I love this blog by three sisters who love gardening which greets me ever Saturday morning. You might think about joining their `gang`.
Veg shortages?
Whoa! Have you seen the headlines about salad and veg shortages for the next few months at least? Prices are bound to go up in response, and in combination with the cost-of-living increase, it's all rather worrying. I know lots and lots of our readers already grow their own vegetables, but for those that don't, this seems to be a VERY GOOD time to start!
No garden? No problem at all! There are lots of nutritious edible crops that you can grow just on a windowsill indoors, and a huge number if you are lucky enough to have a window-box or balcony. Buy some seeds, containers with drainage holes, and seed compost, and just get going.
Pea-shoots, mustard and cress, herbs of all sorts (basil, parsley, mint…), edible flowers like calendula or chives are all fine on a sunny windowsill. So are lots of salad leaves, including loose-leaf lettuces like 'Salad Bowl' (the 'hearting-up' types tend to grow slowly and get a bit too big for a windowsill, though 'Little Gem' would be a good choice), and for lettuces, the windowsill doesn't even need to be that sunny – a few hours' light a day is fine.
Harvest them small to get several pickings off each crop, and sowing a few each week will keep you in veg all summer. Even tomatoes can stay on a windowsill the whole time, but it would be wise to choose the more compact growers like 'Tiny Tim' to avoid having to fight through the undergrowth come mid-July!
In an outdoor pot or window-box, the choice is even wider. Kale, baby beetroot, radishes, carrots…….
And what about getting the children and grandchildren involved, or teenagers living away from home, or retired mums and dads……..?
For info on growing individual crops, check out the handy and friendly little book we brought out on veg-growing during the first Covid crisis, trying to de-mystify the whole process. We've got a FAB offer on it this week – the link is at the bottom.
Let's do it: beat the shortages and the price hikes, and enjoy some super-fresh produce into the bargain!
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