Gardening update – March

I have seedlings!

An aubergine seedling!

I was starting to get worried there. The seed packs I had for my aubergines, cucumbers and strawberries all said that the seedlings should show up within 2 weeks. Well, 2 weeks came and went and obviously no one told the seedlings and I started to worry that I’d messed up somehow. Fortunately, they were just a bit late.

In the meantime, I’ve been doing odds and ends. I planted some celeriac seeds and got started with a white grape set that Rhys gave me a while back. The white grapes require more preparation than I’ve needed for other things. First off I had to soak the seeds for 24 hours, then I had to put them in damp soil in a bag in the fridge, where they’ll sit for 6 weeks. Only after this can I consider planting them. We’ll see how that goes and I’ll be keeping my fingers firmly crossed.

I’ve also been checking out our front and back lawns. After raking away all the leaves that fell over Winter (and then re-raking when more leaves appeared) I’ve discovered that both lawns are very mossy. Now, I don’t mind moss on principal and I’m not one of these people who’s obsessed with a beautifully manicured green, but I do want to sit out in the garden in summer. It occurs to me that if there’s lots of moss in among the grass it will keep things damper than they would otherwise be.

I don’t want to poison the moss, but I do want to thin it out as much as possible to let the grass grow better. The best way to do this without poisoning it (I’ve heard) is to just keep raking. It does seem to work too, a lot of moss comes out every time I rake it and the only downside is that the lawn looks a bit [patch. Hopefully, the grass will steadily fill in that patchiness and eventually, it’ll all be sorted. It’s pretty tiring work, though.

My hydrangea has noticed that it’s Spring. Can’t wait for it to flower again.

Once I get into the garden I don’t seem to be able to stop myself. So I repaired another pair of grubby old solar lights and washed the decking (which will need more washing but it’s a start). I think my next plan is to figure out whether I want to dig a vegetable patch or grow everything in pots and then get everything ready for moving the seedlings in the next few weeks.