Anne (Front of House Assistant – Sudbury) has begun a ‘Get Growing’ project by growing vegetables from seed. She has kindly agreed to share her story with us. It may feel like a daunting task, to begin with, but even if you have no growing experience you can start to experiment with seeds and young plants. Once you make a plan and get stuck in, the project will have a very rewarding outcome – there’s nothing like growing your own vegetables and picking them straight from your garden.
Here is Anne’s growing journey:
“Last year for the first time during the lockdown, I tried growing from seed and thoroughly enjoyed it. So this year, my husband built me a 6×8 greenhouse in the garden so I could upscale.
I am growing a mixture of fruit and vegetables that my family and myself eat. This is where I grow my peas and runner beans. Last year this shed was covered so, I’m hoping for a good show again. Just waiting for the frost to pass so I can plant the remaining runner beans.
Pictured are my tomato seeds on the 27th March however, I don’t have a greenhouse heater and the late frost on 14th April meant I suffered a few casualties.
There is always something to learn when growing anything either in the greenhouse or garden. You will then know for the next growing season how you can change your planning and be even more successful.
The video below has my seed potatoes in. I don’t have very good ground where I live, it’s extremely tough clay. So with that in mind, last year I planted them into ton bags and it worked a treat. So I am doing the same again this year.
I am also growing some flowers from seed including these Cosmos which as you can see have started to bud already! I love these for the show they provide in both height and colour. These I will pop into pots surrounded by other summer bedding such as Viola and Lobelia.
I am growing quite a variety of vegetables and plants, this is only a small selection but, I look forward to sharing my growing project with you all. I’m hoping I can inspire you to give it ago too.”
Update April-May
“My lettuce leaves were ready to harvest on 27th April, seeds were sown on 16th March. I decided to give some away to our Chef at Sudbury.
My carrots are now bushing up nicely and can just about see the tops of them peeking through.
At the end of April, I planted out my Cosmos. They aren’t looking as strong as they did last year but we’ve still got the summer to go. Lobelia is struggling so, might have to buy some, unfortunately.
My sunflowers were ready to be moved outside as they were taking over my greenhouse. Here they are planted outside, which I did the 03/05, the cold shocked them a bit but they seemed to have settled now. Really looking forward to these flowering and will look great along with my decking.
I planted out my runner beans however because the weather has been unpredictable and with the late frost I have a backup planted in my greenhouse just in case.
At the beginning of the week, I moved outside my red, white, and spring onions. I feel as though they are overcrowded and need thinning out however, I’m concerned if I do that it might kill them off.
I have been given two different varieties of cabbage (sweetheart and advantage) to try growing -something I haven’t done before! I have protected these from the birds by putting netting over the top. As you can see, they are already sprouting.
Lastly, my potatoes have started to make an appearance. This was on the 10th May and I need to now ridge up the sides of my ton bag in order to not swamp the growing potatoes.”
Update 19th July
“The last six weeks I have really seen a growth in all my flowering plants.
My Sunflowers have the biggest heads on them, my Gladioli bulbs are looking great and I can’t wait for them to flower!
My Lobelia and Cosmos are also looking fantastic, I have actually given lots of cosmos away to my colleagues.
I am very pleased with the outcome so far and the bees and butterflies are loving them too.
So far all my homegrown vegetables have really come into their own. The strawberries are very tasty as well as my carrots. They’ve all been eaten now so, another crop has been planted.
The spring onions smell amazing and it’s the first time I have planted them so I am very pleased. I have even managed to get my first harvest of white and red onions and potatoes.
The tomatoes, peppers, peas, and runner beans are now all starting to produce too – I managed to get my first few peas off the other day! The runner beans I have planted this year are bushier so they aren’t climbing the shed as I had hoped.”
Final Update
“Lots of my summer bedding has now died off in the pots. This one, in particular, I have planted up with an anemone called Charlotte in memory of my late mother in law.
The last of all my tomatoes and peppers. The last bit of summer sunshine we had has helped boost the peppers into changing colour. They are still full of flavour and pack that final punch!
I removed all my cucumbers and runner beans and my husband built me these plant boxes that I have planted up with Perrywood grown geraniums. Next year, I will remove these and plant my crops up against here again.
Lastly, my cosmos are still putting on a good show! The mild weather is still helping produce lots of new buds.
I can’t wait until the new year when I can start again with my seeds. I am so pleased with how successful I have been this year and I have really enjoyed sharing my get growing project with you all – thank you.”
Look out for more projects from other members of our team!
