Howdy everyone !

It’s been a while, but once again, life keeps me busy like a bee

I’d like to talk about gardening, as a new year holds the promise of yet another opportunity to grow a beautiful garden. Over here, in Belgium, we are getting close to the right time to start some seedlings and to care for gardens yet again ! I’d like to share some of my ideas for this year, in the hope that they will inspire you, if you too are planning on a garden, with very little room or garden pots.
I am slowly stashing seeds, gathering ideas and thinking about interesting plants I could put in my small roof-top garden… Here is just a quick list of what is getting me inspired right now : parsley, baby tomatoes, rucola, sage, radishes, lettuce, lavender, coriander (cilantro), dill, mint, thyme, and rosemary, on top of keeping all my inside plants alive.

At this stage of Winter, I must say some plants from last year are still in incredibly good shape, and I feel quite lucky to still have a little strawberry plant, some lavender, a vine, a few sage branches, rucola, mint and other greens fighting hard to remain lively through the cold and frost. I was meant to use straw to keep many of these away from the temperature changes, but I must admit to having been taken a little aback by how fast the snow arrived. Snow can also be a good insulation against very low temperatures, perhaps it was luck !

My first step into planning my new garden is in regard to pots : give bigger spaces to already available plants when the weather will permit, replace what has been broken, create draining holes where required, so that excess moisture can leave and not make roots rot, gather more pots for new plants etc… Proper room is very important to allow plants to grow in their perfect space. Proper ground is also just as important, I consider mixing some of my home-made compost at the bottom of my new containers, a little at a time is good, as rich compost might just burn young and fragile greens. I have also been thinking of reusing the pots where I grew clover and other butterfly plants, as cultivating the ground tends to keep it fertile, I am planning on “mowing” the leftovers of last year’s plants before growing new greens, in order to bring in decaying organic substances, and the new growing clover will make a protection to the ground of the new, younger plants (in accordance to Fukuoka‘s ideas of “do nothing”), really curious to see how this little “balcony” experiment will turn out, as it is a pot garden I care about.

I intend on “cheating” a little too : for harder plants to grow, I shall sprout them, and add them slowly to their final growing grounds, as to maximise my chances to grow lovely greens and herbs.
Sprouting is dead easy, I have been sprouting seeds for my own culinary recipes and the results have been amazing ; last year’s seedlings came about the same way. To sprout plants the easy way, here is what I do : soak the seeds for at least 12 hours and then rinse the seeds every few hours until I have tails growing. At this stage, I may want to slowly transfer the plants into some earth, still inside my home. As my plants will grow and develop proper stems, they will be stronger and ready to be transferred into their final pots. Bear in mind that some plants will require longer soaking times, last year’s basil and tomatoes did. So, always adapt and keep a regular eye on sprouts.

This will be good enough to get going with this garden of mine, the rest will be hard work and time investment. You might actually be amazed at how little time you will need to devote, and how little hard work gardening takes. The most time I have spent was watering plants as last year’s Summer was quite arid at first.

If you want to know how to best start your garden too, go for easy to grow plants such as flowers, basil, rucola and other herbs requiring little attention.
The first step will be to choose proper seeds. Preferably go for organic, untreated seeds, as they are more natural and will bring better results. Local varieties are also best adapted to your local climate, rain and sunshine, and are usually loaded in flavour ! As you become experimented, you will be able to gather seeds from your own vegetables or plants and use them the year after. Seeds need to be kept in a dry, preferably dark place (a little paper bag is perfect), and can keep for a few years, depending on the sort.

For full earth plants, and getting the best out of your greens outdoor, you need to check the proper season according to your hemisphere and location, this is very important for the development of your plants and the growth. You will notice that plants need a lot of daylight, and that the longer the days will get, the more your seedlings will grow.

Here is a small list of plants and their Winter/Spring months for seedlings in Belgium, the Netherlands, and the North of France :

* February :
Plants with early Spring blossoming
Sage (in pots)
Peas
Parsley
Cosmos flowers
Coriander

* March :
Cherry tomatoes
Rucola
Lettuce
Plants with Summer and Autumn blossoming
Bulbs and tubercles plants
Lavender
Sage
Thyme
Basil
Fenel

* April :
Plants with Summer and Autumn blossoming
Bulbs, tubercle and rhizome plants
Dill
Thyme
Rosemary

* May :
Bulbs & tubercle plants
Tarragon

As you can see, you are not late yet if you are now thinking about gardening the coming Spring ! So, get those seeds and shovel ready, it is still time, more than ever to work the earth.

Here are a few extra links :
- Calendar for veggies (French)
- How to successfully start plants from seeds (English) on about.com
-  The biology of plants
-  WikiHow : growing a plant garden from seeds

Make sure to check when it is the right season, where you live, to plant seeds and if there is special care for what you are trying to grow. Most plants need a lot of love, a little attention and enough water to grow

I hope you too will show your green thumbs by caring for a little garden of your own !
Until next time,

Angie