The rain has been very welcome – and will be more welcome when it goes away. The overwintering crops have leapt forward and the soil now looks ready for some of the early seeds. So, in between showers, I’m pressing on getting the roots and peas started. Like me, you might find yourself with pinches of seed leftover once you’ve sown the rows. Although it’s tempting, I try not to use these by going back down the row. That usually only leads to weak crowded seedlings and more work to do thinning them out. A couple of years ago, I tried another approach: mixing the surpluses and scattering them on the top of big pots in the greenhouse. Wait a month or so and you get a crop of leaflings which brighten up the early summer salads. Don’t be too fussy about what you use, I’ve found that lettuce, peas, carrots, beetroot, celeriac, herbs and even turnips and swede all reward a little experimentation with a tasty small leaf collection. You may also find that the stronger seedlings can be pricked out and fill gaps in the allotment rows. Everyone’s a winner that way and you resolve the problem of dubious part packets of seed which flatter to deceive next year.
growingandreflecting 