Louisa Pearson: 'The way I feel about my seedlings is the way others feel about their children'

I'VE run into a bit of bother. This week's mother of all disasters concerns the conflicting needs of my brassicas and my in-laws. Some time ago, a date was put in the diary for a trip south to visit my other half's family. The second week in May seemed perfect – a reasonable chance of good weather and quiet roads. What I hadn't factored in was the critical relationship between the last frosts and my fledgling vegetables.

While others take the easy route of buying young plants from the garden centre, here in the Pearson potting shed we like to do things the hard way.

That means trays, compost and packets of seeds – 55 packets of seeds. I've just counted them, and it is apparent that my gardening obsession may be accelerating out of control.

I won't bore you with a list of all 55, but the ones I'm particularly excited about this year include butternut squash, red Brussels sprouts and borlotti beans. With these homegrown delights in my larder, I shall laugh in the face of the supermarket giants (until winter, when my diet of potatoes and kale becomes unbearable).

Back to the brassicas. The sprouts, kale and purple sprouting broccoli were sown in early April and currently live in the shelter of the back porch.

By the second week of May, will they be large enough and hardened off enough to be planted outside? It's a worry. The way I feel about my seedlings is the way other people feel about their dogs or children – irrationally protective and intensely proud.

Having nurtured these leafy green fellows from seed to young plant, can I in good conscience just plant them out and pray that the pigeons or the frosts don't devastate them?

I mentioned this concern to the in-laws. They took it in good humour while mentioning that they would be taking legal advice as to how to cut me out of the will.

It was suggested that I could bring the plants with me on the road trip. This may have been a joke but I was halfway through drawing up designs for a brassica car seat when I realised that I could just plant them out and cover the raised bed with protective fleece. What a relief.

Meanwhile, a new survey by the Royal Horticultural Society has found that the 'grow your own' movement is spreading beyond the back garden and into the workplace.

Nearly 60 per cent of respondents said that they would use a garden or allotment at work. Good luck to those of you who intend to march into the office tomorrow morning to demand that a roof garden, window box or patio be installed.

Can you imagine the brawling between the smokers and the veg growers over entitlement to the few metres of corporate outdoor space?

The survey also found that 73 per cent of people consider gardening a good way of unwinding from work. These people are clearly not taking it seriously enough.

How can anyone relax when they've got the needs, wants and whimsical personality traits of 55 different vegetable to think about? If it's not the spinach threatening to bolt when the watering levels aren't exactly right, you've got the courgettes running around town trying to catch a dose of powdery mildew.

And on that note, I'm off to supervise the lettuce seedlings. The corn salad has been accusing the rocket of cramping its style. Tense negotiations lie ahead, but I'm confident that a peace treaty can be signed. If not, they'll get harvested and served as a baby leaf salad.

• This article was first published in The Scotland On Sunday, April 25, 2010