Seeds to sow in February, seed swaps, and Imbolc musings :)
Now it's February you are probably itching to get seed sowing.
We have sown our first lettuces, sweet peas, garden peas, Asian salads, radish, kale, wild rocket and onions and they are tucked up in the polytunnel.
For a full list of seeds you can sow in February click the button below.
| Seeds to sow in Feb |
Tomatoes, peppers and aubergines will be sown in the next couple of weeks on a heat mat and we will discuss our technique for these in our next newsletter.
We will wait till March to sow most things as it will be warmer and there will be more light.
We are in our peak time of sales now as gardeners and growers stock up on the seeds for the season ahead. We love the thought of sending out 1,000s of tiny packets of potential around the country that will produce food and flowers in a few months' time :)
We have plenty of stock of most things but are running low on some others, so if there are varieties you simply can't do without then we recommend putting in your order sooner rather than later.
| To the main seed shop |
Imbolc and the end of winter!
1 Feb is the day of Imbolc which in the Celtic calendar marks the end of winter and beginning of spring.
It's the half way point between the winter solstice and the spring equinox.
Behind the scenes the natural world is prepping itself for the change in seasons, the snow drops, crocuses, and some daffodils are out, and the buds on the trees are swelling.
The goddess Brigid was honoured by the Celts at Imbolc and she represents the qualities of youthful potential, inspiration and fertility.
As such, Imbolc is a time of renewal and new beginnings, and is a celebration of the returning light and the awakening of the natural world.
Imbolc is a traditional time to do a 'spring clean' of the home or garden.
Local seed swaps
January and February are the times when there are many local seed swaps being organised.
Seed swaps are a wonderful opportunity to meet other local gardeners and to find interesting varieties which are not commercially available.
Don't be put off going to a seed swap if you don't have any seeds to donate, there will be plenty of seeds available and the more people that turn up the better as that is where the magic is!
There is a great list of seed swaps on the Garden Organic / Heritage Seed Library website which you can find here.
All the best and happy gardening
Fred, Ronja, and the rest of the team
P.S. Remember, in our next newsletter we will explain our technique for sowing chillies, peppers and aubergines so stay tuned for that one!
Vital Seeds Ltd
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