Our struggles with compost and weeks with stunted seedlings had been disappointing, to say the least. But after trialling different seed-raising “recipes” it seems that we might finally be growing happy and healthy seedlings. Silverbeet and beetroot seedlings from two weeks ago have almost overtaken those from August, giving us more confidence that we’re on the right track.

Outside, the supplements of various compost teas and fish emulsion seem to have helped. A half-bed of peas that we had given up on (and therefore not provided trellis or support) have turned green again and are bearing pods. And a trial of directly sowing peas in a garden bed (initially covered with planks of wood) yielded a full row of pea shoots that are – so far- untouched by our earlier furry visitors. In the biggest surprise of all, the tiny asparagus fronds that the winter frost killed are now accompanied by new fronds with teeny tiny asparagus spears beside them. I doubt that even the most experimental chef would serve them but they are very cute.

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This Thursday was Hobart Show Day (well, a 2020 version which meant it was a public holiday without a show). But the day remained the traditional signal for southern Tasmanians to plant the precious tomato seedlings they had been keeping inside to protect from possible frost. Feeling a bit cautious due to our earlier missteps and inexperience we marked the occasion by planting more tomatoes in the tunnel. We have three rows of tomatoes in total, with two rows of vine tomatoes and one row of bush tomatoes in the middle. We’ve ended up with a huge range of varieties and thanks to our friend with the almost-magical seed propagation table we could supplement our own poor seedlings to fill the bed. Hopefully ours survive – they were still small but the garden bed is likely to be more hospitable than the seed tray with the unbalanced compost. Next week we’ll begin planting tomato seedlings outside, crossing our fingers and toes that the last frost is behind us.

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To try to make up for lost time we transplanted kale and broccoli seedlings from the same friends. And we sowed some fast growing crops to try to ensure we have some variety in late November: radish for colour and varieties of lettuce, spinach and silverbeet that we can sell in “baby” form. If we can become expert at growing radish we would have something to compensate for the lost time this spring. Hopefully people like radish!