Growing from seed is satisfying and eco-friendly
Sustainability is today’s watchword but gardeners need to make some changes to live up to it. We rely far too heavily on plastic. I’ve accumulated a stash of plastic pots, trays and netting. We need to reduce our use of plastic and go on re-using what we’ve got. Returning unwanted pots to garden centres may sound virtuous but to me it just seems like shifting the problem. It’s easy enough to wash out plastic pots and sort them ready for next year. I’m still using some of my parents’ old clay pots and when I need more pots I’ll buy more of these. Modern ones have the advantage of being able to withstand a bit of frost without cracking. Compost tends to dry out faster in clay pots than plastic ones so plants may need watering more often but there’s less danger of drowning young plants by overwatering.
One way of avoiding acquiring more plastic pots is to grow vegetables and flowers from seed. It’s much cheaper than buying plug plants in plastic trays and there’s a more exciting choice of varieties. Growing from seed is one of my greatest gardening joys. Each new packet of seeds comes with a promise of beautiful plants next year. If growing from seed is going to take some firsttime gardeners out of their comfort zone, they can be assured that most seed packets contain far more seeds than needed. If the first sowing isn’t successful, there are sure to be plenty left to try again. Now is the time to browse on mail order seed catalogues or choose from the racks of seed packets in garden centres. Aquadulce broad beans, Meteor peas and all sorts of sweet pea seeds can be sown now for an early crop next year.
Soft fruit such as raspberries and tree fruit like apples and plums are some of my allotment favourites. When spring arrives, garden centres will have plenty in stock but growing in plastic pots. Instead you can order bare-rooted plants now. They will have been uprooted from their growing site when dormant, the roots wrapped in a scrap of moistureretaining
If the first sowing isn’t successful, there are sure to be plenty left to try again
material and packed in cardboard boxes for postage. Postage costs will be minimal and the plants will come with no plastic at all. Providing these new plants are given a little care at planting time, they will settle in over the winter and grow away with no problems in the spring. n