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Early planting for healthy growth

Blog: My Patch
Posted by: Green Fingers Wednesday 20th February 2008, 4:29pm
Last edited 20/02/2008 4:29pm by Green Fingers

As spring arrives time to rejoice in the good fortune of having your own patch - but beware all is not well in the garden.

Mustn't grumble.

Winter has been especially kind to gardeners in the south - seldom have we had to reluctantly leave our warm fireside seats to throw protective fleeces over our precious and tender plants following a hard frost warning during the evening news. Only another month to keep an eye out for Jack and his pointy fingers. There is an old saying - Ne'er cast a clout before May's out which is a pearl of wisdom from days gone by but in these glorious gloabal warming days you can shave a couple of months off that.

Even the most established gardeners are optimistically making their first settings of seeds - they'd usually wait until the end of March.

But all in the garden is not lovely - winter has seen a continued decline in my standard of living.

Mortgage rates hiked up, credit cards maxed out and inflation rocketing

Even the most disinterested can't fail to be un-nerved by the continued reports about the impact of the credit crunch and how we are all facing a difficult year ahead. The escaltion of food prices, houshold bills and tighter controls on credit and lending could spell disaster for many. Growing and harvesting some of your own fruit and veg saves a bob or two but is little comfort when it comes to keeping up with the cost of living.

Hobby Gardener to Turn Commercial? - Mint and Watercress

Many a keen gardener has happily sold of surplus crops to make "seed money" - prices are low as the gluts of beans, courgettes etc are enjoyed by many others at the same time but this year I'm considering exploring niche markets for local specialist shops and restaurants.

First up Mint - no not the online finance people but the ever so easy to grow versatile herb - excellent in salads, rather refreshing as a tea, perfect as a sauce for Lamb and I spotted this interesting twist on using mint as the herb of choice when making a cornish pasty on Jamie Olivers forum

Next American Landcress - incredibly simple to grow, frost hardy, year round and has identical flavour to Watercess.

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