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We had a wonderful time out at Macduff and Oldmeldrum on May 19th. Huge thanks to everyone who came along and said hello. We met so many brilliant veg growers and even picked up a few tips ourselves. We had conversations about everything from carrots to compost and all things fruit and veg.

It was so good to hear how your veg patches are making a positive impact on your mental and physical health

even in this very cold spring! Lots of you said how it was great to have this extra reason to get outside. Our next drop-in session is at Inverurie Library on May 27th.

Hope to see you there!

On Tuesday May 19th we have the first of our library drop-in sessions and we’ll be at Macduff in the morning and Oldmeldrum in the afternoon. We’re bringing extra free seeds and lots of tips and guidance for anyone growing fruit and veg at home. If you’ve been getting your library seeds on the go and are looking for some chat about how things are going - this is definitely the place to go.

See you there!

We‘re just sorting the final details for the first of our library drop-in sessions. 5 libraries around Aberdeenshire will have drop-in sessions where you can come along and ask us questions about your veg growing and tell us how your seeds are coming along. Watch our facebook page for dates and more information and we‘ll be coming out to Macduff, Oldmeldrum, Inverurie, Portlethen, and Fraserburgh.

We‘ll be bringing extra seeds and lots of tips for growing food for the table for spaces of all sizes.

See you there!

The weather has been amazing and I managed to get my pea seeds in the ground this week. I’m a very lazy grower so I just scatter them in a shallow trench and cover them up with soil. I do put some netting over them because the birds and mousies love a pea. I also grow more than I need.

One for the mousie

One for the crow

One to rot

And one to grow

That seems to be about right. I’m growing Sabrina peas (the same variety as in the Aberdeenshire Libraries Seed Banks) so you can see how I get on.

A big "hello!" to anyone who has picked up seeds from the new library seed banks. You might be looking at those packets and wondering if you are starting too late but don't worry because most seed packets are written for growers in the south of the country. We can start things later up here in NE Scotland so you still have time. These longer and brighter days are good for getting your tomato seeds going. Pop them into pots on a bright windowsill and let them make the most of the sunshine. Soil should be damp but not soaking wet and if all goes well you'll get some little green shoots in around a week or so. We're looking forward to getting lots more things in the ground in the coming weeks so keep an eye on posts for timings and we'll have more on tomatoes too. If you…

I’ve just shared a new blog post with some tips for better strawberries. I really am such a fan of growing soft fruits because I’m such a keen jam maker. Hopefully these tips will help you grow bigger and tastier strawberries too.

Do you make jams, pickles, chutneys? Are you growing for preserving this year? Really interested to hear what you like to grow for this.

Head over to the blog section to read the full Spring and Strawbs post.

I was planting a tree this week and noticed that the ground was perfect for getting my tatties in. Sugary and loose, dark but not too wet. It feels a bit early but I got them in the ground anyway. Down at Plot 9 I mainly work with what time I have so in they went. There was a lovely bit of rain a couple of days later so that’s a good start for them.

I also sowed some early lettuce in one of my raised beds. I really like to get those in before the soil gets too warm and the forecast was for some really cold nights. Lettuces won’t germinate if the ground is too warm so I’m hoping they’ll like the chill. They are a teeny tiny seed and they blow away so easily. Best thing to do is dampen the soil before you sow and then…

Here is her first blog post. Hold off a little longer with planting your seed, especially when you are further inland: "Up here in Scotland we have to hold our excitement in check and wait for the last of the hard frosts to pass by. March is a trickster month, so we all rush and plant things and then April comes along with a cruel temper and puts us all back to square one."

space? Anything in particular you are hoping to grow this year?