Sowing seeds in the sun

Top tip: sow tomatoes indoors now to have plants ready to plant out in May.

We have had just over a week of absolutely wonderful weather. Sadly it will return to clouds and average temperatures for the time of 11 degrees. However it was glorious while it lasted. With temperatures hitting 18 degrees It was sheer bliss to doze in the sun and be busy doing nothing.

Spring is such a dynamic time where you can almost see the plants grow. There is a lilac that I cherish and though initially slow to flower now is invariably in flower for my husband, Tom's birthday. I noticed the buds were plumping up a week ago and within a matter of days the purple buds were on show.

In an attempt at spring cleaning I harvested the last cabbage, cavolo Nero and Brussels sprout tops. With them out I turned the earth and weeded afterwards which should be a good foundation for further crops.

The addition of a mini deep fat fryer has not been the wisest choice but it has introduced delicious Jerusalem artichoke chips to the household. You could also do this more healthily by spraying them with oil and roasting them. I also made bubble and squeak using up the last of the brassicas and sprouting potatoes (sprouting in a not good way as opposed to purple s. broccoli). Yummy served with a duck egg and baked beans.

I overcame my sun-induced laziness and some some seeds - a hopeful act imbued with magical qualities. How can these tiny things spring forward and grow to feed us months from now?

When sowing there are some ground rules that provide a great grounding for the future health of your plants.

Use a light weight fine compost. Some people make up their own concoctions but I have to admit I just used a multi purpose compost.

You are also suppose to clean out old trays but, again I was bad and just emptied out the old soil and that was it.

Then just follow the instructions on your seed packet.

Pop them on a window sill. Turn them occasionally so they don't grow wonky trying to find the light.

Keep them watered but don't drown them (avoid mould). Keeping them covered keeps the moisture in an helps germination.

One important thing I will remember after the mystery tomato debacle is proper labelling and record keeping.

To that end this is what I sowed at the weekend:
Tomato gardeners delight
Mangetout with purple flowers
Cosmos
Kale no cover
Calabrese
Asparagus pea

Update- one week later and the calabrese, kale and cosmos are already poking through the soil.

Amazing.

What to do with over 5kg of cabbage

A quick visit to the allotment to harvest the cabbages that look past their prime.

When trimming them there are more leaves discarded than salvaged. The slugs and worms are quite disgusting. Still, there was over 5kg of cabbage to process and find uses for. A mixture of crisp white cabbage and savoy cabbage rescued just in the nick of time.

Looked up a sauerkraut recipe but it seems you have to work it over tens of days and it involves skimming off scum from fermented juices. Strangely enough, I didn't feel like doing it after all. Though I made a great potato and sauerkraut bake (from a jar) tonight.

Stir fried the cabbage with stock and lemon juice and added a couple of tablespoons of sherry as suggested. Hope to find something to do with it all soon.

Vast amounts of coleslaw was made last weekend but it's a week later and I still don't feel like cabbage when I get home.

Excited to see the elephant garlic is sprouting - fingers crossed. It's amazing roasted on french bread.

Gearing up for the year ahead

The days are starting to get longer but the cold weather isn't behind us yet. While last weekend brought sunny skies and temperatures of 8 degrees we are due for a cold snap again.

While I'm impatient to start sowing seeds I know that there is little point if I can't plant them out in March.

The remaining potatoes are sprouting away in the cupboard but I will just have to concentrate on cooking rather than growing them.

Ordinarily I would attempt potato dauphinoise but I have the added complication of starting a new health kick so for the next 12 weeks at least I intend to only use healthy recipes (at least once the apple custard cake is finished).

The red cabbages on the plot are starting to look a little sorry for themselves so I guess they will have to be next. Ordinarily I would combine them with bacon or chorizo as I find even the most uninspiring vegetable benefits from being combined with a salty pork product. This time I will have to find an alternative. Magazines often suggest chilli but I have a wimpy palate the can't cope with hot spice so I'll have to investigate some form of bubble and squeak or rosti.