Novel ways to plant up your produce
I've got garlic in modules, parsnips in bags and sweet peas in toilet rolls!
This time of year is all about sowing and starting plants off, either from seed, bulb or any number of other methods. I’m happy to say that my autumn-planted garlic is all up and looking nice and healthy in the kitchen garden.
However, don’t be put off growing this fieryflavoured allium if you haven't already planted any, there’s still time to get some in. I was given a spare bulb by a friend and I just couldn't see it going to waste, so I’ve planted the cloves in small modules which will allow me to plant them out where I like in a few months. My idea behind this is because I don’t want to fill another bed with garlic, so I may plant them out between my carrots or lettuce; by doing this it not only reminds me I’ve sown seed in that bed, but it should also keep carrot fly away as they get confused by the smell. And by dotting plants around in different beds where there’s space, you get a full crop without using a full bed.
The plastic modules I use are re-used, originally having small plants in them from the garden centre. Instead of throwing them away, I wash them out and use them for smaller bulbs like onions and garlic, or larger seeds such as peas or beetroot. Most packets say to start beetroot off outside in March/April time, yet they’re perfectly suited to starting off in these reclaimed modules. I sow two or three seeds per cell and leave them to sprout in a cold greenhouse. It’s easy to plant them out in a few months and I never thin them out, I simply let them grow and harvest smaller ones to add as a tasty green leaf to salads; allowing the remaining seedling to grow on and form a decent root earlier than direct-sown seed.
Now, I know I’ve said I’m trying to get away from single-use plastic, but one thing I simply have to use when starting my parsnip seeds is a zip-lock sandwich bag. I’ve used the same one for a couple of years, as it’s the most reliable way I’ve found of germinating notoriously erratic parsnip seeds. In fact, I’ve given up sowing them direct as they never seem to grow for me! Instead, I lie my chosen variety (this year it's ‘Albion’ and ‘Hollow Crown’ as the latter did well last year) on a piece of damp kitchen roll and seal it in the bag, leaving it somewhere dark and warm to germinate. Check the seeds after a week and then every day after this, and you should see a
small, white ‘tail’ sticking out of the seeds. This means the seed will grow and it can be planted out carefully (don’t damage the ‘tail’). This ensures almost every viable seed produces a plant.
I’m also starting to sow my sweet peas in old toilet rolls, as this allows them a long root run and produces sturdy little plants which can be planted (tube and all) direct into the garden in a few months. I’ve gone for a very pretty variety called ‘Fire and Ice’, which should look lovely growing up obelisks in the borders.