Sowing Rhubarb Seeds

25 February, 2012.

To create a good rhubarb patch using plants is very expensive. I've found growing rhubarb from seed is pretty easy, and I've started sowing a few pots now, but will sow more as spring arrives. I used three large pots, and placed three seeds in each, sowing about 2cm deep. I watered a little and left outside to germinate. The weaker seedlings should be removed once they begin to grow.

One of my autumn sowings. It will be next year that I can begin harvesting. The following year will produce a full harvest. This method is slower than buying plants but is so much cheaper.

Comfrey Seeds

Comfrey Seeds (35 seeds) £1.65
symphytum officinale
PERENNIAL

Comfrey leaves are used as a compost activator and a mulch, they also make a useful liquid manure. A variety called Bocking 14 has been developed as a sterile plant that does not produce seeds, as comfrey will seed very easily. Our variety will self seed, so is best used in a well maintained area. Sow March-June. You can chill in the fridge for 14-28 days before sowing to activate the seed for more successful germination. Sow indoors in trays, thinly, 12mm deep. Harden off for 7-10 days after risk of frost. Plant out 60cm apart.

To find sowing information please click here.

Wildflower Annual Mix of British Produced Seeds

Wilflower Annual Mix (app. 2.5g (enough for about 1m square)) £1.29

Or 4 packs for £4

Contains a selection of British varieties produced in the UK; White Campion, Corn Chamomile, Scentless Mayweed, Charlock, Corncockle, Cornflower, Field Forget-Me-Not, Corn Marigold, Field Pansy, Wild Poppy, Field Poppy & Long-headed Poppy.
Sow in either spring or autumn. Will flower about three months after a spring sowing. Prepare the ground well before sowing. To aid an even sowing mix the seed with another substance such as fine sand.
These annuals can be maintained by self seeding but will need weeding and thinning.

Bugle Wildflower Seeds

Bugle Seeds (app. 35) £1.99
PERENNIAL
ajuga reptans

A good carpeting wildflower, with dark evergreen foliage and early flowering to support bees early in the season. Sow either March-May or August-September. Start seeds off indoors; sow thinly on seed compost in trays covering with a thin layer of compost (germination can be erratic). Water from the base and keep moist (do not water seeds and do not over water). Prick out seedlings when large enough to handle and pot-up. Harden off when there is no risk of frost. When planting out protect young plants from slugs and snails.

*Yellow Rattle Wildflower Seeds

Yellow Rattle Seeds (app. 300) £1.65
ANNUAL
rhinanthus minor

Yellow rattle is a semi-parasitic wildflower that is used to inhibit the growth of grass on order to allow other species to thrive. It feeds of the grass roots and is helpful when beginning to create a wildflower area where grass was the main plant growing. Yellow rattle must be sown in the autumn as it needs the cold winter weather to trigger its germination in late February to early March. To sow. Mow the grass short and 'scarify' the ground by ripping through parts of the ground with a claw fork (or similar tool). You will need between 0.1 and 1 g of seed per m2 (our packs are 1g) depending on how dense you want the yellow rattle. For best results you can sow two years in a row. Yellow rattle may need managing as it can feed off the roots of other plants; in this case, remove plants before they seed (being an annual it is quite easy to manage this plant).

*Viper's Bugloss Wildflower Seeds

Viper's Bugloss Wildflower Seeds (app. 120) £1.49 (inc. UK P&P or delivery)
BIENNIAL
echium vulgare

BEES LOVE THIS PLANT
Viper's bugloss is one of the plants to put in your garden or allotment to attract bees. It is best sown where you want it to grow as the roots are easily disturbed if moved. Sow either March-May (for some flowers that year) or August-September (for flowers next year). Sow thinly as seedlings can choke each other, 6mm deep. Fully grown plants should be about 38cm apart so thin as required. Keep well watered till established. Deadhead to prolong the flowering period. IMPORTANT: Use gloves when handling adult plants as there are tiny spines that can irritate the skin.

Flowers: June-September
Height: 90cm

Yarrow Wildflower Seeds

Yarrow Wildflower Seeds (200) 89p
PERENNIAL
achillea millefolium

Yarrow is an easily grown and low maintanance plant. Cut back in autumn and divide every four years. Can be sown direct, but for best results begin indoors. Sow Feb-May or Aug-Sep. Sow the seeds on the surface (they need light to germinate) in trays or cells filled with seed compost. Propogate (or leave in a sunny place) till germination (5-10 days). Water at the base and keep moist. Harden off once fear of frosts have passed for 7-10 days before planting out.
Height: 8-40 cm.

YARROW IS ESPECIALLY ATTRACTIVE TO MANY BUTTERFLIES.

* RECIPE: Simple Pickled Onions

This is a really easy recipe taken from Mrs. Beeton's cookbook.
1) You'll need enough vinegar to cover the onions that you are using, and Mrs. B suggests using two teaspoons each of allspice and of black peppercorns to about every litre of vinegar.
2) Peel away the outer skin of the onions, and then remove a couple of the inner layers till you have white, clear looking onions.
3) Place the onions in steralised jars, add the spices in equal proportion, and the cover with cold vinegar.
4) Cover and lid the jars and store in a cool, dry place for at least two weeks. YOUR PICKLED ONIONS WILL LAST 6-8 MONTHS.
Click on the 'pickling' label below to find tips and even more pickles.

RECIPE: Butternut Squash and Fresh Stuffed Pasta

INGREDIENTS, for two to three people:
250g butternut squash flesh, cubed app. 1 inch
1 pack 300g fresh stuffed pasta, use a mainly cheese based one, like five cheese tortiloni
2 tbsp oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 small onion, chopped finely
2 cascabel or Sichuan chillies, soaked and soft flesh scraped out and collected
Rind from ½ lemon plus 1 tsp juice
35g Applewood smoked cheese, grated (or other (preferably smoked) cheese)
Salt & pepper to taste
15g butter
35g breadcrumbs
1 tbsp fresh sage, chopped

METHOD
Steam the squash for 10-15 minutes. – Top up the steaming water to boil the pasta to the pack instructions. – Mash the squash to a smooth paste. – Place the oil in a large frying pan or wok and heat, then add the garlic and onion and cook for 5 minutes till the onion is golden. – Add the chilli, lemon and squash, then the cheese and stir well. – Add the cooked and drained pasta and season. – In a separate frying pan melt the butter over a medium heat, then add the breadcrumbs and sage and fry till crispy. – Serve the pasta & squash and sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the top, also serve with hot buttered pitta bread.

Plants Bees and Other Pollinating Insects Like

We do not stock all the plants below yet, but have added them to offer a comprehensive list of BEE FRIENDLY herbs. The more bee friendly plants that are added to gardens, parks and other public areas, the more food available for our native insects.
You can find out more at the Bumble Bee Conservation Trust.
It is a good idea to plant flowers that will give the bees and other insects food all season long. Flowering herbs and wildflowers that will give the bees food from March to April are bluebell, bugle and rosemary, as well as blossoming trees such as apple, cherry and pear.

Plants bees love are;
Angelica
Betony
Borage
Bugle
Campion, White
Catmint
Chicory
Chives
Clover
Comfrey
Common Poppy
Cornflower
Dill
Evening Primrose
Fennel
Feverfew
Foxglove
Goldenrod
Heartsease
Horehound, White
Hyssop
Lavender
Lemon Balm
Marjoram
Motherwort
Mullein, Greater
Pot Marigold
Rosemary
Sage
Savory, Summer & Winter
Soapwort
Sunflower
Tansy
Teasel
Thistle
Thyme
Valerian
Viper's Bugloss
Wild Carrot
Wild Clary
Wild Marjoram
Woad
Yarrow
Yellow Rattle

'Grow Your Own' Brussel Sprouts**

Brussel Sprouts, Groninger
These seeds have quite a wide growing season and produce tasty medium sized buttons that can be harvested from late October to January, so great for Christmas picking. The best flavour is achieved after the first frosts.
99p per pack (app. 125 seeds)

Minimum order £5.



GROWING INSTRUCTIONS
Preparation.
These plants need fertile, well drained and firm soil. Sowing.
Sowing.
Sow outdoors March to May thinly 1cm deep in rows 15cm apart in a seed bed or large trays. Thin plants to about 7cm apart and then plant to final position 75cm apart. Mulch and keep well weeded to help firm buttons to form.
Growing and Harvesting.
Water well in dry weather and mulch plants in the summer. You can also feed in the summer if desired. The buttons will be ready to harvest approximately 30-32 weeks from sowing.

Propagating Seeds

31 January. 2012.

It isn't necessary to have a greenhouse (I don't have one) to get your seeds started, though the space is useful if you are sowing alot of seeds. I have a clear roofed extension (it is far from a conservatory...more of a fancy out-house), which means that I can grow tomatoes and cucumbers indoors. It is easy though, to sow your seeds on sunny windowledges...I set up a table behind my sunniest windowledge so that I can sow quite a few seeds. 

Wilkinson's sells really cheap windowledge propagators (about £3.20 each) which come with five inserts for propagating most seeds, but I like to sow herb seeds in larger pots (first picture), as you sow quite a few seeds together. I've sown some basil and some chives to keep indoors.

To propagate, you place the clear lid on the base which creates a mini greenhouse, and place this in a sunny warm spot. The sun catches my kitchen windowledge really nicely. You can easily lift the lid to keep your seeds moist (but not soaking).

Once the seedlings begin to appear you remove the clear propagator lid, but still keep them on the sunny windowledge.

You can also cover the pot with cling film, which also creates a little greenhouse, but being disposable, cling film is not such an environmentally concious method.
The cling film is removed once the seedlings appear.




18 February. 2012.

The seeds begin to sprout so I remove the lid or plastic cover and keep moist.

Spices for Pickling etc...

We stock a wide range of whole and ground spices for use in pickling, baking and cooking. Many spices are the obvious exclusions from what can be grown in the garden, but are never-the-less, they are essential kitchen ingredients. You can click here to make a quick order from our selection of spices; or click on the individual spices below to find out more information and recipes.

ALLSPICE
CASSIA
CINNAMON
BLACK PEPPER
CLOVES
CORIANDER SEED
CUMIN SEED
DILL SEED
FENNEL SEED
GINGER
GREEN CARDAMOM
JUNIPER BERRIES
MUSTARD SEED & POWDER
NUTMEG
SAFFRON
STAR ANISE
VANILLA

Young Grower's

Here is another of our packs of seeds for children. Magic Beans contains 30 speckled borlotti beans to grow dwarf sized, managable plants. The pack comes with The Magic of Growing sheet and instructions for a bean growing experiment.

Magic Beans Seed Pack (30 borlotti seeds). £1.20.

Our Young Grower's

jACKrABBIT likes to support children growing their own produce in the garden or allotment. We have a range of seed packs and activities specially designed for children of all ages, and if you click on the 'children' label at the bottom of this post you can find what we have at present.

You can also visit the Nial's Patch blog. Nial is a nine year old grower who grows his own vegetable and fruit seeds in our garden. The blog is gardening from a child's point of view and Nial will be posting on his progress from the Spring onwards.

Young Growers

Super Soaring Sunflower Seeds (20 seeds), with activities. £1.20.

This is another of our packs for children. Each contains the pack of seeds for growing, and also extra activities to help children to get excited about getting in the garden, and growing their own food and flowers.
This pack contains the Sidney Spider Spelling Game, where children have to provide Sidney with his dinner by spelling words. There are also instructions for making a bird feeder out of the sunflower heads.

Parsnips in the Garden

I grow my parsnips in the garden, being a vegetable often harvested in the colder winter months, so that they are more easily accessible. Also, root vegetables like soil that doesn't have too many stones in it as the stones can damage or split the roots as they grow, and my allotment is very stoney.

Parsnips can be kept in the soil all winter till you need them, I just pulled this one up last week, and there are a couple more left over. Parsnips are sweeter after there has been a frost, so this one was a really tasty one, and it was pretty massive as well. I only planted about 20 seeds in a small patch by my herbs, but I got a healthy crop. If you want to buy the Gladiator F1 seeds that I used, or find out how to grow your own parsnips, click here.

I marked the row where the parsnip seeds were sown with short cut canes. Parsnip seeds are slow to germinate, so I also sowed some cut and grow salad seeds which I picked before the parsnips grew bigger and needed the room. They stayed tucked nicely between the herbs and the courgette patch till they were ready to be harvested.

In the winter the leaves die off, so it is a good idea to mark the parsnips so that you can find them. This looks like another big parsnip!

Young Grower's

Seeds for Children
We have produced a number of seed packs designed specifically for children. This is the first; The Amazing Racing Snails, which contains a pack of our frilly salad leaf seeds (app. 500), instructions for the Racing Snails garden game (you will need chalk), recipes for salad dressings and activities. The packs cost £1.20 each and are an excellent way to get children growing and eating vegetables.

The Amazing Racing Snails Seed Pack (app. 500 frilly salad leaf seeds). £1.20.

Drying French and Runner Beans

You can of course eat runner or French beans fresh from the plant, but sometimes you might want to dry the bean seeds inside the pods for later use. Some beans dry better than others, and our borlotti and blue lake stringless both dry pretty well.

You need to leave the beans on the plant till the pods go yellow. Then, cut the plant from the base and hang it upsidedown  till the pods are brittle. You can then remove the bean seeds from inside, but before you store them you should spread them on a tray for a few days, before packing them in airtight containers.

To cook the dried beans you will need to soak them overnight in water. To cook, drain away the soaking water and discard. Rinse the beans and then boil them in water for 10 minutes. Reduce heat and then simmer beans till tender.

Broad bean seeds can be dried in exactly the same way.

'Grow Your Own' Salad Leaves and Leafy Veg*

Full growing instructions are on individual packets.
They are all grown in similar ways.

SALAD LEAF MIXES

FRILLY LEAF MIX
Contains a mix of mustards, kale, Greek cress, and rocket dentellata.
£1 per pack

TUSCAN LEAF MIX
Contains chicory italico rosso, rocket dentellata, lettuce lollo rossa, lettuce catalogna cerbiata and kale nero de toscana.
£1 per pack

SINGLE LEAVES

ROCKET LEAVES, Dentellata
Rocket has a peppery flavour, and adds an interesting tang to salads and snacks. It can be sown Mar-Sep, thinly, 0.5cm deep in rows 15-20cm apart. It can be grown as a cut and grow crop, which means it wont need thinning. Sow every 2 weeks for a continuous crop. It can also be sown in the winter under cover.
£1.25 per pack (app. 900 seeds)

SORREL LEAVES, Red Veined
Sorrel is a perennial so can sprout back where it has been sown previously, but is more successful grown as an annual. Sow Mar-May thinly and 1.5cm deep in rows 30cm apart. Sow every 2 weeks for continuous baby leaves. Water well and harvest after about 6-8 weeks, but do not over-harvest individual plants.
99p per pack (app. 300 seeds)

SPINACH LEAVES, Medania
Spinach can be grown for baby leaves, as a cut and grow crop, or for large leaves and can be sown Mar-Sept as the soil needs can be between 7-30C for germination. Sow directly to the growing area thinly, 1cm deep in rows 30cm apart. Sow every couple of weeks for a regular crop.
50p per pack (app. 100 seeds)