Grow seeds from scratch

there is little more heartening than watching a plant grow from a seed, according to alice vincent

‘one of the more cheering things to come out of lockdown has been an unprecedented fascination with growing things,’ says Alice Vincent, the woman who has shown novice gardeners that you don’t need lots of space or particularly green fingers to grow something beautiful. It can happen on a balcony, in a window box, or even in an old jar on your shelf. If you’re lucky enough to have a garden, however, this may have been the first time that many of us have actually taken an interest in what’s growing out there.

‘As an urban gardener, I’ve watched Millennials become fascinated by houseplants, but it seemed a challenge to encourage people to take the step to growing outdoors. I didn’t think a global pandemic would be the cause,’ says Alice.

With so much that we can’t control at the moment, tending to a garden feels like a soothing project, so it’s a bit disheartening when we realise those seeds we planted have failed to push through. Thank goodness, then, that Alice has just launched Seeds From Scratch, an audiobook to take us through the process, step by step.

‘With weeks at home on the horizon, and a summer vastly different to what all of us imagined, I wanted to share my love of gardening with those who want to start but might not know where. I wanted to be the knowledgeable friend who can talk you through sowing seeds, watering well, pricking out and potting on during the strange time of lockdown.’

And the timing is perfect. The Seed Co-operative has reported that orders are up to six times higher than a year ago, while the Royal Horticultural Society has seen a fivefold rise in queries on its website since lockdown began. ‘That’s why we got this audiobook out,’ says Alice. ‘No time like the present when things are changing so quickly, and sowing season is upon us!’

ALICE’S TOP TIPS TO START SOWING

1. Sow what you can grow: if you don’t get much natural light, plump for shadetolerant crops, such as leafy salad greens, rather than tomatoes or sun-loving flowers. Nasturtiums are great in either spot.

2. Get a little organised: seeds are so small, packets so fiddly, soil so messy that it helps if you get all your gubbins together in one place before you start.

3. You can sow into loo-roll tubes and yogurt pots, as well as seed trays. But whatever you use, make sure it has a hole at the bottom to let water out, or you could rot plants.

4. Don’t sow everything in the packet just because it’s there – lots of seedlings in a small space lowers the chance of survival.

5. Once you’ve sown your seeds, keep the soil moist. Dry seeds won’t germinate. Create a little greenhouse: a sandwich bag over the seed tray works well. ‘Seeds From Scratch,’ by Alice Vincent is available to download as an audiobook now. Follow Alice on Instagram at @noughticulture