It’s that time of year again when I’m busy sowing seeds and getting irrationally excited when the little green shoots appear from beneath the compost. Outdoors I have sown salad leaves, carrots and parsnips, although only the lettuces are showing signs of growth yet. As usual, my first sowing of leaves is in the old fish box retrieved from a local beach many years ago.
Indoors, the peppers and chillies that I started sowing much earlier in the year and then sequentially until about a month ago are coming on well (all except one variety which has not germinated at all and must be duff seeds, since they have been kept under the same conditions as all the rest). The ones doing the best so far are the purple jalapeños which were amongst the first planted.
This year we have an additional protected growing space. When Mr Snail moved into the flat he’d rented in Reading, it was full of stuff abandoned by previous tenants. After checking with the landlord, most of this went to a charity shop, but we retained one or two things, including a mini-greenhouse that had been on the tiny terrace. A few weeks back, Mr Snail put it together here in Wales and it’s providing a space for some sorrel frown last year as well as more germinating seeds: peas and various brassicas. Later in the summer, I think I shall put a couple of pepper plants in there to see how they get on.
I certainly wouldn’t have gone out and bought a plastic greenhouse like this, but it seemed a shame not to make use of it and I think it could be a valuable addition, since my wooden cold frame rotted away some years ago.
Inside the limery the carnivores are waking up and the citrus plants are growing great guns, and I’m dithering about exactly when to put them outside.
And finally, in the bathroom the flower on the Nepenthes continues to bloom…
Monkey cup flower
I do enjoy this time of year… all that promise of future harvest…
The Snail of Happiness 
tialys
/ April 12, 2019‘The carnivores are waking up’
😱
LikeLiked by 2 people
Laurie Graves
/ April 12, 2019Looking good. Watch out for those carnivores!
LikeLike
Pooja Thapliyal
/ April 12, 2019Wow.. to see your plants growing is a beautiful feeling 😍
LikeLike
Ann Pole
/ April 12, 2019I’m intrigued with your citrus plant growing fire arms…. hehe!
But yes, same here. First peppers and toms ready to pot on, and the first sowing of peas ready to plant out. Spuds coming up too, in pots, in the greenhouse.
LikeLike
thecontentedcrafter
/ April 12, 2019Exciting times!
LikeLike
katechiconi
/ April 13, 2019Those big red carnivore buds are exciting, they look like peonies! And that little greenhouse was a real find!
LikeLike
The Snail of Happiness
/ April 13, 2019I’m looking forward to those flowers opening – I originally bought that plant (it’s a Sarracenia leucophylla) for it’s amazing pitchers, but the flowers have turned out to be much more impressive.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Helen
/ April 13, 2019Your propagator seems a good size – you’ve got a lot of stuff in there.
LikeLike
The Snail of Happiness
/ April 13, 2019It’s old – it belonged to my late dad and is one of the very few of his possessions that I own. I love the fact that I use it every year to do something that he loved doing too.
LikeLike
Helen
/ April 13, 2019That’s lovely!
LikeLike
nanacathy2
/ April 13, 2019Exciting times when Spring allows all these new plan(ts)
LikeLike