators and lighting. With energy bills going up, I don't want to pay more for using electricity when I don't really have to. So, I've started sowing tomatoes and chillies into windowsill trays. These trays were bought a few years ago and I got a few more from someone giving away theirs over winter last year. That way I can use the warmth from the house and the lighting too. That should encourage the seeds to germinate. 

I didn't have seed cells in the free window sill trays I got late last year, however I did have some cardboard cells that fitted well into them. A plus for the environment if it weren't for the fact that they came wrapped in single use plastic.

I've also got peas and broad beans sown in pots and loo rolls in the polytunnel. The broad beans are coming up already! I will sow another succession in the next couple of weeks. Broad beans are so easy to store. Once I've picked them, I like to simply store them in containers in the freezer. I also love to grow peas, although not necessarily for cooking with. I find that peas are great to pick at the time that you want to eat them, so that for me is simply a lovely treat, which the rest of my family enjoys too.

My tips for this time of year:

• Start sowing as March is creeping up on us.
• Keep cleaning bird feeders to prevent the spread of disease. Our birds will need all the strength they can get to prepare for their breeding season. The same goes for water too.
• Prune mahonia, winter jasmine and buddleja
• Spread some compost around the beds
• Plan your fruit and veg garden!