20 January 2006
Things to do to a W G Snuffy Walden soundtrack
You might remember that I received a whole load of seed last week. Some of you have been wondering what I ordered and what I’ve got around to doing with it. Well, I’ve been flexing my list-writing muscles and hoping that I would find some time to actually open a packet or two. So you see the planning has been going very well, but the execution less so. Until this evening.
It’s always difficult to find much time to devote to allotment jobs which, let’s face it, cannot be hurried. Plus, I have been hampered by a total lack of potting compost (yes, you’re right, what was I thinking?) and that has made it rather difficult to sow anything. So I had the shop around the corner drop some off this evening. Simple as that. Cheap too. I do have a niggling worry that it might contain peat, it doesn’t seem to say either way on the bag. So now my smugness at having found cheap, local and delivered potting compost is tinged with guilt at possibly contributing to the destruction of rather precious natural environments. Mea culpa, mea culpa…
Still, since I bought the damn stuff I decided that I ought to make the best possible use of it, just in case. And that is how I came to spend my evening sipping (OK, ‘glugging’ is a more accurate term - I’m no lady) wine, sowing seeds in pots and watching the West Wing. It may not be standard practice to sow one’s seeds in the living room, but I suppose I’m not very good at being completely conventional. Or sane. I suppose it depends on your perspective.
Tomatoes and peppers are the first to receive the living room treatment this year -
Peppers: Purple Beauty (sweet - heavenly colour); Atris (sweet - I’m thinking these are going to taste good stuffed with Boursin and baked in the oven); Purple (hot - and my love affair with all things purple continues).
Tomatoes: Purple calabash (see above!); Alicante; San Marzano.
And we don’t even like tomatoes.
Can you imagine how many french beans I’m going to plant?
Filed under: Sowings — Clare @ 11:15 pm
If you can sow & pot in a warm front room with the telly on and some wine to hand, I say go for it matey as it sounds damn sensible to me.
Love the seeds by the way, and if you & Owen don’t like toms just send them to me in a jiffy bag
(22.01.06 @ 6:50 pm)
Excellent idea - in a few years time everyone will sow their seeds in this way and potting sheds will be in the museums next to analogue tellies!!!
(23.01.06 @ 8:12 am)
Good to see purple’s on the agenda again! This year I think I’m going to rein in my odd colour vegetable habit, if only to try some normal veg for a change!
(23.01.06 @ 1:48 pm)
Noooo! The more colour the better! Have you tried an orange cauliflower, yet?
(23.01.06 @ 3:50 pm)
I’ve never even heard of an orange cauliflower, and I have to sya that it doesn’t sound very appetising. That said, I’ve had no luck with brassicas ever - something I would very much like to change this year.
Anyway, thanks all for encouraging my bizarre sowing techniques! can you tell I’m not really very houseproud?
HB - To say we don’t like tomatoes is not entirely accurate. We do like them cooked in pasta sauces and that kind of thing. We can even manage them chopped, mixed with olive oil and basil on bruschetta. Other than that we’re not really raw tomato fans.
Mike - I have to say, I think potting sheds still have their place. But when the weather’s warmer!
Al - It’s certainly easy to go a little mad with colour. I’m a catalogue hussy and I just can’t resist!
(23.01.06 @ 9:54 pm)
Here go: http://thedailyvegetable.com/archive0605-1.html#99
(26.01.06 @ 1:51 pm)
Wow! Who’d have thought?
(26.01.06 @ 7:20 pm)