My Climate Change Garden

Seed planting is a great way to get back into gardening in spring. I always plant mine on sunny days so have been very busy this past week with the absolutely glorious weather – temperatures regularly up to 18c!

Its a brilliant way to source plants for the veg patch as it costs almost nothing and you can stagger the planting to get a crop that runs for weeks. The taste is wonderfully fresh and carbon miles are also kept low.

UK sales of vegetable seeds are up 60% in the last year. This is reported to be  because of the credit crunch but it could be due our changing seasons which now offer the chance to grow more vegetables over a longer season. http://lifeandhealth.guardian.co.uk/gardens/story/0,,2275408,00.html

Most vegetables are short-lived annual crops offering adventurous gardeners the chance to respond to changing growing conditions almost immediately. Longer growing seasons suit sun-loving crops such as sweet corn, aubergines, sweet peppers chillis and outdoor cucumbers – but remember you need adequate water , ideally harvested from the rain that falls in your garden. With warmer months from March to April and October to November many kitchen garden plants can also grow without cloches or fleece covers.

I love the range of overseas seed varities that are now available.Seeds of Italy has more than 500 Mediterranean vegetables, many of them heirloom or regional cultivars new to the UK http://www.seedsofitaly.com .

Tozer Seeds breeds specifically for UK conditions, and trials cultivar from the Mediterranean. They offer an increasingly large range of sweet corn, and have seen a huge increase in the popularity of their ever-widening range of chili peppers. Their new butternut squashes ‘Hunter’ and ‘Harrier’ were bred to ripen fully in UK conditions.http://www.tozerseeds.com/

Yesterday I planted cut -and -come- again lettuce. These work best in window boxes using multi-purpose compost with about 20cm between them. Place in a bright (sunny!) position and keep regularly watered until they germinate, then thin as needed. In about six weeks time the plants should produce outer leaves that can be picked and used in the kitchen as required – or planted out when the frosts have gone at the end of April. Far cheaper and more carbon efficient than buying in bags from the local supermarket!