To celebrate either Jesus’ birthday or my own, the Short Aunty and family bought me some exciting gardening stuff.

This morning I planted the first of my 850 seeds for some leafy salad thing. Supposedly, in just three weeks it will be ready for my sandwiches – potentially saving my 50p a week on buying lettuce. I checked the packet very carefully and you can plant in February. You can even harvest in February if you plant right at the beginning of the month, but it started snowing, so I thought I’d wait a few weeks.

So today was the day.

Now, after having seemingly thousands of seedlings last year on every available surface, I decided the best option was only to plant a few seeds at a time. After all, imagine if they actually grew and I had 850 lettuces? I’m not sure you can freeze lettuce.

Rummaging around in the shed I came across a packet of onions. Googling the planting of onions I learnt that you’re supposed to use fresh seeds. Seeing as there was nothing to lose and you can’t just put seeds in the bin, I planted them as well.

As for actual plants in my little house. The chilli plant that I sowed in December (I’m sure chilli plants aren’t meant to be sown in December) is growing marvelously. By this I mean it isn’t dead. I got this particular seed from a Mexican restaurant in London, not from my dinner, but in a small packet post-dinner alongside a mint.

The supermarket parsley isn’t dead either, or at least not all of it is dead. I know that with it being a herb you’re supposed to use it in food. I do on occasion. But there’s so little of it I’m afraid it won’t survive me eating its leaves.

The coriander was less successful.

My question is, what would have the best chance of success with my eager but unrefined gardening techniques?