Seeds

Thanks to a link from somewhere (I'll be very good and update things like this soon I promise) I found the Organic Centre in Co. Leitrim. Had to wait for January payday but carried the seed catalogue around with me for about two weeks beforehand trying to decide what to buy without completely breaking the bank (which is, as always, very fragile). Great excitement this morning as I went to the post office to pick up a parcel and realised it was from the Organic Centre. One packet of seeds was quite big and wouldn't fit through my letterbox so I had to go and pick it up. I was so curious about what it was that I opened it in the sorting office, realised what it was, let a little squeak and a very Bill-and-Ted-like "Excellent!" out of me. Oh well, at least I made a postal worker smile at seven o'clock this morning!

I have received the following but won't be starting seedlings yet. I need to give my new housemate time to move in (first weekend of March) before breaking the news to her that for the first month or so she's living with me, the kitchen will have a lot of seed trays and pots around it.

Phacelia tanacetifolia - this is a green manure which I'll plant straight out into the two beds I'm trying to create to grow salads in. They were cardboarded and had topsoil and some compost added around October and I hope to have this growing and dug in in plenty of time to plant out seedlings towards the beginning of summer. It's described as "a feast for bees. The bright blue flowers have an amazing sweet fragrance. Green manure plant, weed suppressor. Annual. Suitable as cut flowers." Sounds even better than I thought and I really hope it lives up to expectations.

Pea - Ambassador - "excellent semi leafless variety for easy picking. Largely self supporting, tasty and tolerant of bad weather. Resistance to mildew and fusarium".

Tomato - Tumbler - "Bush tomato which is the most popular for hanging baskets and containers. Up to 2 kg of small tasty fruits per plant".

Tomato - yellow brandywine (I ordered just brandywine but got this substituted) - "yellow version of this famous tomato regarded by many as the best flavoured. For use in the greenhosue or outdoors. Very tasty fruits and high yielding crops from vigourous plants."

Tomato - St. Pierre (who could choose just one type of anything?) - "traditional and tasty large French heirloom variety. For use outside or under glass".

Herb - borage - "beautiful blue flowered bee plant with edible flowers. Young leaves can also be used chopped in salads. Harvest leaves any time, flowers when fully open."

Perpetual spinach - "high quality tasty leaf beet spinach which can provide valuable greens throughout the winter. Does not readily run to seed."

Lettuce - baby leaf mix - "excellent mix of specially developed varieties for baby leaf production".

Courgette - Nero di Milano - "dark green lightly mottled fruits up to 20cm in length with fine taste. Originates from Italy."

Courgette - Yellow Straightneck - "early maturing yellow courgette widely grown around the world. Bush habit and yellow, slightly knobbly fruits which are easy to see for picking."

Scallion - Guardsman - "very strong growing spring onion especially suitable for autumn crops, but useful all year. Erect stiff leaves and well blanched for a lovely mild flavour."

Am looking forward to recording my progress with this lot as the year progresses.