Well, I have tried the scientific approach to growing from seed, stratifying (freezing for a time) before sowing , scratching open slightly or sanding the thick outer layer of a seed; I have put things outside and put others under cover; I have sown seed in winter, autumn and spring, prepared complex tables for recording growth. It is all concerned with The Importance Of Earnest Labelling.
Needless to say, I labelled meticulously, with indelible ink and plastic labels.
A couple of weeks ago, I checked upon my pots each of which, now, had a plain unmarked label sticking out of each pot, pristinely white in fact.
I now have a lot of twiggy unrecognisable things in pots, because of deluge of rain. The moral of the story is, don’t buy cheap “permanent” marker pens, go the extra mile.
Because the allotments are quite muddy at present, I haven’t been gardening much, as such, just trimming and weeding a bit. I have left a nice messy wildlife corner for hedgehogs, snakes and anything else that wishes to make home in there. If you saw my allotment now, you wouldn’t see the tidiest allotment in the world; however, it is a continuous work in progress: insects and animals call it home too, it is not just my land.
I have left nettles in the garden and in my allotment, I have left hollow stalks around for insects to over-winter in, and seed-heads and berries are left for the birds.
Remember that composting is important all the year round and don’t throw away good composting material, so all the uneaten sprouts and potato peelings should be in a pile to compost, however the ducks still have some of mine with cooked pasta.