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Firstly, let me introduce myself. I'm Chloe, an organic market gardener for seven years and now managing Vital Seeds' social media, and helping out with admin. I'm going to be writing some of our newsletters too, and if you contact us with any growing questions it's likely to be me that'll reply! As we move towards the end of July and step into August, the celebration of Lammas is almost upon us. Lammas is a celebration of harvest abundance, a moment to reap and enjoy the fruits of your labour and share them with those you love. Why not take a moment to take stock and celebrate your successes and dedication? While you might have had a tricky start (and didn't we all, with the endlessly wet winter and slow, cold spring), you might find that there is still plenty of abundance and beauty to be found in your garden. Growing, after all, is an act of resilience. Gaps may be starting to appear in your garden as you (and slugs and other garden critters) begin to harvest. These can be filled by sowing successional crops, and now in particular is a great time to sow oriental greens like pak choi, mizuna and purple frills. For a full list of seeds that can be sown in July, please follow the link below.
Jobs to keep your garden tip top While you can definitely start to relax a little, there are still plenty of jobs to do this month including:
Germination testing It's crunch time! Our annual germination-testing marathon is now underway. We use vigorous techniques to germ test, counting how many seeds successfully germinate either on top of paper, between corrugated paper or in soil in seed trays. Each species has different requirements (e.g. temperature) and specific germination rates that we're looking to surpass, making it quite the undertaking. Our internal standards are set far higher than the minimum legal requirements, ensuring our seeds are of the highest possible quality when they land on your doorstep. Happy sowing and growing Chloe and the rest of the team P.S. Our 'Second Spring' seed collections are flying off the shleves but there's still time to pick one up - get your winter veg sown now! |
We've been busy on the farm this week, rejoicing in the spring sunshine, planting out more and more crops, putting up our crop support structures, and getting to the last of our sowings for the season. May is just around the corner, and next week is Beltane (Friday 1st May) - this traditional Gaelic festival marks the midway point between the spring equinox and the summer solstice, easing us from the peak of spring into the oncoming summer months. Beltane is often celebrated with a feast, a...
April has arrived, and with it the South winds have brought us a week of bright sun and warm temperatures here in Devon. Although spring is classically unpredictable, with frosty mornings and changeable weather, we are all loving the sunshine here on the farm. Perhaps one of the greatest beauties at this time of year is how rapidly everything changes, and how, with a little attention, there is much to admire in the natural world around us. There are countless Red Admirals on the dandelions,...
The spring equinox has passed, and the clocks are changing this weekend - leaping forward a whole hour! This means that the days are longer, and sunset will be happening at half past seven here in Devon! What a joy! You've probably done your first round of sowing, and are now gleefully willing your seedlings to germinate and get growing with the longer daylight hours. With April just around the corner, there are plenty of things you can sow this month. We've listed our 'top crops to sow' for...