Windowsill kitchen garden: Week 7
More green growy happenings from the windowsill at Golightly Towers. We’re now into week seven and there are a few new plants to introduce.
A couple of weeks ago I met up with an old friend for a drink or three. She’s been keeping an eye on the windowsill’s progress and said I should try growing some dwarf French beans in a pot in the kitchen, because she’s had success with them in previous years. Got myself some of these beans in a swap and planted two of them a few days ago, thinking only one would germinate. This is what happened:
Something tells me that these aren’t dwarf beans. The good news is that I didn’t swap them for the family cow and they haven’t reached the clouds yet, so we’re safe for the moment. Probably.
I sowed some spring onions and chervil at the same time, thinking they’d take up to three weeks to germinate. Not so. Guess they heard there was a plant-food-fuelled party going on. Ban this filth! There’s compost everywhere!
That chervil’s even got one of its first true leaves out, the precocious little hussy.
And on to the progress of a few of the old favourites. Dill going nicely frondy:
Marketmore cucumbers growing away nicely:
The remaining radishes are being left to grow on, to see how long they take to make edible roots.
The sun-loving plants all seem to be doing OK, including the chili and the tomatoes. Here’s a snap of the plum tomato seedlings:
And finally the salad bowl lettuce that was just sprouting last week:
Didn’t have time to start off the baby leaf spinach or land cress last week, but will do that this weekend, along with a punnet of rocket, and maybe a few more herbs.
Are you growing any food yourself? If so, how well is it growing?
Hi Penny – super progress all round, is your chervil on viagra??! Still cannot find any chervil seeds around here but I managed to persuade the nice seedling man at our monthly farmers’ market to bring me some established ones on his next visit – still 3 weeks away. All go here with order in the balcony border! My tomato seeds are Marmande and Tumbler and have just emerged after a week under soil by a sunny window. Everything else is outside – the radishes are still going strong; I’ve also planted out strawberries in a hanging basket, my sprouted Kelvedon wonder peas into an oblong trough; some broad beans next to it; two pots of salad leaves, some chantenay carrots, mint, more baby beets and – the highlight of my week (or is that my life??) – my potatoes have just poked their first shoots through the compost. Couple more days then I’ll suffocate them with topsoil and make them do it all over again! Inspired by your tweet I have also ordered my freebies from BBC Digin (and found out what I have been doing wrong with my beets in the process!). So – I can’t do too much more or there will be no room out there for the sunlounger or the Pimms come summer but all looks good and healthy for the time of year. Keep the updates coming – it’s a great way to give people like me a good kick up the artichokes and keep on keeping up with you 🙂 x
Wow Sophie, your garden must be amazing already this year. I’d love to grow strawberries – do you have any top tips? Do they really grow nicely in hanging baskets? You sound like a woman who really knows how to grow spuds too!! I’m taking notes on your potato-growing exploits so I know what to do next year 😉
How are the peas doing so far? I heard that they can be really grumpy if you plant them in one place and then move them, but I suspect you must have a very light touch with them. What was the problem with the beets? Fingers crossed that you get the BBC DigIn pack, mine arrived at the weekend and I’m really happy and impressed with it. You’ll probably like the courgette, beans and mixed salad leaves the best, if you’re already growing carrots…
No idea why that chervil’s so happy at the moment, by the way! I just suppose the windowsill is better for some plants than others, seeing as the basil and the spicy leaf mix turned out so feeble. Good luck with your chervil seedlings when they arrive, and please keep me posted about all your other gardening successes.
P x