Spring is officially quite a few weeks away, March 20th, so says my diary and so thoughts turn to getting the plants going in the greenhouse. We've sterilised everything including all the pots. It takes forever and you will stink of Jeyes Fluid for days after immersing yourself in the stuff. We've also put in Electric and a good heater. The past couple of years we'd been using paraffin heaters, but they're messy, leave a sooty residue on the glass and frankly it's a bit Captain Caveman. Paraffin is also expensive, so we've booted that mode of heating for now. We've also got a couple of Electric Propagators and these are brilliant for getting seeds germinating ahead of schedule. So for all you keen horticulturists out there, here's some of the things we've got going at the moment:
Shirley F1 Tomatoes, these are the hardiest tomatoes you can get hold of and are quite tolerant of low temperatures. Sativa Cucumbers, Chinese variety as again these are hardy, the Chinese have a long history of cultivation and a lot of Chinese vegatables are highly tolerant of low temperatures, it says a great deal of their expertise in cultivating these plants over the years. We've got all sorts of herb seeds growing, Lettuces, Cabbages, Kohlrabi, Celeriac, Peppers, Lavendar and much more. Current temperatures are quite mild for this time of year and so helps a lot. A cold spell could mean trouble though. Such is the joy of the gardeners lot.

We've also got quite a lot of two year old fruit cane stock on the go, Blackcurrant, Redcurrant, Tayberry, Raspberry and Gooseberries. These fruit bushes come to life very quickly and you get to see new leaves forming every day. Grant has been appointed head gardener and spends quite a bit of time in the greenhouse doing the seeding and preparation. As long as the weather holds out, we may be ahead of the curve this year. We did the same thing last year but had all the seeds and plants wiped out by a cold snap. Hopefully the electrical heating will keep death at bay should we get a cold blast.

If you want a sense of purpose in life, I'd suggest you start gardening. Apparently it's one of the reasons the Japanese live so long. If you're not bothered, I'd suggest fags, booze, black motorcycles and a will to survive.