Spring is in the air

Top 10 easy to grow vegetable seeds and plants for beginners

Do you dream of harvesting your own home grown vegetables, but just don’t know where to start? Wondering which vegetables are easy to grow? From pots to plots, there are vegetables to suit gardens of every size. 'Growing your own' isn't complicated. Read Thompson and Morgans quick overview of their top 10 easy to grow vegetables, and start sowing today.

Among the vegetables detailed include:

Salad leaves

Spring onions

Potatoes

Peas

Radish

Garlic

Broad beans

Runner beans

Onions Tomatoes

Beetroot

Time for a little lawn maintenance

Re-potting nasturtium seedlings in the poly tunnel

How to grow rocket - Free fact sheet from Garden Organic

So far so good

A busy morning re-potting seedlings in the poly tunnel

Free what to do in the garden month by month guides and advice

Looking for inspiration, expert advice and top gardening tips?

The following websites have produced free month by month "what to do in the garden" pages:

Royal Horticultural Society Grow Your Own 
Thompson and Morgan
Gardeners World
Allotments and Garden UK

Our crocus providing a vital food source for early pollinators

Thought for the week.....

Stop being afraid about what could go wrong......... and focus on what could go right - Anon

We like our crocus

Corkscrew hazel in our planted borders

Planning free summer workshop sessions

We are looking forward to providing free learning opportunities during the summer. We are currently in the process of planning a series of free summer workshop sessions open to the wider community and other sessions specific to the needs of organisations such as Love Barrow Families - details to be confirmed shortly.

Funding to enable the sessions has been provided from a grant we have been awarded from Cumbria County Councils Healthy Weight grants programme.

Crocus flowering in the undergrowth

All our leaves are brown.....ish

Age UK Barrow preparing for a new growing season

Its always good to see Terry.......

Maintaining the raised planters

Topping up the planters with new compost and gently aerating the top few inches of soil.

Crocus adding colour to our lawn edging

Its getting busy in the poly tunnel

Winter vegetables ready for harvesting in some of our raised planters

A variety of vegetables being grown by Beaumont College

Free seeds on offer to our community growers

A balmy 23 degrees in the poly tunnel

Strawberry plants recently planted by staff and service users from Cadas

A variety of seedlings growing well in the poly tunnel

Snowdrops in our undergrowth

Flowering crocus brighten up our wildlife banking areas

How to plant and grow bulbs - free advice from Thompson & Morgan

Bulbs make an excellent display planted in containers or borders, especially daffodils, snowdrops, crocus and tulips in spring. They are one of the easiest and most rewarding garden plants to grow. Provided you plant them at the right time of year at more or less the right depth, they will reward you year after year with a reliable display of blooms.

For top tips and expert advice please visit the Thompson and Morgan website here. 

A little sunshine encourages our narcissus to flower

Cumbria County Council Healthy Weight project grant scheme success

We are very pleased to confirm that we have been successful in a recent application to Cumbria County Council Healthy Weight project grant scheme. 

As a result we have been awarded a grant which is to be used to help us provide training workshop sessions. The grant can be used to pay for a training facilitator and to purchase items such as; hand tools, soil and compost, plants and seeds, cooking equipment, refreshments, cleansing supplies, office supplies and a contribution towards our annual insurance costs. Thank you to all involved, it is very much appreciated and will make a real difference.

What to do in the garden in March

There's always something to be doing in the garden, whether it's pruning, tidying or sowing, so Thompson and Morgan have put together a list of their top gardening tasks for March.

For more information and free expert tips and advice please visit their website here

Sowing tomato and pepper seeds in the poly tunnel

Tomatoes:

Some of the health benefits of tomatoes include:

Are a good source of Vitamins A, C and E.

They are low in calories, typically containing only 14 calories per 100g. They contain virtually no fat and no cholesterol.

They contain minerals such as potassium, which has been linked to lowering blood pressure and calcium, which is vital for healthy bones and teeth.

Peppers:

Some of the health benefits of peppers include:

Vitamin C - red and yellow peppers have four times as much vitamin C as oranges. Vitamin C can help to reduce the risk of heart disease and high cholesterol, boost immunity, and protect against arthritis and diabetes.

Vitamin B6 – they contain vitamin B6 and folic acid which encourage healthy blood vessels, and are key defences in the fight against heart disease and stroke.

How to make a wormery

What to grow in small spaces...........

It is remarkable just how many vegetables can be grown in a small area or raised planters.  

For example, the following are all suitable for small spaces:

Lettuce/salad leaves

Beetroot

Purple broccoli

Early potatoes

Shallots

Garlic

Courgettes

Kale

Spinach

Carrots

Cherry tomatoes

Runner/broad beans beans

Top tips………….

If space is limited, choose crops which you like to eat. 

Avoid growing crops that take up a large amount of space or take a long time to grow. 

Choose leafy vegetables that you can harvest a few leaves off and they will keep growing (known as cut and come again veg) For example; celery, spring onion, rocket, coriander, chard and parsley.

What to do in the garden in February

Wondering what to do in the garden in February?

Prepare vegetable seed beds by removing all weeds and digging in new soil and compost.

Plant new rhubarb crowns now.

In the greenhouse/poly tunnel you can start sowing vegetable seeds such as leeks , tomatoes, parsley, sweet peppers, onions and celery.

Early varieties of potatoes should be chitted (laid out in trays and allowed to form short sprouts) in a cool, light, frost-free place ready for planting towards the end of March.

February is your last chance to sow garlic – get the cloves in the ground before the end of the month.

For inspiration and free in depth month by month tips and advice you can visit:

Royal Horticultural Society

Vertical Veg

Thompson andMorgan

GardenersWorld

Snow drops and crocus flowering in the undergrowth

Our iris are beginning to flower