Fellow Northern Brits - what seeds are you sowing out already?

Saw a forecast for frosts/snow (!) later in April and now not sure what I'm doing... No greenhouse, v limited windowsill acreage... Still go ahead with broad beans/beetroot etc?

Thanks!

Beetroot seeds have a natural germination inhibitor, requiring heavy rain to sprout. Speed up the process by soaking them in lukewarm water for 24 hours. Sow while still damp, and seedlings should emerge in 10-14 days. #GardeningTips #GrowYourOwn

Yay, tomatoes are up! #GrowYourOwn

The first nettle harvest of the year. Nettle soup will be on tomorrow’s menu and I’ll start making some nettle fermented plant juice too.

Good food for us and good food for the plants.

Nettles are a great addition to a compost heap too. #GrowYourOwn #Allotment #Gardening

Dug up some weeds today at the plot and left them to desiccate on a bucket for a few days (some have extensive roots). I like to display them, in part, as a lesson to other weeds that might be thinking about germinating (just don't). In a few days I'll slide them into the nearby pit of despair for eventual burial. #GrowYourOwn #garden #gardening #allotment #weeds #composting

Grow the best veg! Our latest blog has tips on crafting your ideal vegetable garden. Read it now: [https://vegplotter.com/blog](https://vegplotter.com/blog) #gardening #vegetables #growyourown

Cut up a pineapple. Put the top into the ground out back in fertile soil and watered. Last time I did this, with 3 tops, I was rewarded with 3 softball sized pineapples. So, we shall see.

Time for victory gardens is now.
#gardening #growyourown

Who needs a gym? Wheelbarrowing 6 tonnes of top soil across the allotment to shore up the flood defences, dragging out the celandines & docks, digging out a wildlife pond.

Hoping it helps with the latest bout of insomnia at least! Feeling restored by robin song, spring warmth & a splash of brandy in the coffee flask. Hoping you're all having a good weekend session too!

Tiny sprouts survived the torrential downpour last night, the lettuce being a little melodramatic as was expected. Turnips and beets seem happier already and the perpetual leeks were already pretty sturdy. Direct sowed some radish clusters and parsley, and did some more starts - A red kale and a lacinato, some holy basil which does far better here than the other basils, and which we also use a load of for Thai cooking and a bunch of cilantro.

15 mins of work does a huge amount for my mental health and sense of accomplishment in a day. It's not lost on me that I have the privilege of a supportive partner who also likes to garden and moves my bags of soil around for me among many other things, but gardening feels like something I can still do with mecfs and I'm so grateful for that.

Plot progress. The front half is almost ready for sowing and planting up from next month onwards.

A Jostaberry now occupies the space the mass of wild brambles used to.
#NoDig #Gardening #GrowYourOwn #Mulch #Allotment