This tiny little 175g pate tub is being used to grow pea-shoots for use in salads.
I tried growing pea-shoots once before, using a similar tub with a layer of compost in it, but the peas all went mouldy before germination, so this time I have used no compost at all. Instead, I have lined the container with some kitchen paper, simply to retain some moisture. In the tub are, I suppose, about 40 or 50 peas. I sowed them about 10 days ago, and now they are very nearly ready for cropping. In the intervening period I have rinsed the peas in cool water twice a day just to keep the kitchen paper moist.
When the pea plants are about 4 or 5 inches tall you snip them off and use them as salad ingredients - and very tasty they are too. If you're lucky, the snipped-off plants will re-grow at least once. You definitely get a better yield than you would from Mustard and Cress grown in the same tub.
This container is on a rather bigger scale! It is one made from reconstituted stone in a "Cotswold stone" colour, which I have had for many years so it is nicely weathered.
In it are self-seeded Calendulas (Pot Marigolds), from the plants I grew in it last year.
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| Calendula - photo from Oct 2011 |
When the plants had finished flowering I left some of the dead flowers in place, and they produced masses of seeds which dropped off when they were ripe. They survived the cold Winter and are now germinating in profusion. There were far too many plants in that container, so I took them all out, refreshed the compost in the container, re-planted a few of the seedlings in it, and put the rest in a line down the edge of the border where the Dogwoods are.
Hopefully this will add a bit of colour and interest whilst the Dogwoods are re-establishing themselves.
Also in that container were lots of seeds from the Bronze Maple tree. These are germinating all over the place at present and every time I go outside I make a point of uprooting another few, so that they don't take over the whole garden. Which is a shame in a way, since the tiny trees are very beautiful things in their own right:
This method is how I germinate most large seeds for my allotment,a plastic tray with the seed between two pieces of kitchen paper towel which I keep moist until the seed germinates on the kitchen window sill.This method is particularly good for peas as I plant them (in a drill covered by a strip of seaweed) when the shoots are quite mature. This is the only way I can stop mice from digging them up and eating them the seaweed smell obviously puts them off
ReplyDeleteI'll never have a garden without pot marigolds. My grandmother had them in profusion in her large farm vegetable garden (large enough for my grandfather to use a tractor and a harrow to do the autumn digging, rather than a shovel), and my mother had them in her rather smaller suburban vegetable garden. I bought seeds last year, and this year I have loads and loads of seeds from last year's flowers.
ReplyDeleteAs for pea shoots? They're so delicious, and I guess I have no choice but to start some when I get the time next week... AND they're a pretty garnish for any dish, especially foie gras served with pea shoots and pomegranate seeds.
Hi Mark,
ReplyDeleteOh I just love pea shoots and have a couple of little tubs-ex-Philadelphia cream cheese containers, on the go at the moment ready for a little risotto in a few days time...
Really envious of your Bronze maple seedlings. We had to cut down our beautiful tree a few years ago after the ivy effectively choked and killed it off and I do miss the rich colour of the leaves. Wish I lived nearer you!!!
Green Dragonette: I could try sending you a seedling / some seedlings if you like... Sent First Class, wrapped in moist kitchen paper , inside a plastic bag, they would probably survive.
DeleteNot only is your garden going to be productive this summer, it's also going to be a riot of colour with those calendulas. They're such bright, zingy plants, I love them.
ReplyDeleteWhat about trying to bonsai some of the tiny maples?
ReplyDeleteI love pea shoots, but I've never grown them myself. Everytime I tell myself I'm going to eat some of them from the garden. Then I just can't bear to cut them.
ReplyDeleteGoodness Mark you couldn't have found a smaller pot if you'd tried - good for one serving at a time - 50 peas seems a bit over the top though!
ReplyDeleteI do love your pea shoots, I keep wanting to grow some shoots and sprouts but keep procrastinating. Not sure why - they look and taste great.
ReplyDeleteVery cool Mark. I have been sprouting a bunch lately since I finally got more sprout seeds. But my mom also got me some micro greens and I am wondering if I can do them like you did the peas (maybe spray them down twice a day instead of rinsing???? I know you can also use some type of soil, but I never know which to use. I am thinking that the wet paper towel could be used as the "medium" to grow them. The directions say soil or other "medium" and I don't really understand what that means. LOL.
ReplyDeleteAmber, it's definitely possible to grow Microgreens on paper towels - I've done it. Actually I think it is better than using compost, because compost can make the seeds go mouldy. When they say "medium" they mean the stuff in which you grow the seeds - e.g. soil, compost, coir, paper etc. Paper is easy to keep moist because you can just drip a bit of water into one corner of your container, and the capillary action of the paper then distributes it all around. You can grow pretty much any seeds this way, but brassicas like broccoli or red cabbage are very good. Give it a go!
ReplyDeleteYou rock Mark....Thanks :) I will definitely try it :) And I have never been very successful with broccoli, but you have inspired me with your purple sprouting wonders!
DeleteThose peashoots look fabulous!
ReplyDeleteThe peas look super appealing Mark. A nice bit of fresh this time of year. We pull so many maple seedlings here too, but no bronze. Those leave are quite lovely!
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