So, I have eased off on the seed sowing this year because in years past excitement has got the better of me and resulted in a windowsill which you could barely see out of because of the greenery.

Edible Garden Show and Sowing

My experiment with the polystyrene box has paid off nicely and I now have quite a few healthy Winter Gem lettuces. Also, my other seeds have not only survived my lack of watering but also a trip to-and –from the Edible Garden Show in Coventry. Those seeds sat proudly on the shelving on the Potty Innovations stand for three days – and it was cold in there in the evenings!

Raised Bed Kit and Hardy Herbs

The raised garden bed has been growing nicely, the insulation properties of the Cultivation Station raised bed never fail to amaze me when I keep seeing plants come back year after year. My thyme and rosemary are both in full swing and my parsley is on its way back already. Also the onion sets I planted last winter are coming through so I should have some delicious red onions in the near future.

A Bit of Planting

After a good round of weeding and trying to adhere to crop rotation I finally got around to planting some Early Nantes Carrots, Gladiator Parsnips, Spring Onions and some Bright Lights Chard and carrots from the seed trays I had planted up. I also have great plans for courgettes, peppers and green beans when it warms up – which will hopefully be very soon.

As an experiment I have also used a polystyrene box as a seed tray for some little gem lettuces and am pleased to report that I already have numerous shoots coming through! 

Planted so far – chard, little gem and cut and come again lettuce, red basil, early nantes carrots, chives, tomatoes and rocket! 

All the trays fit quite neatly on the windowsill (for a change) and I have shoots for nearly all coming through except for the basil. However I remember last year it took a little while to shoot through. 

Need some polystyrene seed trays? Grab them from our website, we do small quantities of 5 for the home gardener or larger quantities if required. 

Have you started planting yet?

1.    Grow only what works best for you – a couple of years growing teaches you this. Sure a few experiments are good to have here and there, but if you want to ensure an abundance of tasty veg is always available for your plate, then bear this one in mind!
2.    Make sure you remember to regularly  feed plants – ensure your crops are happy, healthy and above all big and juicy – feeding should not be ignored.
3.    Make sure you regularly water plants – sounds silly and a bit obvious but this job is easily overlooked after a busy day at work. Make sure watering is regular otherwise you’ll end up with issues like bolting.
4.    Buy a large water butt – something like a 220 litre and you won’t regret it once you have a thirsty garden. You don’t realise how much water you use in the garden until your water bills go up or the small waterbutt you purchased is always empty (my mistake). With hosepipe bans a regular occurrence consider harvesting the rain whilst it’s falling!
5.    Grow lots of what you need and do successive sowings – to keep you in delicious home grown produce, ensure you keep doing successive sowings. This means planting carrots every couple of weeks for example, to ensure you always have a plentiful supply.

Ready to start growing your own? Check out these raised beds which are asembled in minutes!

Many other tips to follow!

Happy Growing

Growing carrots is pretty simple and as long as you keep away the carrot fly they are pretty hardy too! On Sunday I decided to see how tasty my carrot growing efforts had been this year.

You can imagine my surprise when I saw my carrot growing efforts as I pulled the biggest monster of a carrot I have ever seen out of the Cultivation Station. In fact, not only is this the biggest carrot I have even grown, but the biggest vegetable I have ever grown!

When growing carrots most people do what I used to do and that is plant them, grow them and then harvest them all when they are ready. Instead I was given a tip by a gardening expert to leave the carrots in the ground until they are needed – and that is exactly how I got that corker!

Growing carrots this year has been really tasty and successful! I can’t wait to harvest the next and hopefully bigger carrot out of the garden!

How have your veg growing efforts been this year?

This year I have applied myself to a successful year of gardening, and although I was a bit ‘lazy boots’ rather than Daisy Boots last year, it’s now all in order!

Growing From Seed

You are probably wondering what this has to do with knowing how to harden off seedlings. Well last year I cheated a little by buying young plants from the garden centre, but this year I have grown all my plants from seed. So my success with seed germination required a little knowledge about how to plant the seedlings outside without the loss of any of my beloved plants.
So, I had to learn how to harden off seedlings.

Pampered Seeds

All of my seeds have been well and truly pampered! All have been grown in a greenhouse in EPS seed trays which has provided them with more insulation than other alternative seed trays. I would certainly say my seed growing exploits have – all in all – been very successful.

I have grown from seed;

• Beetroot
• Lettuce
• Sweetcorn
• Roma Tomatoes
• Baby tomatoes
• Peppers

3 Steps To Harden Off Seedlings

I’ll begin with what I found out this year, and most importantly what worked for me.

• Step One – Are Your Seedlings Pampered?

If like me you have kept your seedlings nice and warm and protected from the harsh weather, be it the bright sun, excessive rain or strong wind then you will need to ‘harden off’ those seedlings.

• Step Two – Understand what ‘harden off’ means.

To ‘harden off’ literally means to acclimatise seedlings gradually to new outdoor conditions, this includes not just cooler weather but also the harsh sunlight.

• Step Three – Hardening off Seedlings

To harden off seedlings will take anywhere between 7 to approximately 10 days. Make sure all frosts have passed otherwise the change may be too extreme.

Begin with putting the seedlings out for a couple of hours in the garden during the day in the shadier parts initially to avoid the harsh sunlight.

After a couple of days you will be able to put them out for a little longer each day and also start exposing them to more and more direct sunlight. You will soon notice the plants start to go a darker shade of green as you successfully harden them off.

NOTE: If you have a greenhouse you may want to begin this process by opening the door for a couple of hours each day and cooling down the green house first.

My Experience with Hardening off Seedlings

I found the process very simple and straightforward and it prevented the loss of my precious seedlings! The seedlings did indeed change to a darker shade of green over that short period of time and sure enough all of my seedlings have all been planted out into the raised bed and they are thriving.

I was very pleased with how well the seeds had been growing until I lifted them up to have a closer look and noted a small accident. The sweetcorn either ‘grew the wrong way’ or someone may have planted the seed the wrong way up, although in truth I was only aware of that for onion sets.

Ooops.

Zesty Herbs, Juicy Strawberries or Beautiful Floral displays

With stackable planters the possibilities are endless, why not prepare for the big summer tennis event with layer upon layer of your own home-grown delicious strawberries?

Herbs are both easy to grow and delicious when added to home cooking. So perhaps create a space close by for the quick picking of your fresh and tasty kitchen herbs. Or if you are feeling creative be the envy of your
neighbours and create some stunning floral displays on your patio.

Strong and Sturdy but also Extremely Lightweight

The Clover and Lucky Clover stackable planters are both versatile and lightweight. Manufactured from EPS exclusively in the UK the planters offer root protection and are so lightweight they are effortless to move around. Drainage holes are included and each tier stacks in alternate positions to aid with watering.

Special Offer 3 sets for the price of 2!

Clover stackable planters are available in four colours and are just £11.99 per set, or for more growing room the Lucky Clovers at £13.99 per set. If you are considering buying more than one set, why not take advantage of our 3 for 2 offer! All prices include delivery in the UK.

So How Did They Do?

Well I was glad to see that the freezing temperatures had not killed all of my herbs over the winter, although I admit I have had to buy a few plants as extras or replacements.

The thyme has lasted really well, but also surprisingly the sage and parsley. I did not expect the last two to survive as they seem like delicate plants, in contrast to the thyme which seems a little more ‘hardy’ – but there you have it. I think the insulation properties of the Cultivation Station really helped!

Raised Bed Kits don’t have to be expensive. Potty Innovations offer affordable raised bed kits from just £50 including delivery without sacrificing on quality.
  

Raised Bed Kit Benefits

Raised beds offer many benefits including;

• Ease of access to crops
• Control over soil to suit your needs
• Easy crop rotation (if sectioned)
• Less digging is required
• Better drainage
• Longer growing period
• Added protection against slugs and snails
• If sectioned – easy crop rotation

Raised Bed Kit Types

There are many different types of raised bed on the market offering different advantages and disadvantages.

Some timber raised beds for example have a natural ‘look’ about them, but are often heavy to move around and require DIY knowledge for assembly. In addition timber will be susceptible to rot usually requiring treatment to preserve the wood.

Potty Innovations manufacture a 100% recyclable raised bed system (Cultivation Station) which is assembled in minutes by simply sliding the planters together.
   

Cultivation Station: Set-Up in Minutes

Manufactured in the UK, the Cultivation Station is available in four different raised bed kits and helps you get planting as quickly as possible by;

• Raised bed kit slides together in minutes.
• Set Up – No Tools. No Glue. No Digging. DIY Knowledge Not Needed.
• Decide where you want to put it, assemble it, and if you change your mind it is so lightweight it can be easily moved to another spot.
• No treatment/preservative or required.

Warmer Soil: Grow For Longer

• Manufactured from 100% recyclable EPS providing unbeatable insulation properties.
• Unbeatable insulation for roots.
• Soil warms up earlier in the year and stays warmer longer in the year so you can keep growing for longer.
• Will not rot or crack during temperature extremes.

Durable and Functional Raised Bed Kits

• Sectioned planter areas offer easy crop rotation.
• Central area can be used for planting deeper rooted vegetables.
• Strong walls to maintain insulation and shape.
• Material is not brittle, but strong enough to hold a fully grown man.
• 30 cms (12 inches) off the ground – easier to reach crops.
• Non-toxic material.
• Can be used for vegetables, fruit, flowers and herbs.
• Available in black or green.

Cultivation Station: Raised Bed Starter Kits

Potty Innovations is a UK manufacturer based in Northampton. We offer the following raised bed starter kits to help you get started with your growing quickly.

Our raised bed starter kits are available to buy online.
   

A Quick Update

So far this year I have been focused on planting onions and garlic. I had hoped to have some purple sprouting broccoli, but alas it got eaten last year.

Anyway I have started with a few different onions so far, some white ‘radar’ variety, ‘Senshyu’ variety and also some red onions. Iam planting plenty in the hope they will last me quite a while, thats if I don’t make the same mistake as last year and instead allow them to dry properly!

How to Grow Onions in 5 Steps

1. For those of you not yet versed in the ways of growing onions, its best to use small bulbs (immature onions) called ‘sets’. These are usually more expensive than seeds, but are however far more reliable to grow.
2. To plant simply create a hole in which to place your bulb, I usually just use my finger but if you have a dibber you may want to use that instead.
3. Ensuring the roots are facing into the ground, place the bulb in the hole and cover over with soil ensuring the tip (pointy end) is just poking out above of the soil level. Be careful not to press the bulb hard into place as you may damage the root base.
4. Refer to the packet instructions for advice on spacing recommendations for the sets.
5. You may wish to protect your newly planted onion crop from birds using netting. Birds can be tempted to swoop down and start lifting them earlier than you wish!

Lifting

Depending on the onion variety onions are generally ready to lift in July/August.
A tell tale sign that they are ready will be when the green foliage starts to flop over and die back.

Drying

The onions will then need to be lifted and left to dry. If the weather is warm the onions can be left to dry on top of the soil, if not they need to be left somewhere else to dry where there is no damp.

Drying is very important, I made the mistake last year of lifting the onions and not letting them dry for long enough and then placing them in a hessian bag. The result was 60-70% of the crop went mouldy or started to rot after a period of time. It was a real shame as the onions we did manage to eat were really quite nice and did taste different to shop bought ones.

So in summary growing onions really is quite easy.

Order a Cultivation Station raised bed and give it a go!