I'm sowing sweet peas
After all that rushing about over Christmas, I can’t wait to get outdoors for some fresh air and gardening. I've a long list of jobs to be getting on with, but I also give myself time to just potter about, turning over fallen leaves, finding snowdrops pushing though the ground, and wild violets by the front gate – months ahead of when they usually flower. A lovely find!
New year's the perfect time to sow some sweet peas. I make my own pots using newspaper wrapped around a herb jar and scrunched up at the base. Fold one side down 5cm (2in) to form the top, place the jar in the centre and roll up. Stand the jar up and press the base down firmly. Tip the jar out and secure the roll with string. I’m growing old favourites ‘Wiltshire Ripple’, ‘Chatsworth Blue’, ‘Mrs Collier’, and new varieties ‘Turquoise Lagoon’, and ‘Mayflower’ – commemorating the 400 years since the Pilgrim Fathers sailed to America.
I’ll grow them on in good light so they won’t get leggy, and when they’re 10cm (4in) tall, I’ll pinch out the tips to make the plants bush out.
The pinchings can be treated like cuttings, inserted in a 9cm (3½in) pot with gritty compost. Cuttings will provide plants that flower later in the season, giving a succession of sweet peas. It’s a good way to make more plants, especially from heritage varieties where there aren’t many seeds in a packet.
I peek into the greenhouse to check my geranium cuttings for grey mould. Removed promptly, the mould won’t contaminate surrounding plants.
Also growing indoors is my winter salad, lamb’s lettuce and microgreens; beetroot, radish and rocket. The microgreens are grown to 8cm (3in) and then snipped off for a tasty addition to winter dishes.
I’m sowing edible peas for pea shoots. I’ll harvest them when they’re 12cm (4¾in) tall. Interestingly, the shoots taste just like peas. Any edible peas can be used, but I’m growing ‘Twinkle’. ■ You can read more about Karen’s garden at bramblegarden.com and on twitter @kgimson.