So here we go again, another shiny new year! To mark the occasion my propagator is back on the kitchen windowsill from its short holiday under the bed, stuffed with onions, cerinthe and a third of my sweet peas. Unfortunately my Long Red Florence shallot seeds are lost in the wilderness that is my flat. Once it’s been de-Christmassed I might have a chance of finding them.

The onions are a bit of a punt. I shouldn’t really be starting them now with the spartan conditions I can offer. I can only keep them going in the greenhouse, which I’ve learned will not withstand a sharp frost. If we do have a real winter at some point and they curl up their toes I’ve plenty of time to re-sow, and plenty of seeds.

On which note I have spent many happy hours this Christmas rummaging through my seed collection, chewing the end of my pen, jotting down ideas and embarking on complicated maths to make it all fit. The provisional result is (cue small fanfare…) Growing in 2016, which feels like I really need a smallholding instead of 7.5 rods!

I am a bit disappointed in the B&Q compost. It’s as dry as a bone, very twiggy/lumpy and reluctant to absorb water. This afternoon is likely to include a trip to get a bag of something better quality in which to pamper my monkey nuts.

After a squelch around #92 I can see that my stern words have worked on the garlic, which is up and waving underneath the bird defences. The 2 remaining fennel plants are happily refusing to give up, and have just about enough growth for some form of pasta-based fish dish.

In the greenhouse nearly every one of my field beans has come through. They were a couple of years old and had been frozen to kill off the weevils which had burrowed through them. Just goes to show that weevils don’t damage seeds beyond repair! I am quietly pleased to have deprived the mice of their bean buffet – though now my issue is finding an un-waterlogged space to plant them before they grow too big.

It’s still raining, so it’s back to playing with seeds. This time packing them up for various seed circles and swaps. And possibly even looking for those dratted LRF seeds.