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.

Raised Beds and rubbish

This is the view of my garden as of 7 o clock last night. Two raised beds dug. Its been hard graft really, but all the websites and gardening advisers say that while making raised beds is hard work its worth the effort - we'll see. One of the main problems is that the garden not only slopes left to right but also drops off. So all the earth that comes out of the trenches is being used to try and build up the slopey bits.

Ive been planting more seeds, planted some salad leaves last night £1 from Wilkinson's. And have planted out side, some radish and some spinach. Just waiting for the first shoots now - its exciting.

Found these bags last night in a rubbish bin. They are practically brand new Sainsburys hessian shopping bags, - two of them. The only thing wrong with seems to be a bottle of alcohol has broken in one so it was a bit wet and smelling of alcohol, the other seems perfectly OK. They will do perfectly for some planting of some sort - or even shopping!

As you can see from the pics above - I need more wood to shore up my banks - there seems to be lots about, but I'm worried that some of it might get me in trouble if I take it - it looks like its rubbish but its on people premises so I guess its theirs till they throw it out. I could always knock on their door and ask I suppose m- they might be glad to get rid of it.

Hessian Sack grow bag

I've been away on a few days holiday but that doesn't mean my search for freebie ideas ends there. There are ideas everywhere if we can only look for them and see them. So heres a great idea, initially utilised by african gardeners i believe. Its the humble hessian sack.

What you do is first find your sack. Then fill the centre of it with bricks, then you surround the bricks with earth. The you simply plant the think with whatever you want - genius hey?

I've seen similar ideas using plastic bags, so if I cant find any hessian bags I'll try with plastic.

This particular bag, shown off in last Saturdays Guardian is part of a 'kit' which would cost you about £20!

I bet the african gardeners don't buy kits!