sow some SOUP!

Grow your own ingredients for winter-warming soups by sowing seeds of root vegetables such as carrots, beetroot, parsnips, swedes and turnips. Some seed suppliers even sell soup seed collections. Parsnip seeds are particularly slow to germinate, so get them started as soon as you can before the soil cools.

Most root vegetables are best sown directly where they are to grow and don’t respond well to transplanting. This means good soil preparation is essential. Carrots and parsnips, especially, prefer deep, friable soil that allows their roots to head straight down without forking, so you may need to blend in some sand or build up a raised bed to ensure they have plenty of uninterrupted root room. Make sure, too, that the soil is free of lumps and stones.

Before sowing, mix some good quality compost or very old manure into the planting bed. Never use fresh manure, as this can interfere with root growth. In most areas, an application of dolomite will help sweeten the soil, although this should be avoided where soil pH is known to be high. Mix in a small amount of fertiliser granules, but don’t overdo it, as too much fertiliser will promote leaf growth at the expense of the roots. After raking to smooth the soil surface, water well to check that the soil drains freely.

Make a shallow furrow and sprinkle the seeds along its length. Tamp down well with a board or the back of a rake and keep moist. If you blend carrot seeds with radish seeds, the fast-germinating radish seeds will break through the soil crust and make way for the slower carrots.

Turnips, swedes and beetroot, which are less fussy about soil conditions, will add a special earthy flavour to your dish that’s ‘souper’ warming on a winter’s day!