I was partly prepared in that I bought seeds and compost before lockdown - which was fortunate for me as, if you've looked, you'll know that you currently can't find a growbag for love or money! But if you haven't bought seeds, all is not lost. One of the most exciting successes I have had this month is that I threw some butternut seeds (from the butternut we ate) into a pot and just about all of them have germinated! As a seasoned optimist, it wasn't the result I was expecting at all and my bemused family have been dragged, one by one, into the greenhouse, to observe these miraculous sproutings.
Spinach (another fool-proof crop) and beans are currently growing in what remains of my single growbag. Having proved a failure at staking anything successfully, I have gone for dwarf beans. These should be easy to manage and the ones I have grown before have yielded really well.
Otherwise, I have courgette growing (they are pretty hardy - so another one to go for if you are not very good at this cultivating lark) and cucumber too. I actually have managed to sprout some tomatoes, a crop I have found really difficult to seed in the UK. This was a bit of a shock as I always thought tomatoes were easy. When we lived in Messina, in the far North of South Africa, I would sow tomatoes straight into beds and they were great! But no such luck here where temperatures fluctuate and tomatoes are tetchy. Top advice for tomatoes: cheat! Buy well-established seedlings or get someone more green-fingered to get them going for you. My friend, Margaret supplied me with tomato seedlings last year and I had a bumper crop. More credit to Margaret than me - but the tomatoes were worth the lack of growing pride! Actually, another good tip from Margaret is to sow seeds in toilet roll inners. This means that there is minimal disturbance to the roots as you plant them out - a time where I frequently maul my seedlings to the point of no return. A couple of toilet rolls can be put in one pot. They are also quite easy to monitor, because you can see how wet the cardboard is.
Project wise, I am also attempting to grow a sweet potato. Having previously been told that Sweet potatoes won't grow in the UK, I stumbled across a you tube video that informed me that I could. So the sweet potato project is in progress. This video is below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDc6R-nfwcM
The good news for those with small gardens is that, apparently, sweet potatoes will happily grow in a large tub ( a rubble tub will do) and that apparently they produce copious vines with very pretty flowers. All of this remains to be seen - as my potato is still sitting in water waiting to do - well - anything...
Although I have a garden, my space is limited and so I have tried to be creative with creating growing opportunities. One idea I have come up with is to convert 5-litre containers into hanging pots. This is an ecover washing liquid bottle, well-washed out and with the middle section cut out, leaving the handle as a hanging opportunity. I have two of these, sewn with rocket, and will give one to my flat-inhabiting daughter just as soon as lockdown is over.
I know that I am unbelievably fortunate to have a garden at this unusual time, but having something grow and flourish reaffirms the stubbornness of nature and life. However small your home, I hope that you also have the chance to watch something grow as the weather warms and we learn to deal with our new reality.
Stay safe, everyone!
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