Just sown my first seeds of the year.

[L Austin France]

We don't have any of the above problems as we buy plants from the 'nice bio market lady' after she's had the hassle of raising 'em.
Sometimes we strike out & get late plants elswhere as she has had problems but they usually catch up & we have our normal decent crop of toms, peppers & chillis which is all we're interested in growing in the tunnel.
We've long given up the veggie patch as it was too much trouble to grow too much veg for us two & much easier to buy.
Edit. I should have added that we have a 3m x 3m raised bed we started last season which produced enough spuds & beans to last us a fair while & lots of herbs are grown amongst the garden flower beds

[Quiksilver]

I'm saving that pleasure for next week, when no doubt the weather will have changed, so pottering in the tunnel will be ideal It's so spring-like this week every spare minute is dedicated to getting the outdoor 'winter' jobs finished. Is anyone planning on using Lidl seeds this year? A word of caution.....I was a big fan of their basics until last year when it all went horribly pear-shaped. Many folks found they'd got cornichons instead of cucumbers, courgettes instead of potimarron, kale instead of cabbage.....it was a right old mess! The trouble with having similar-looking plants is that by the time you find out they're not what you were expecting, it's a bit late to start all over again. That was the first time I've ever had to buy cucumber plants

[Spectrum]

There is nothing wrong with buying plants, less hassle, reliable, you get what you pay for, but limited choice of variety, some plants are poorly looked after, especially supermarket ones. I still enjoy the challenge of seed to plate, and have been doing so for over fifty years, France is a big country and like all countries it has different climate zones, so there is not one sowing time for all, but that's the beauty, pushing the boundaries to see what you can grow, sometimes it works a lot of time it doesn't, just keep trying.

[Bayleaf]

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