AFTER A NICE leisurely February of doing absolutely nothing at all in the garden, it is time for the idle gardener to start sowing seeds. And what should we sow? Well broad beans, peas, radishes and salads would be a good start. Here are a few notes from my smallholding book, Brave Old World.

Broad beans are a great bet: very easy to grow and not really available in the shops. They freeze well, too. Last year, we had forty plants, and this year I have about eighty. Peas, too, are an absolute joy. There is a huge range of varieties out there, from the towering Alderman or Telephone to the humble Kelvedon Wonder. They should be sown every two weeks and can be grown quite early. Sweet and delicious straight from the pod, they barely need any cooking and will go with anything. Kids love them because they are, after all, nature’s own M&Ms.

Radishes are easy: they grow fast and anywhere. I keep a bowl of them on the kitchen table, in water, for constant snacking. I also tried growing something called French Blend, a mix of salad leaves such as mustard, chervil and rocket, but I don’t recommend it, as one leaf tends to take over. Try letting a few of the radish plants go to seed. They produce beautiful flowers on a large spreading plant and then form seed pods shaped like cutlasses. You can collect the seeds for next year.

Sow every week! Keep sowing! Keep your seeds in a biscuit tin. Sow beetroot, kale, chard. Read gardening books in the evening. There are plenty out there. In 1563, writer Thomas Hyll observed, ‘to the makyng of bookes of gardenyng there is noe ends,’ and this is just as true today.

Lastly, can I recommend nasturtiums for a very high return on investment? They grow anywhere, all over the place, look pretty, and you can eat the leaves and flowers. The orange and red blooms look groovy on a salad. And you can collect their seeds. They fall everywhere and look like miniature brains. Put them in a jam jar with vinegar and a few months later you will have a very passable caper substitute.

Broad bean illustration by Alice Smith

ENDS

PS While making plans for the garden, listen to “The Sprout and the Bean” by Joanna Newsome, as she asks: “should we go outside?”

http://youtu.be/IDGeFBjynyY