Chitting potatoes

First steps to my veggie garden...

After buying seed potatoes from Aldi (I've never tried theirs before...time will tell.) I decided to start chitting them.  I've grown potatoes in the past and old egg boxes are brilliant for this. But I'd forgotten to keep mine and I didn't fancy ferreting around in the dustbin for them! 

So I used seed trays instead, they should be ok but it was a bit of a balancing act placing them upright...never mind figuring out where the shoots were. I worked on the principle that where the more pronounced marks were that was the right way up.

Then while it was still dry I took some photos of the back garden. I thought this would help me plan my veg plot better.  My plan is to make raised beds where at the moment there is lawn.

  

I'm not sure where I'm going to put the washing line yet. I've noticed that both Monty Don and Alan Titchmarsh never seem to draw up plans with the washing line in...probably wouldn't make good television.

I'm thinking of keeping the back flower bed and planting my potatoes in there as I've read they're good for breaking up the soil...it's very heavy clay soil.

The garden faces south west so it gets the sun from mid morning until sunset.

I'm also thinking of moving the roses from this  flower bed and planting fruit trees.  But I'm not sure where  to put  the roses  yet. 

As for this paved area, again it would be a good place to have compost bins, but also it would be a good place to have chickens...

So the next step is to measure up and draw up a plan.

What I'd like to have room for are:

• veggies
• strawberries
• fruit trees
• roses
• 3 compost bins
• chickens
• a sitting area
• and a small pond

That's just for starters...hoping for some good spring weather so I can get on with it.