While Minister for Food and Horticulture, I got to see how seed and fresh produce was stored. The conditions were generally a chilled environment and produce was well labelled for traceability reasons.  The principle for the kitchen gardener is no different.

Organised seed storage

Last year, I kept seed packets in clean dry sealed jam jars in the fridge. However the accumulation of ‘seed jars’ was getting ridiculous. My seed storage was getting in the way of food storage. So this year after last week’s BIG SOW, the system changed and now takes up less space and seed packets are easier to find.

Instead of a jar per seed packet or two, I now group the seed packets in vegetable families. Using ‘fast food’ plastic trays with sealable lids, I put all the brassica seeds (kale, broccolli, Brussel sprout packets etc) in one sealed container and in another I have chard, beetroot and leaf beet, while another has the flower seeds such as sunflower, marigolds and nasturtiums.

The top shelf of the fridge now has the seed containers each labelled with post-its all standing on their sides like a shelf of books. To sow another batch of any seed is now hassle free. I just sowed more beetroot this week for example. Seed packets are now easy to find and easy to put back. Being sealed and in the fridge I hope will prolong their vitality as seeds.

I have kept the radish and cress seeds in separate jars also in the fridge for easy access. These are seeds I sow in succession atleast once a week for a continuous crop up to the end of October. Meanwhile good luck with your own seed storage as well as your seed sowing.

However each spring the kitchen garden requires what could be called the ‘BIG SOW’. This is when the bulk of annual flowers, veg and herb seeds are sown under glass and as they fill out in the seedtrays, out they go to grow on outdoors. Last year, the ‘BIG SOW’ was done on the 21st March, but with the shocking cold winter and late spring (not to mention other distractions in my life!), the ‘BIG SOW’ this year took place last Sunday evening 18th April. However Mother Nature can be kind hearted (volcanoes aside!) and seedlings have a way of putting on a spurt of growth as temperatures rise so all in all no need to panic if you still have to sow seeds this spring. Just read the instructions on the seed packets and get sowing.

Every gardener develops a system which suits the local situation. For what it is worth this is my system. My lean-to greenhouse (the one which looks like a phone box!) has five removeable shelves. Each shelf fits two seedtrays. Each seedtray fits 24 cubes of organic potting compost. Each cube is a growing module for a seedling to develop. I hope to grow 2 types of seed variety in each seedtray – so 12 seedlings of each variety is my optimum yield. Therefore, with 10 seedtrays on 5 shelves, I have just enough space to sow 20 different varieties of flowers, veg and herbs. So here goes……

1 a:   Nicotiana (Affinis) –  nice aroma to keep me and the pollinating bees and other beneficial insects happy.

1 b:  Love-in-a-Mist - never grew it before so I’m curious and again I hope the pollinating insects like it.

2 a:  Cosmos (C0smea) – like mini sunflowers but multi-coloured and bees liked it last year.

2 b:  Gypsophilia (Elegans) – tall like Cosmos and  useful for filling out cut flower bunches.

3 a:  Night Scented Stock – a wonderful scent at its best after dark which suits my crazy schedule for night gardening.

3 b:  Nasturtium (Organic Mix) – Is it a flower or a food? Both really as colourful  flowers and leaves have peppery taste.

4 a:  Calendula (Pot Marigold) – Attractive small plant but friendly bugs like it so helps protect tomatoes from aphids.

4 b:  Sunflower (Russian Mammoth) – A touch of ‘wow’ factor if they grow tall as expected plus birds & bees love them.

5 a:  Beetroot (Detroit Globe) – 12 beetroot won’t be enough but I’ll sow more as I love it cooked, bottled or grated raw.

5 b:  Leaf Beet (Rainbow Chard) – ultimate decorative vegetable and I love beet leaves steamed withgrated nutmeg.

6 a:  Courgette (Gold Rush) – Bright yellow, change from green. These grow in same bags after spud harvest in June.

6 b:  Tomato (Brandywine) – Again, first try but a big tasty beef tomato sounds mouth watering with basil and olive oil.

7 a:  Basil (Sweet Genovese) – I can never have too much basil. These pampered seedlings will stayed potted indoors.

7 b:  Coriander - A lovely useful herb but yearns for sun so another one for pampering in the greenhouse.

8 a:  Ragged Jack Kale - Cannot be found in shops but prolific so thank God for generous organic seed-saving friends!

8 b:  Early Purple Sprouting Broccoli - takes space but Minister Mary White grows it so I’m curious to find out why!

9 a:  Mange Tout (Sweet Green) - Corny name perhaps but beats airfreighting these tasty morsels from Kenya.

9 b:  Garden Pea (Rondo) – Haven’t tried these before but  worth a go as hard to find in shops at any time these days.

10a: Salad Rocket – The peppery rocket leaves transform a salad, look good and grow well even in shade.

10b: Mizuna - A Japanese salad which is new to me so thanks to Denise at  The Herb Garden for the organic seeds.

All that remains now is to keep the seedtrays moist but not too wet for fear of seeds rotting as happened with a previous batch of tomato seeds which were sown too early. If I’m to do that again, I will need a heated propogator. I’m on the look out for one.  If you can suggest any stockists, I’d be grateful.

I enjoy digging put the half full and half composted mix. Once the box is empty, I refill it like a multi-decker sandwich starting with woody hedge clippings, then some softer green material like weeds and kitchen waste, more tough stuff like stalks or clippings and so on. I sprinkle on some wood ash every now and again and some accelerator. Once the box is full, an old layer of carpet keeps it warm and working well until it comes time to dig it out around November.

The open soil in the kitchen garden is largely divided into four plots for separate vegetable families that I like to eat. (1) beet family eg beetroot and leaf beet. (2)brassicas eg kale, Brussels sprouts, purple sprouting broccoli and cabbage. (3) legumes eg peas and beans, I put sweet pea in here too for a bit of colour. (4) alliums eg onions, leeks, garlic and shallots. I’m told that repeatedly growing the same crop in the one place year after year risks attracting a disease or pest which likes that crop. For example, brassicas can get clubroot. However that means no brassicas can be grown for maybe 25 years in that place. As with all things in life, prevention is better than cure. The video below may be of interest meanwhile.

You can find out more about this series and catch up on past episodes on the RTE website here.

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After many years of faithful service, producing lots of delicious fruit, this plum tree has to go because it has contracted Silver Leaf disease. This is fatal for the tree and it got it because I pruned the tree in winter. Most fruit trees can be safely pruned then but plum is an exception. Ideally, it should never be pruned, but if it has to be done, it should be in the summer.

It’s important to burn the diseased wood to prevent spread of the infection. Once the current tree and soil have been removed, I’ll be planting another tree in the same location.

Earthing up potatoes is a simple technique for prodcing a greater yield.

Adding more soil to the container encourages the plant to produce more potatoes.

A problem that many gardeners face is the carrot root fly. This little pest can totally destroy a crop of carrots. Here’s a very simple method of protecting your carrots and keeping the carrot root fly at bay.