Tag: seeds

• 

  PK Reviews: Mr Fothergill’s Cucumber Windowsill Greenhouse Kit – Daily Updates

  So on the 16th of July 2016 I ‘unboxed’ one of the Mr Fothergill’s Windowsill Greenhouse Kits. Check out that post here.

  I will be updating this post with the latest snaps and observations.

  Finally it is planting time (25/08/2016:)

  

  Today (20/08/2016) the seedlings have gotten large enough for me to start making them sun tolerant. I did this by exposing them to slightly longer periods of direct sunlight each day.

  

  The last 7 days of growth (03/08/2016), almost all the seeds have germinated:

  

  Day 13: Most of the seeds have germinated. Not all as the same rate but I am happy 🙂

  

  Day 6: Morning and then night, go guys go 🙂

  

  Day 3: First signs of germination so I cracked the lid slightly after taking this snap :).

  

  Written by

  PK

  ·

  July 19, 2016

• 

  PK Reviews: Mr Fothergill’s Windowsill Greenhouse Kits

  The lovely people at Mr Fothergill’s (Australia) have sent me out four of their Windowsill greenhouse kits to review. I am reviewing the Lebanese Cucumber kit here and I have asked three of my friends to trial the others.

  

  I simply love this company’s ethos and focus on consistently delivering a good product. Although not a small business I feel like they are eager to carry on the support and engagement even after you purchase their products. Anything that gets people interested in growing their own vegetables gets my respect.

  You have to have a number of strategies to do this, not everyone has a large garden (or a garden at all) and Mr Fothergill’s ‘all in one propagation’ line might be the key to unlocking their passion.

  Two other big things to note. Firstly, and this might be very important to you, none of the seeds in any range sold by Mr Fothergill’s are Genetically Modified. Secondly, although a large amount of this product is plastic, they are fully reusable. You just replace the peat pellets, buy some more seeds and you are good to go.

  Ok, unboxing time 🙂

  The kits retail for about $9 AUD and you can order them here online or at your local Bunnings.

  This is what you get:

  • A reusable Windowsill Greenhouse
  • 12x Jiffy peat pellets
  • A packet of Cucumber Lebanese seeds

  I chose a spot in the kitchen close to the window that gets the morning sun but not any direct sunlight.

  Next I added warm water and the result made my toddler’s eyes go wide as we watched together as the peat pellets expanded over about 5 minutes.

  

  Then I worked the little hole on top of each pellet open a bit, added a seed to each one and gently pressed the lid on. You get a few extra seeds in the pack so some of the pellets got two.

  When I start to see germination I will crack the lid a bit and when the seedlings are all underway I will remove the lid.

  I can’t wait to transfer them to my garden as I have never grown cucumbers before. I had better look into what sort of trellis they need.

  I will let you know how I get on :).

  Thanks again to Mr Fothergill’s Seeds and Bulbs,

  PK

  Written by

  PK

  ·

  July 14, 2016

• 

  Coriander

  If I could only choose one herb to cook with for the rest of my life, this would be it. Luckily I don’t have to choose :).

  You can use the roots, stems, leaves and seeds in your cooking. Quite a claim to fame!

  I want to show you a full life cycle from seed to seedling to harvest to seed and then back to seedling again. Initially I started with seeds from my favourite seed company, Mr Fothergills Australia. No I am not paid to say that :).

  Now I have so many of my own seeds I can keep growing Coriander at no cost.

  Here are the seeds:

  

  Now for some secret seed raising tips that you can’t tell a soul:

  1. Fill a jam jar with warm water and soak the seeds overnight.
  2. Drain the water and then and sprinkle the seeds in rich, flat, well draining soil.
  3. Cover ever so slightly with more soil. If you can still see the odd part of a seed sticking out here you are on the right track.
  4. Keep the soil moist at all times until you see growth. Then water normally. I use a hand pump spray bottle every morning and evening to mist the area in that first stage.

  Look at the amazing growth over 2 months:

   

  After about 3 months of growth, July to September in Perth 2016, the plants themselves were about 30 to 40 cm tall. The mild winter (it was “very cold” in the mornings but rarely below 0°C) and their partial shade location stopped them bolting and flowering (until the last week of September). I harvested, used, froze and gave away the leaves and stems with a passion but was, happily, fighting a losing battle as there was just too much Coriander :).

  Every now and then I pulled several of the taller specimens and after eating the leaves etc, I washed and froze the roots (about a third of the length of the complete plant is root).

  Here is a prime example that went right into a curry paste:

  

  Ultimately all good things come to an end and the plants started to flower then go to seed:

   

  Once the seeds began to go brown and stop feeling waxy, I harvested them:

   

  Then the whole cycle begins anew:

  

  Enjoy,

  PK

  Links:

  • see more coriander posts here.
  • go to all meal ingredients
  • go the Grow It Perth calendar

  Written by

  PK

  ·

  June 12, 2016