My favourite UK organic garden seed suppliers.

About now is the best time to start thinking about buying seeds to grow your own veggies.  It's a little too early to start planting anything other than onions and peppers, but it's never too early to stock up your seed supplies! 

This year I only want to grow from organic seed, and I have a few suppliers to share in case you want to do the same.  Most of them are fairly cheap and have reasonable postage rates, and they're all companies I've used for at least a year or two and can personally recommend.  

Premier Seed Direct

Premier Seeds Direct is my favourite source of organic seeds.  They're based in the UK and are certified organic by the Soil Association and  DEFRA.  Premier Seeds Direct sell through eBay, their prices are super duper reasonable, starting at 99p, postage is fast and it's usually free or 40p.  I've been buying my seed from them for years and I've never had a dud batch of anything, all my seeds grow nicely and healthy and beautifully.  (they sell non-organic seed too, so be sure to choose form the organic veg or herbs selection).

The Herbary

The Herbary sell organic seed on eBay (it gets a bit confusing, their shop name is organicseedspecialists, the seller's name is beanandherb, and the seed packets say The Herbary.  But just ignore that because their seeds are so nice!).  They sell flowers, veg and herb seeds, all organic and DEFRA certified, and I really love that there's no plastic in the seed packets.  All the prices are under £2 and postage is £1.50 (just remember to add items to basket then request total from seller so you get combined shipping if you buy more than one packet!).

Victoriana Nursery

Victoriana Nursery grow using organic principles but don't have any official certification (you can read more about that here).  First of all, the packaging is SUPER cute!  They have lots of unusual varieties, I've had a couple of good packets of seed from them, as well as some lovely trees and herb plants through the post.  Prices go from around £1.50 upwards and postage is from £1.95.  

The Real Seed Catalogue

I'm not entirely sure if The Real Seed Catalogue are certified organic, but they sell non-GMO, open pollinated, DEFRA certified seeds, which is good enough for me.  There are so many weird and wonderful varieties stocked, with some great stories behind them, lots of growing and seed sowing information online and everything I've bought from them has grown really well.  Prices start from around £2 and postage starts at £1.96.  

Happy growing everyone! 

* Facebook * Instagram * Twitter * Bloglovin' *

Easy green articles and actions.

Here are a few easy online actions and interesting articles to make the world a better, greener, happier, place, 

Aberporth in Wales has become Wales's first plastic-free community. 

Sign this petition asking for plastic free teabags!

I always take my reusable bottle out with me, but feel awkward trying to get it refilled, so I'm super happy to hear there'll be free water refill points in every big town and city in the UK in the next couple of years.

"Iceland has become the first major retailer to commit to eliminating plastic packaging for all its own brand products within five years to help end the "scourge" of plastic pollution.  The retailer said it would be replacing plastic with packaging including paper and pulp trays and paper bags, which would be recyclable through domestic waste collections or in-store recycling facilities."   

Iceland supermarket has promised to remove plastic packaging from all it's own brand products by 2023.

Sign Greenpeace's petition asking other UK supermarkets to go plastic free too.  

It's Shrove Tuesday today - try my vegan pancake recipe! 

Sign this 38 degrees' petition to save a bee and wildlife rich habitat.

Check out Friends of the Earth's 9 really good alternatives to plastic.

via buzzfeed

Read Buzzfeed's 16 reasons to give up plastic straws. 

I really hope it isn't true that microwaves cause more CO2 emissions than cars, but I'm trying to cut down my microwave use just in case.  If I can remember to get dinner out of the freezer to defrost in the morning, rather than defrost it in the microwave at night, that cuts out most of our microwave useage!

via Vertical Veg

This is an interesting article about community, health and gardening in the city.

* Facebook * Instagram * Twitter * Bloglovin' *

I made a thing, crochet baby jellyfish.

Last week my newest (4th!!) niece was born, and her mummy requested a crochet octopus.

Of course, I left it to the last minute and was feverishly crocheting a week after she was born.  And I decided to make a jellyfish instead of an octopus.  But she's finished (unlike the blanket I started but still haven't finished for my 3rd niece, who born in October!) 

I used this lovely free pattern - cute crochet jellyfish amigurumi pattern.

I made a few changes to the pattern, I used DK yarn (Yarnfair stripes from Wilkos in the colourway 'brights') and a 3mm hook, and made the tentacles much longer than the pattern told me to (it says chain 20, I chained between 40 and 55 for each as I wanted them all different lengths.)

 * Facebook * Instagram * Twitter * Bloglovin' * 

Diary of a suburban permaculture(ish) garden, Winter 2017-18.

The garden's laid fallow pretty much all winter and I haven't paid it very much attention.  But now, now we have sunshine and bulbs popping up and it seems the right time to venture back out and get ready for another year of gardening. 

Excitingly, I've planted my first seeds of the year, some red onion seeds.  I thought I'd try growing from seed this year instead of sets, because it's a whole lot cheaper to get organic seed sent through the post than organic onion sets.  They need starting at the end of January, to be planted out in April, I'll keep you posted!  I'll wait a couple more months to sow any more seed though, everything seems to get straggly and unhealthy and/or die if I get over eager and start planting too soon! 

My raised beds have been cleared out of all the things I lazily let die there last year!  

There's still lots of lovely leafs growing, Swiss chard, perpetual spinach and kale, I think maybe some beetroot as well, some carrots too, and I was happy to uncover my perennial Siberian onions still growing away despite the frosty winter we've had.

Joe and I have had a little exploratory excavation in the front garden to see what exactly it's made of.  Turns out it's gravel, membrane, then mud and a bit of builders rubble.  We're trying to come up with a plan to re-gravel it that fits in with Joe's need to do a job properly and my need to not spend too much time and money getting it done!  It looks a complete mess - I can't wait for it to be done! 

Joe bought me some LOVELY new loppers for Christmas, I gave them a test chop on the buddleia and they are super-choppy.  I think I'm going to have to replace all my other loppers and choppers now!  

I keep all the thick buddleia stems to use for bean poles in the garden.  They're strong, they're free, grow fast and tall each year, and are more sustainable than buying imported bamboo canes.   

Here's my wintery garden in full.  I leave it looking a big raggedy over winter (honest!) so all the insects have somewhere to sleep.  

I'm looking forward to blue skies and pretty flowers! 

How's your garden fared over the winter?  Have you planted any seeds yet?  Are you EXCITED for spring??!

 * Facebook * Instagram * Twitter * Bloglovin' *