Saturday 26 January 2013

It's Planting Time!

Just before Christmas my seed order from West Coast Seeds arrived.  There's nothing like the arrival of a seed order to get a gardener's juices going.  However, Christmas - and winter - do have precedence.

Seeds!
Today, January 26th, I just couldn't wait any longer, so I decided to give onions and leeks a try in my little unheated potting shed.  After moving a Gartenmeister Fuchsia which I'm trying to coax through the winter and sweeping off the counter, I filled 3 round pots with a seeding soil, wetted them down thoroughly and scattered seeds on the top, covering them with a bit more soil.  I only planted about a third of the seeds just in case it's pushing the season too much.  Onions and leeks are hardy seedlings, though, so they should be just fine.  They're in a plastic tray and covered with a clear plastic dome to give them a little protection.
The First Seeding of 2013
I'm growing Bandit Leeks and Copra Onions which are mainstays in my garden.  This year I'm also trying Apache Scallions.

A word about my potting shed.  My husband made it for me using a lot of found materials.  The studs came from our own trees and the glass panels on 2 walls and on the south-facing side of the roof all came from old sliding glass doors.  I have slatted counters under each wall panel which provide lots of room for starting seedlings.  Starting seedlings and storing my gardening equipment is all it's used for.  Oh, and it provides a shelf outside for mason bee homes.  In the picture below, you can see them under the peak of the roof.  And no, your eyes aren't deceiving you - the roof is much longer on the south-facing side than the north one.  There's a vigorous rosemary bush growing at the base and on the south side is the beginning of the lined dry-stone creek which takes runoff from the shed roof to the pond.
My Handy, Indespensibile Potting Shed

At this time of the year, there's not much growing in the garden.  Most plants have been pulled out and put on the compost pile.  However, I still have Bandit Leeks which keep right through the winter.  And several plants of Fordhook Swiss Chard still provide a meal every now and then.
Bandit Leeks - the last of the 2012 planting