Seaweed Makes Me Happy

Yesterday I made myself very happy by renovating all my plant pots. I have two hanging baskets and five large pots that I call my 'mini farm'. I am not allowing myself any more until I can keep these ones alive and green over several successive seasons. It is absolutely the wrong season to plant seeds, but the poor pots have been neglected since the summer veg came out, and I needed some green to lift my spirits during the long winter. So I cheated and bought seedlings. Lettuce for salads, parsley for everything, tuscan kale for the secret ingredient in minestrone. Then I dug up silverbeet seedlings from the garden to save them from slugs and popped them in the pots too. A wonderful sunny autumn afternoon in gardening gloves with a bag of potting mix and a trowel. Heavenly. I think I will plant snow pea seeds anyway. Maybe the pots will be warm enough to encourage them to sprout. I have discovered that veg will keep growing throughout our winter with a fortnightly feed of seaweed concentrate and fish emulsion. You know you are a true gardener (or maybe just a slightly scary one) when the smell of liquid seaweed is all it takes to make you happy.