I have to stop looking at seed websites. I have enough seeds to keep us in veg for many years. I could almost open my own seed shop. And yet there are plates of seed drying on the hearth, I have a wishlist filed on Baker Creek and I am leafing through Amy Goldman’s beautiful ‘The Compleat Squash’ and other people’s websites for new ideas.

My collection has so far outgrown 2 large seedboxes and is now spilling over into one of my cake tins. The Heritage Seed Library choices are the latest to be squeezed in. I have a spreadsheet to keep track, and there will be a cull in January – but that’s also when all the parcels from seed circles will come in. And one of those is just for tomatoes.

Playing with seeds is part of the fun of growing – for me at least. Bean seeds are incredibly tactile, with smooth, shiny coats that slip through your fingers. Tomato seeds are fuzzy and stick together in clumps. Chilli seeds are handled with care. Even after drying, the capsaicin oil on the seeds can be a nasty surprise.

Planning next year is very satisfying – at this point nothing has failed to germinate/been eaten/got a virus or fungus. It’s all growing perfectly in my head. I’ve printed some plot layouts and am scribbling away to try and make it all fit. There will be many new squashes, a host of new chillies and as many tomatoes as I can shove into the greenhouse.

As much as I can I will be growing UP to squeeze more in. Parsnips are on their final warning though. If I fail on the 4th year of trying, perhaps they are just not for me.

Some new things I’m thinking of growing from seed are:

1. alexanders, inspired by the fab Tudor Monastery Farm
2. monkey nuts
3. pepinos
4. stevia

Plantswise, I’m hoping Santa brings me a Szechuan peppercorn from the lovely Otter Farm. And possibly some rootstocks so I can have a go at grafting fruit trees.