Hello seedsaving gardeners,
I’d like to start this thread as a journal of sorts to see how my garden is evolving. Hopefully that’s ok, if not, just let me know!
I’ve been seed saving before, but without the knowledge that can be found in Joseph’s book.
We came to this place in the summer of '23. Old orchard, the place had not been lived in for three years. I’ve found traces (chives, garden sorrel and strawberries) of an old kitchen garden, in a spot that is now shaded by trees.
In July of that first summer we got two kunekune pigs to work the ground for us for a new kitchengarden. They did their work with passion and joy, and afterwards they got a new pasture…and a new one…and…Finally we gave them to a neighbor who also needed new gardensoil to be opened.
The garden is roughly in an L-shape, one half is the one we established in September '23 (with hugelbeds), the other half is from this spring ('25).
I’ve saved seeds from garden cress, different varieties of kale, radishes and turnips.
This season the garden cress and some kale varieties are taking off really well, radishes and turnips not so.
The garlic that I planted last autumn is coming on strong. Strawberries are an excellent ground cover.
I got a lot of seeds in seed swaps (and also as a gift) from the European Adaptation Gardening group. Parsnips and artichokes are going strong, pumpkins (on a gigantic hugelbed outside the garden) are mostly alive 
.
There’s also a greenhouse, built by my partner in the spring '24. We had an abundance of tomatoes and cucumbers last season, this spring I had a disastrous time with planting cucumber, kiwano and melon seedlings - they got mowed down, first by woodlice, then by slugs. Third round sowing in pots, after looking absolutely everywhere and removing all the slugs I could find (5 big ones) I’m now test planting one plant per time and seeing if it survives, then planting the next…
I had one Physalis plant that survived the winter in the greenhouse. It’s flowering and making fruit now!