January must be one of the most exciting times in a gardener’s year. You wave the old year goodbye and welcome the new one with anticipation and a head full of plans. It’s a time of feeling positive and hopeful. But it is also easy to be seduced to think that spring is just around the corner…

Then there are such delights as leafing through seed catalogues and gardening books to get inspiration for the growing season ahead, ordering seeds and plants, researching and drawing planting plans.

It seems like every year I come up with ideas for so many different plants and crops and to be honest several of those usually fail as I somehow get distracted and perhaps lose interest as the season progresses. So this year I decided I will stick with a few things that grow relatively well here and that we enjoy eating, rather than experimenting and trying lots of different things.

And then I had this #grow15in15 challenge idea. I was inspired by a lady in the US who is a keen spinner and whom I follow on Instagram.  She has gathered the interest of other Instagram spinners and gave them a challenge of spinning 15 minutes a day in 2015.

I thought it was a brilliant idea and so here’s my challenge to myself, to fellow growers or aspiring gardeners for this year – let’s grow fifteen crops this year and be one step closer to self-sufficiency.

So here’s what’s on my #grow15in15 list:

Tatties

Carrots

Neeps

Beetroot

Peas

Garlic

Celeriac

Kale

Rocket

Spinach

Radishes

Strawberries

Raspberries

Gooseberries

Black Currant

What are your crops going to be?