Have you considered using up 2018’s leftover veg seeds by growing “micro-greens”?

I’m very tempted by the thought of delicious, nutritious winter greens just sitting on my windowsill, waiting to be harvested. Micro-greens are recently sprouted seedlings of commonly grown vegetables, harvested after just a few weeks of growing.

Microgreens are more nutritious – inch for inch – than their grown-up versions. Research by the USDA Agricultural Research Service concluded that microgreens are about five times more effective at delivering key vitamins (such as C, E and K) and carotenoids than mature plants. But they have a shorter shelf life – there’s a lot to be said for growing your own, rather than buying, micro-greens.

I’m going to try micro-greens in my “salad gutters”. I have several lengths of old plastic guttering, cut to fit the trays by the window. I start salads, chard and spinach off in these and then transfer to the soil. Sometimes I leave them in the guttering and harvest them from there.

Guttering uses less soil than pots or window-boxes, but you can also use seed trays.

Suitable micro-green seeds include coriander, basil, Thai basil, chard, salads, broccoli, spinach, carrots, watercress, and kale.

Scatter them evenly – but fairly densely – on to fresh planting compost in a seed tray or gutter. You don’t need to worry about rows. Cover with a thin layer of compost and keep moist, but not waterlogged, in a light place.

Snip with scissors once you can see the beginnings of their “true leaves”, to use in sandwiches, salads and stir fries. You can now buy micro-green seeds from most seed companies, including Marshalls (www.marshalls-seeds.co.uk), and Unwins (www.unwins.co.uk).