There's something incredibly calming about planting plants that you know not only look beautiful but also have a real purpose.

Yes! I agree. I saw something about making a raised bed out of wood, sowing seeds good for chooks, but putting some mesh ovre the top so they're only getting the top whilst the rest keeps growing. It worked pretty well.

I'm not one to ask for seed raising advice - i'm not great at it. I wish I knew how to improve but I feel that to do that I need to know what's wrong!