Sowing seed of salad leaves in lengths of guttering can help keep your seedlings safe from slugs and snails, and enable you to transplant the whole row into the soil as and when soil space becomes available. Short, 1m lengths of guttering are convenient and easy to handle. When the salad seeds germinate, simply grow them on for two to four weeks and then slide the plants into their final growing positions.
Saw the guttering to a manageable size and remove any ends. Replace each end with a large piece of Gaffa tape, which will keep the compost in place but can easily be removed when you transplant the seedings into the soil.
Fill the guttering with moist, peat-free, multi-purpose compost and gently firm down. Create a shallow drill in the centre of the compost and sow seeds sparingly along it.
Use your thumb and forefinger to replace the compost over the seed and firm gently.
Transfer the lengths of guttering to your greenhouse or cold frame, and water the compost with a watering can with a fine rose attached.
Seed should germinate within a few days. Leave to grow on for up to four weeks before planting out in the soil. Don’t forget to keep plants well watered, especially in hot weather.
Your salad leaf seedlings will be ready to transplant when their roots fill the compost in the guttering. Use a garden trowel to make a wide, shallow drill in prepared soil. Then simply remove the gaff tape from one end of the guttering and gently slide the seedlings in place. Water them in thoroughly.
Dwarf French beans are long-cropping, compact plants, ideal for a container. They taste good fresh, or if left longer to mature, beans can be shelled and dried for the store cupboard. Find out how to grow runner beans. Here’s how to sow dwarf French beans in three easy steps. You Will Need
Every month from January to June 2021, we’re giving our subscribers SIX double packets of seeds from Mr Fothergill’s FREE over six months, worth over £30. Your January seed pack contains our healthy eating duo, worth £4.95: Rocket ‘Tricia’ – fast-growing and full of flavour, your leaves will be ready to eat in as little as five weeks Chilli ‘de Cayenne’ – classic red fruits, nicely spicy, the ideal heat for stews, soups, stir fries and salads More inspiration Sowing your free rocket
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