I ABSOLUTELY LOVE being a GIYer in spring. It’s hard not to feel full of hope about life in general when one sees a little green seedling emerging from the cold, brown earth. I want to talk a little about seed sowing, which can be such a challenge when you’re starting out with your GIYing, but is relatively straightforward once you get a bit of a system going.

In particular I want to talk about seed sowing “indoors” – that is, those seeds that are sown in protected conditions rather than sown directly in the soil outside. So, here’s how it breaks down.

I sow the following vegetables directly in the soil outside in the vegetable patch: potatoes, onions, garlic, shallots, peas, beans, parsnips and carrots. Pretty much everything else I sow indoors first and then (usually about 4-6 weeks later when the seedlings are a little bit hardy), I plant them out in the soil.

The vegetables I sow this way include lettuce, tomatoes, aubergines, peppers, sweetcorn, broccoli, cabbage, kohlrabi, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, celery, celeriac, beetroot, spring onions, courgette, cucumber, kale, pumpkin, squash, spinach and turnip.

Why sow indoors?

Sowing seeds indoors for later transplanting is, of course, more time-consuming than sowing direct, so why do we bring extra work on ourselves? Put simply, it’s far more effective. A seed sown in the soil outside has a lot to contend with in that difficult first eight weeks of its life – among other things: frost, snow, rain, wind, weeds, slugs, snails and birds. By sowing indoors you are giving the seedling a chance to get itself established and sturdy before it has to deal with these threats. As a result, you’re more likely to convert your seed sowing in to food eating, which let’s be honest, is sort of the point.

Incidentally the word “indoors” can have many different meanings for different people. When I started growing first, sowing indoors meant actually sowing seeds inside the house. It was lovely to see growing activity in the house and seedlings did well in the light and heat of the kitchen, but eventually it started to get a little bit out of control with more space in the kitchen dedicated to growing food than cooking and eating it.

So, about two years ago I got myself a greenhouse/potting shed with benches where I grow seedlings. So, when I think of sowing “indoors” I am referring to the potting shed. Many garden centres sell plastic grow-houses of all shapes and sizes which work as a smaller, inexpensive alternative to a greenhouse. So, sowing “indoors” basically means sowing “under cover” and giving the seeds protection from the elements. It can even me growing ‘Al Desko’ at work as happened in TheJournal.ie this week – well done to all the newsroom growers!

Things to do this week 

• Always check the individual details on seed packets – more often than not, the information on the back of a seed packet will tell you the vast majority of information you need to know about growing that particular vegetable.

• Sow indoors on a sunny windowsill or heated greenhouse: lettuce, aubergine, pepper, chilli-pepper, cucumbers, celery, celeriac, fennel, sweet corn, basil, leeks, summer cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, parsley, courgette, French beans.

• Sow outdoors or under cover: broad beans, carrots, onions, peas, radishes, early lettuce, asparagus.

Recipe of the Week – Borscht

This recipe was sent to me by Chris Betts, a GIYer from Tramore. It’s a brilliant way to use garden vegetables at the end of the season and makes a very tasty and nutritious lunch dish. You can be flexible with the ingredients, with Chris saying that only the beetroot is critical (otherwise it’s not borscht)! Make a big batch of this and freeze it.

Ingredients:

• ¾ lb each of lean pork and cooked bacon, diced

• 6 or more large beetroot

• 2 large onions

• 1 small celeriac or 2 sticks celery

• 1 leek

• 1 large turnip

• 1 large swede

• 1 or 2 parsnips

• 4 carrots

• 1 lb potatoes

• Half a cabbage

• Haricot or cannelloni beans, soaked overnight, to produce ¾ to one pint

• Olive oil

• Approx 1½ pints stock or water

• 1 or 2 tablespoons cornflour

• Plain yoghourt to garnish (if liked)

Directions:

Roughly chop/dice all veg. Saute onions lightly in oil, then add diced pork and brown all sides. Add vegetables and cook for a few minutes on medium heat, stirring to distribute oil evenly. Add the beans and sufficient stock or water to cover.

Bring to the boil, stirring occasionally, then add the cooked bacon, salt if required, and pepper to taste. Simmer for about 40 mins until everything is soft.

Mix cornflour to a paste with cold water in a small bowl or cup, add some of the liquid from the pan to it, stirring, then trickle into pan, stirring constantly. Adjust thickness to own preference (this can be done after defrosting if preferred). When serving, add a dessert spoonful of yoghourt to each bowl.

Tip of the Week – Grow Red Cabbage

We’ve grown red cabbage for a few years now and its a very straightforward, reliable plant to grow – pretty much untroubled by slugs and other pests once you get it started.

It is also excellent for late summer coleslaws and will survive tough winters in the ground. Red cabbage is very easy and reliable to grow from seed, so there’s no real need to buy those expensive plants in modules. Sow the seeds in a seed bed or in modules (one seed in each cell) and they will almost certainly reward you with fine plants later on.

GIY’s vision is for a healthier, more connected and more sustainable world where people grow some of their own food. Each year we inspire and support over 60,000 people and 800 community food-growing groups and projects around Ireland, and run food-growing campaigns, events and publications. www.giyireland.com

Michael Kelly is a freelance journalist, author of ‘GROW COOK EAT’ and founder of GIY.