Other than puddle hopping, there’s not much to be done outside when it’s bucketing down, so on a particularly wet day I turned my attention to sorting my seeds. I’ve discarded most of those that are out of date ( but tomato seeds last forever) and written a list of what I need to buy, so that I can get busy planting in a few weeks time. I store my seeds in a sealed plastic box in the cool of the garage which means that those I have saved remain in good condition. Inevitably the box was in a bit of a muddle, so I’ve now sorted them into months – starting with a few including spinach, rocket and cut and come again salads that I will sow with bottom heat in the greenhouse in February.
Then I sat down with the seed catalogues and tried very hard to stick to my list and not be waylaid by the many tempting new varieties. Going through the old seeds definitely helps with this – coming across seeds I have succumbed to that have failed to thrive (or never planted) does curb my inner spendthrift – seeds are far too expensive these days to order with abandon.
I’ve also realised that it is worth checking how many seeds there are in a pack – this can vary enormously, often with little difference in price. With anything you sow successionally it is worth choosing a packet that offers three hundred rather than thirty, but on the other hand if you only need a maximum of five (for example courgettes) buy the smaller packet to avoid the temptation of sowing more than you need. Nearly time to start sowing!
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