Ciaran’s Peculier [sic] Blog

I love growing vegetables. There is something so life affirming about watching seeds germinate, tending the young and growing plants, harvesting the crop and then eating the freshest produce available. Sadly, I can’t say I possess green fingers, unlike my partner Rosie. As a result of my lack of horticultural assiduity Rosie has tended to steer me clear of gardening, but this year I have been allowed to nurture a number of crops from sowing to (hopefully)  harvesting.

 These include “cut-and-come-again” salad crops. A few weeks’ ago I sowed two seed collections, both from the long-established company of Thompson and Morgan. The first was a selection of leaves such as endive (which I adore – much more flavour than ordinary lettuce), escarole lettuce and salad burnet whose Linnaean name is I think Sangisorbus. These suffered a mini disaster early on when one of our five cats decided to take a dump in the container. However, the seeds have germinated in the remaining poop-free part of the container and are already healthy and vigorous seedlings. The second sowing in a different container consisted of oriental leaves, such as red mustard, mizuna and pak choi. They too are doing well.

 On the same occasion I sowed some French beans. These were a dwarf, purple-podded variety called Purple Queen from Unwins . I rounded off my horticultural adventures by sowing a dwarf variety of pea called Piccolo Provenzale from those wonderful seed merchants Franchi, also known as Seeds of Italy, whose seeds ae always remarkable for their freshness.

 The other area of vegetable growing I showed interest in was courgettes. Yesterday I sowed three varieties: Tondo di Nizza, Rugosa Friulana and a golden variety, all from Franchis. Even if we get a glut of courgettes I look forwarding to eating their delicious flowers stuffed and fried.