Wanted - For seed murder!

Spent a wonderful day in Norfolk yesterday. Visited Holkham beach and Wells-Next-The-Sea with a group of our friends.

Got chatting about my "gardening" and sure enough found some fellow gardeners in our group of five who have/are successfully growing in containers and the outdoors. Both proved to be encouraging and very generous by offering a plant or two to me to continue growing. Made me worry less that my peppers and chillies weren't growing. They may just need longer to germinate. Although as I wrote this I had a little look and each page I looked at suggested different things. Hmm, this is exactly why I am writing this blog. Too much mixed information for the first-time gardener. However I'm wondering if my kitchen windowsill just hasn't been warm enough for the peppers and chillies.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/basics/techniques/growfruitandveg_growing_aubergines_chillies_peppers1.shtml

http://www.chilefarm.co.uk/growing.html

Went back to one of our fellow gardener/friend's home and she showed us her containers which were all growing wonderfully and her plot in the garden which looked ever so professional. Apparently she'd only just started too but clearly quite a bit before me. She'd just been following a book her sister got her. Very inspiring but it's given me the fear again unfortunately. I think I'm going to have this trouble until I get more solid results. I left with a small pumpkin plant which I have named Penelope and I'm hoping that I may not only grow a pumpkin in time for this Halloween but make my own pumpkin pie with it. My friend reassured me that the more results I get the more I will love gardening.

Our other friend who has been successfully growing chilli plants has offered me a chilli plant too, that she grew from seed.

My baskets are looking very sad indeed in places. They are also drying out like no one's business. They seemed to stay moist when they were sitting on the grass but now they are hanging up it seems I have to drench them. Strangely enough some parts are wilting but others are thriving so I'm on tenterhooks to see what happens. I do believe I am seeing flowers buds as well. I'm sure the next bit of sunshine we have will get those going. When we have sunshine again, is another matter.

I still have to prick out the sunflowers and tomatoes and the basil needs thinning out. I worked out what was wrong with the herb set. I'd managed to sow the seeds too deep. I believe I've solved the problem with one of the pots but sadly only the basil is striving to live. The parsley and chives may not survive. It looks like they germinated then had too far to grow.

I'm thinking my huge fear is not failure exactly but killing something that is alive or heeding something that could live. That fear has clearly become fact with the herb set which was also a lovingly-picked present :(

I AM THE HERB SEED KILLER!