When I was a kid I used to help my parents grow their own fruit and veg. I was SO lucky as our council house had a big garden so we used to grow most of our own and from a very young age my mum and dad taught me how to plant, tend and cook them (I have fond memories of picking the spuds, placing them in an old biscuit tin and burying it in the bonfire, when the embers died down we had hot baked potatoes-and my mum's face as we walked in the house stinking once again of bonfires (sorry mum, I am no better these days)!
Then in my 20's I moved in with my now hubby and rented flats, missing the garden I spent my 20's renting allotments and growing my own fruit and veg, an experience I loved.
Then we finally were lucky enough to buy a house and I have been tending the garden since. The past 8 years have been hard as being diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis has meant I have had to learn how to pace myself and remember that I can only do short bursts and accept on bad days I am not able to! Seriously, I have a REAL issue with trying to accept I am NO superwoman!! Anyway following a year or so of struggling with my pay the bills job (too much work, not enough time...yadda, yadda....many of us know this but SO grateful I have a job and am still able to work with my disease) I decided I would expand my growing and convert a bit more of our small garden/patio to more veggies, I also put my name back down on the allotment waiting list, knowing it can take a long time to get near the top, but it costs nothing to put your name on the list so why not?
So a couple month ago my window ledges look like this, nice clean and organised.
A mixture of propagators and upcycled plastic containers from the kitchen and even the labels were cut from my yogurt pots.
However, in what seemed like quite a short time my window ledges looked like a mini jungle and the plants started to take over!
I have a sneaking suspicion I may have sown the seeds a few weeks too early so they are still too tender to plant outside as the night temperatures are still a bit too low
They have gotten a bit leggy now and I have started hardening them off, not sure if they will be any good (so I have sown a couple more as a back up for a bit later and if push comes to shove I can always look to buy a couple plants, we often see them being sold from people's front gardens etc).
What have I learnt from this? Well two things really, I need to remember to wait a couple weeks before I sow them next year (I have made notes this time of the date I planted them etc, whereas previously I just guessed!) and secondly my hubby has the patience of a saint!
I will be pleased when these can be planted out and fingers crossed they take, if not, well I can try again next year!
Kyla
