It's that time of year again!

Welcoming in the Full Moon, said to be a time of completion in astrological circles. I once worked as a volunteer in a bio-dynamic fruit & vegetable garden. We sowed & planted in the garden by following the phases of the Moon. I learnt so much about this fascinating method of growing & still try to incorporate one or two lunar gardening techniques, wherever I happen to be gardening.

Very busy last couple of weeks, sowing indoors, Broad Bean, Spring Onion, Kale, Sweet Peas, Helichrysum & an assortment of annuals. Easy jobs, with straightforward instructions given on each seed packet, enjoyably time consuming. Seed packets recommend sowing lots of different kinds of seed outside directly into the soil in the early months of the year, but here in the north east of England, some caution is needed. Finding out more about 'soil readiness for sowing' is always a good idea. Sticking your hand straight into the soil is a good way to check temperature & moisture. If the soil's freezing cold & maybe a bit waterlogged, I'd definitely hold fire for a while, even if its sunny & the sky's blue. Many seed companies write for those gardeners living in the warmer, southern parts of the country. Up this way, we need to take care to ensure we have the right outside conditions for seed germination, root development & plant growth. Patience always proves to be productive in the longer term up here.

At this time of year, I continue with a thorough cleaning of any remaining pots from last year, give the cold frames a good wash plus lots of Spring tidy ups in the allotment & different gardens I look after. Also a good time to check indoor plants which have become rootbound. This morning I'm repotting (with a good houseplant potting compost), 3 small African Violets, now ready for bigger pots. I'll add some Perlite for better drainage too.

Indoor seed sowing also continues. Not having a greenhouse, I use windowsills in our kitchen for seed germination, especially for seeds requiring a warmer start such as Ipomea, Echinacae, Sweet William, & Sage. Half size seed trays are filled & covered with transparent storage bags to retain the required warmth & humidity levels. If you use this method for germinating seeds, remember to keep your eye on them & change the covers regularly to prevent 'damping off' which is a disease likely to finish off the fragile new seedlings.

For sowing outdoors under cover, I have one of those mini-greenhouses which proves to be a very useful space for half & full size seed trays. Another very useful space for indoor sowing  is our unheated conservatory, which also starts filling up during the coming months. A reliable seed compost, (John Innes), is used, with a little added Perlite for extra drainage. At the moment, I've  been busy sowing Leek, ('Northern Lights'), Chard, Spring Onion, Kohlrabi & a few annuals, mainly seeds collected from last years gardens such as Helichrysum, Nigella damascena & Calendula. Outside in front of the conservatory, the mini-greenhouse will soon be full of filled seed trays. It's definitely that time of year again! I may need to invest in a second one! 

Thanks for reading & happy sowing & Spring cleaning & sorting!