A helping hand

It was my birthday on Tuesday and along with lots of lovely cards, biscuits, several books, a meal out and of course cake I recieved a very useful present; a cold frame.

Having a birthday at this time of year really focusses the mind on the great seed sowing challenge that it about to start. Well I suppose the sowing part isn't too hard, unless you're lazy like me, but it's that part after they germinate but before they get planted out, where on earth do you put them? For the last few years I have had the crappy greenhouse which was really more trouble than it was worth, each year it waited until it was packed full of tender seedlings and then it would collapse into a mass of soil, pots and dispair.

Last weekend I removed the smallest of the raised beds from the back of the garden and OH kindly carried it down to the allotment where it will be used as an extra strawberry bed. Then we assembled the coldframe which was super easy, positioned it and filled it with gravel before finisheing the whole thing off which some bark chippings. I think even OH was surprised at how good it looks (he's a bit sceptical about this whole veg growing thing).

So far I have the remainder of the potatoes chitting, the sweetpeas and salads hopefully germinating and the very late shallots sprouting in modules. Tomorrow some leeks and tomatoes will join them. So as well as having a frost free place to harden off my seedlings I also have somewhere to grow my chillies throughout the summer and something to supply me with salad throughout the winter. I am very happy.