WooHoo. Here's my sproutlings - ain't nature a wonderful thing? These are tomatoes and salad sproutings. I also have basil and courgette - I think. (I'm not too good a labelling - got to get better at it!)

Below you can see my garden after a busy Sunday afternoon. Another bed dug, some more seed planting - beetroot, carrots, more salad, more tomatoes.

Lots of clearing and tidying also which culminated in a large bonfire and only one complaint from a neighbour. But don't you just love a good bonfire?

I'm also enjoying the garden for the first time in a long time. Just sitting in the sun, with a cup of tea and the newspapers, waiting for the muscles to stop shaking from the digging and wondering how painful the backs going to be tomorrow. But I've also started to re appreciate baths. I haven't had a bath - meaning I use the shower - for a long time, but since gardening I have renewed my acquaintance with that pleasure - lying in a bath reading a book and a magazine - bliss.

Seeds and being good to bees

I wanted to spend last evening getting some more seeds in while I can, especially now that I have two beds dug. I think its wise to plant them and then get on with the rest of the garden. And also after I get home from work, there's not so much time. Later when the days are longer I can do more.

So in the raised beds I planted, purple sprouted broccoli and leeks which are a long term crop. And in the pots and various containers I have planted a bush tomato, Moneymaker tomato, sweet corn and courgettes.

Also as the pic shows I have been good to the bees and planted flowers for them.

This is the result in the various recycled containers, plastic food trays, Coke/Pepsi cans and a Heinz beans tin

Also in other news, my salad is sprouting - that's quick, The Basil I planted the other day is also starting to sprout. Its exciting.

And I sourced some more wood for the raised beds.

This afternoon I spent a little bit of time collecting together the pots Ive been saving and getting together the free seeds I had. I've some Chilli and Tomato as you can see and a 'hanging' tomato that'll go in a container.



I potted them up, along with some beans and peas, and some basil - these seeds came from Lidl and were 0.28p a packet. and the beans and peas were 0.47p. So this is still gardening for nearly free.
I received some salad leaf seeds today from a colleague and some more tomato seeds, moneymaker this time I think. Ive probably got seeds to swap now, that might make it easier.

Yogurt pots, Pepsi cans (see how Ive turned them into flowers!), egg box and microwave steamed vegetable dish all make good seed trays. The multipurpose compost has been outside the back door for about 3 years so I wonder if it will still work?

Im using an old bathroom spray cleaner thingy to water them with. It gives a nice fine spray.

I can't wait for my first sproutings!

Im on here too!

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End of the Week Roundup

Well its only two days isn't it. But things are coming on apace. I have some tomato seeds in the post apparently. The promise of some chilli seeds - so at least a Salsa is in the offing. Some one else is sending me a mixture of salad leaf seeds (I hope) and I've put a number of begging letters on the various websites that I have listed. I've been promised some sprouting potatoes from someones cupboard. This is a great start. I have also sourced some free coffee grounds for my compost via Starbucks and I have also got a source for horse manure for free. I should get free seeds for my plate and for the bees from the websites I have listed below.

Also the Daily Mirror is giving away free seeds from tomorrow 21st march 2009 and for the rest of the week.

As for propagating them how about this cool little box. I have just registered with this site http://www.graze.com/ who send me this little box by post to my desk for just £2.99 full of tasty grazing food. Today I had red grapes, rouge dry fruit mix and black pepper cashews. If you want to try is register with them, use this code CXQPK18B and you'll get your first box free.



I'm going to use the boxes to propagate my seeds rather than just chucking them away.



My main worry at the moment is I think its going to be difficult to borrow a rotorvator and a brush cutter and I might have to do it all by hand. I've put a request of freecycle for old tools but as yet I have nothing to cut the bramble. I'm away this weekend which means I'll miss the car boot sales to try and buy some tools. I'm not buying new. If I have to buy I'll recycle. Maybe when I'm down the tip (or recycling centre as its now known) as well I might have some more luck. So I'm not going to be breaking into a sweat until next week sometime.

I'm away next week on a little vacation and away for work - but I'll try to keep this up to date or you can follow my twitter where I'm known as freebiegardener.


and isn't this cool of google - I'm a fan of the Very Hungry Caterpillar - but not in my garden please!

First Freebie - a wooden pallet

This is my first freebie. A pallet just lounging around on the side of the road as I drove past. I live in an urban area so its not the sort of thing you see that often. The good angel of freebie gardening must have been looking out for me.

So what am I going to use this for? The idea is, if and when I get some potatoes, I am going to grow them in containers/bags. But for good drainage I want them off the floor and this pallet will be just the thing. And as for the bags I think I have a couple that have blown into my backyard over the winter.

So now I'm looking for potatoes to plant and of course I need some soil.

I have also collected a couple of plastic food trays that I am going to use to get my seeds going when I get some. Some people at work have offered me some. I may get them in tomorrow but I am away for most of the week on business and I dont want to loose them by not being there.

Free Seeds

Free seeds here

https://www.hiddeneden.com/free-seeds.aspx

till the Tuesday 31st March

Free Seeds to look after the bees

http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/bluepeter/central/getinvolved/seedgiveaway.shtml

Busy joining stuff

Hello

Just attempting to join the Swapseeds group on yahoo (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/swapseeds/) we'll see if they want me, my membership is pending.

Ive also joined Twitter as freebiegardener and will be posting stuff as it happens.

Ive placed some ads on Freecycle (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PlymouthFreecycleUK/) but I think Ive got to work out the protocol of placing ads. I wanted a rotovator but really only wanted to borrow one for a day so have asked for one but offered to barter some time/or service back for it - I'm not sure if they will let me post a 'borrow' post rather than a give away.

I've also registered with http://www.myskip.com/ but they don't seem that useful

Apparently Starbucks give their used coffee grounds away to use as compost - so next time I'm in town I will be checking that out. I'll twitter it.

Just joined this bartering site http://www.u-exchange.com/ and posted an Ad we'll see if I get any responses