It’s January, a good time to review our seed stock. We started our first year in the vegetable garden in 2024, but the gardening season was already underway and we didn’t make as much progress as we had hoped. Emigrating in the same year had a significant impact, but it was still great to be able to work on and in the vegetable garden.
Back in the Netherlands
In the Netherlands, I (Kim) had already gained experience working in a communal garden and in the backyard of our home. Due to limited space, I also experimented with container gardening, which worked well. I had built up a large collection of seeds, including not only organic store-bought seeds but also seeds I had saved from various vegetables and fruits.
Seed collection
After selling our home in the Netherlands, my entire seed collection was put into storage until we settled on our homestead in France. Now, as I’m taking stock of all the seeds I have, I notice that the ‘expiration dates’ are approaching or have already passed. Although seeds can survive for another year, especially since they were stored in cool, airtight containers, I still want to test their viability.
I’ll be testing all these seeds to see if they still germinate, so I can determine if I can keep them for another year. And the list is quite long.
Garden planner tool
To plan the garden i use a garden tool planner. I have used it last year for the first time.
The benefit of this planner is that it allows you to plan based on your previous year’s garden. So, if certain plants can’t be sown or planted in a specific spot, the program will let you know.
I also get a monthly overview of what can be sown, planted, or harvested, which is really helpful.
The program is called GrowVeg, and if you’re in the market for a garden planner, it’s definitely worth checking out. Through this link, you can get 25% off your first year’s subscription. Plus, you can try the program for free for the first 7 days. I don’t earn anything from this, it’s just a nice bonus for you to plan your garden more efficiently.
In the meantime, I’m still making a lot of compost and will start outlining the garden beds in February. We’re planning to work according to permaculture principles, which means a no-dig garden.
Next on the agenda is to unpack our grow lights from the moving boxes and set up a rack for seed starting. It’s still winter, but not too cold, and I’m counting down the days until March and April when the real garden work begins!
Our 2024 vegetable garden
The vegetable garden and orchard did pretty good in our first year. Knowing we started late in the season and next to that we were very busy with some renovations in the house. Looking back at the pictures of the garden makes us even more excited to get started!
What have you grown in your garden and what are you planning in the upcoming season? Let us know in the comments.
We sure keep you updated on our progress of our vegetable garden!
