Seeds everywhere.

Over the years I've built up a collection of seeds. My dad's always been a seed saver, keeping bean, pepper and lettuce seeds to regrow year after year. In my first garden in my suburban home I collected my chilli seeds, parsley and a coriander. The coriander seeds ended up in curry and dukkah (oops) and I'm not sure where the chilli ended up but I still have the parsley.

Then I collected beans from my crop here at the farm, beautiful dwarf plants with yellow, buttery pods containing purple beans. I shucked them later in the season once the pods became too stringy to eat.

Now I look through  my collection of seeds that I've purchased and some that I gained from a seed saving box that had done the rounds of New Zealand. I joined a lifestyle farming forum and they had a seed saving box that you could subscribe to. I received the box and signed my name, I took seed and put some of my own seed in. What a fantastic idea these seed boxes are.

Here's what's in my own collection at the moment.

Gaillardia Pulchella - Indian Blanket - a wild flower from central America
Cineraria - I've always loved these, my parents had them pop up everywhere in their garden. I'm not sure what colour flowers these seeds will produce.
Sunflower Skyscraper
Nasturtium Mini
Californian Poppy
Garland Chrysanthemum
Calendula - Daisy Mix
Parsley
Pak Choi
Leek
Tomato Sweet 100 - I love this tomato, it did fantastic in my garden, I roasted the whole trusses in the oven with rock salt, pepper and olive oil.
Heirloom Tomatoes - Black Russian and Black from Tula
Turnip - Tokyo White Cross
Kohlrabi - Early Purple Vienna - two packets.....why?
Mini Pumpkin
Pumpkin | Gourd, elongated and fleshy (another collected by me...like my description?)
Squash - Buttercup
Lovich - a herb which is a great addition to soup apparently, this was collected by my dad.
Coriander
Chicory - Witloof - now this is so exciting because I have always loved the forced sprouts of witloof,
we slice them and dress them oil and vinegar. They're bitter but delicious.
Chicory - Fancy
Coriander - slow bolt
Radish - Easter Egg
Radish - Gourmet Blend
Heirloom Carrot - Nantes Scarlet
Carrots - Early Nantes 5
Lettuce - Fancy Leaf mixed
Heirloom Broccoli - Romanesco
Melon of some description
Onion -  Pukekohe Long Keeper
Parsnip - Supersnip
Radicchio - Palla Rossa
Beetroot - Boltardy
Cress
Salad Mix
Rocket
Mesclun
Courgette - Green Bush
Black Corn
Popcorn
Red & Yellow Corn
Yard Long Bean
Black Navajo Corn
Soya Bean
Long John Green Dwarf
Broad Bean - Red
Purple King Climber
Sugar Snap Bean
Runner Bean
Dalmatian Beans - Climbing
Beans - Yellow Runner (collected by my dad)
Dwarf Butter Beans - yellow pods with purple beans (collected by me)
Dill
Lemongrass
Celeriac
Cape Gooseberry


Quite a collection isn't it.

To ensure that there's room for all these lovely new plants I needed to expand. I turned over the narrow garden strip beside the covered garden. Sam made me some mesh covered frames to protect the plants. I thinned out the covered garden by taking half a dozen of the cabbages out and replanting them in the newly prepared bed. Unfortunately during my lunch break the goats discovered the cabbage plants and nibbled away all the large leaves which has left me with a few pathetic corpse-like plants which may or may not survive.

I sewed some of the radishes and all the beetroot. Mmmm, I'll be having Borscht (Russian beetroot soup) in no time!

The globe artichoke is looking really good, it had about four heads on it, can't wait to steam them and drench them in garlic flavoured olive oil.

In the covered garden the weed laden, gravel path has always bothered me, it is horrible to stand on and harbours weeds so I weeded it for the final time and poured a couple of wheelbarrow loads of wood chip, it is now a much nicer surface to walk on and looks great.

The outside paths also got a few loads of wood chip, the mountain of wood chip is finally starting to diminish. I emptied and moved two of the compost bins, filled some tyres with compost and potatoes. Found a nice spot for a tee-pee frame for my large collection of beans and shoveled a few loads of horse and pig poo into to the newly placed compost bins to anchor them. The garden is takin shape, I'm thrilled with the new narrow garden and the frames that Sam constructed. I made a dinner with loads of herbs from the garden, always a rewarding experience.