Tomato growing

It's February! The month of love, and seed planning!! I've already researched parsnips, which I have never grown before, but tomatoes I have grown a number of times, with varying degrees of success. This year, I'm focusing my attention on Thompson and Morgan's 'vegetable of the year'; Tomato Rainbow Blend F1 hybrid.
They are described as "stunning colour mix of baby plum fruits", which sounded good to me. I'm all for a little rainbow in the salad bowl.

Last year I was a little too excited and planted my tomato seeds in trays in early February, but this year I am waiting until early March because the weather just wasn't conducive to putting in the greenhouse so early. The second weekend of March I will sow the seeds in trays of seed compost and vermiculite. Seed compost has very little nutrients in it, because seeds don't need much feeding at this time, but you must repot them in richer soil later or your plants will starve! Vermiculite helps to stop the soil from drying out, and helps the roots to grow strong. Both are available from all good garden centres or DIY shops, and aren't too expensive.

Once seeds have been sown, keep at a temperate of 18-21c to allow for germination. I put mine in the dark in the warm airing cupboard for the first few days, and then move to a warm window sill. Don't let the seedlings grow too tall, you can avoid this by allowing them as much light as possible so they aren't growing trying to search for light. When the seedlings are big enough to handle, thin them out leaving the strongest, and plant in bigger pots of good rich compost. Transfer to the green house when all risk of frost has gone, or put outside a few weeks later than this, in a very sunny position.



I will put mine in the ground bed of the greenhouse eventually, making sure they are tied to tall canes and that the little side shoots are pinched off. More detail to come later...with pictures to help!

Furniture overhaul

Although gardening is a relatively new found interest of mine, interior design and decorating has always been a passion. I recently found evidence of my 7 year old self being distracted on a week long school trip by the interior decoration of various different places, rather than the history lesson that was intended to be the focus. I remember at an even younger age, cutting out pictures of furniture from the Argos catalogue and glueing them to paper, creating my very own 'mood boards'! (Not that I knew that they were even mood boards at the time). Needless to say, it's quite an obsession now that I am nearly 30!

I recently acquired this little table; salvaged by my Mum from the local dump. It needed a little TLC, but I'm rather pleased with it now.

The colours were inspired by this picture of the Jardin De Majorelle in Marrakech, somewhere I will be visiting in April.

I also revamped a set of drawers while I was at it, using the same paint colours, and finding that they really complimented my satchel (this was a happy surprise; not planned!)

The paint colours are Dulux "Delhi Bazaar 3" (The bright yellow) and 'Azure Fusion 1", in eggshell finish, in their range for interior wood. I sanded down the top of the drawers and the table, but ran out of sandpaper and didn't bother with the rest. I find that perfection is not something I am after, and unless you plan on selling your creations to someone else, this is my top tip; it doesn't need to be perfect! 

Here are my other tips:

1. Why waste paint and energy on parts you'll never see!? I didn't paint the inside of the drawers, or the underside of some of the table, because no-one will ever see this! Lazy yes, but if these projects took me hours, I wouldn't even bother starting them!

2. Use a big brush. It might sound obvious, but it will halve the time the project takes, and the finish is smoother. Use long strokes in the same direction for a smooth finish.

3. Look at the piece from many different angles. You'll be surprised the bits you can miss!

4. Pick up loads of free newspapers from the supermarket; those free local advertisers by the door. Spread these thickly around the floor and you won't need to worry if things drip.

5. Imagine where you'll put the piece before you paint it. Choose your colours based on its future surroundings and something that inspires you. Pinterest is a fabulous place for inspiration. 

6. Go to the tip or dump for your chance to pick up free furniture that you can paint and re-use. Freecycle is also good to pick up pieces that may need a little TLC for free.

7. Wait for the paint to dry to the touch before adding any additional coats of paint. It's tempting to rush it, but the finish just isn't as good.

8. Choose some good music and use this time to relax and enjoy being creative. It feels good!

9. Allocate enough time to complete the whole project, or a number of them, to avoid excessive cleaning up each time. If you're like me, if it's not finished the first time around, I'm a lot less likely to finish it at all.

I'm lazy, impatient and impulsive. If I can do it, anyone can.

Growing Parsnips

I love a good roast parsnip! They make a roast dinner for me, so this year they made my short list for the vegetable plot. I chose the 'Albion f1 hybrid', from Alan Tichmarsh's range.


While its easy to just follow the instructions on the back of the packet, I've learned that these sometimes miss out on some vital steps, so I always consult a few gardening books that I have as well.

Parsnip seeds should be sown in the ground where they are to grow, in well drained soil in full sun. It's always advised to have added manure to the plot the year before, and I did do this back in January 2012, but I haven't done it again since. I'll add fertiliser to the soil instead (I've found regular additions of fresh manure cause a lot of extra weeds to grow as well).



Parsnips should be sown in April/May, after the last sign of frosty weather. I plan to sow mine the first weekend of May. A week before sowing, rake over the soil to a fine consistency and add fertiliser and a little sand. Parsnips like a sandy soil apparently. Parsnip seeds are notoriously slow to germinate, and can take a few weeks to show the first signs of life. Sow them in a drill about 1cm deep. Sow three seeds every 15cms, and thin out when the seedlings, leaving the strongest looking shoot. Keep the soil as weed free as possible, and don't over water, parsnips don't need a lot of water.

Start to dig up from September, but they can be harvested throughout the winter when needed.