First Life

When I wasn't watching, first life appeared!  I usually scrutinise the soil day after day and I love spotting the first signs of the soil being disrupted, followed by a brand new shred of life pushing through.  I hadn't been watching too closely though.  The days are still short and although the sun has been out a bit more than usual, I hadn't expected to see germination yet. 

But today I saw this:

That is coriander, first seeds of the year to germinate.  There are no signs of life yet from the chilli seeds or the tomatoes, but hopefully they won't be too long now. 

I am moving the propagators from the windowsill as light fades, onto the fireguard so they can stay warm.  TLC all the way...

I have stuck to my '20 mins per day' of gardening.  Or rather garden-clearance!  I haven't been out in the last two days as I was working, but I did a good hour on Sunday instead.  All the old broken toys are cleared and ready to be taken to the tip.  Lots of old, dead stalks from last year's plants have been cleared and I have swept up a lot of leaves.  Dylan has used a very clever contraption, borrowed from our neighbours to take the top off the tree in the garden which is getting a little tall and threw a lot of shade over our veggie beds last year.  I have bought some rubble sacks to start clearing the old water-logged compost out.  Not looking forward to getting out there today - it is cold and damp, but I shall at least try and get a few more weeds/dead plants cleared.