The welcome return of warmer weather and longer days! The clocks have gone back meaning more time in the garden and if you’re stuck at home and have access to the outside, whether it’s a balcony or a garden, why not try a couple of these ideas?
Lettuce, rocket and baby spinach are easy to grow in containers and prefer some shade once the heat of the summer gets going. Sow direct now and cover with a cloche to speed-up germination. Use a cut and come again variety and mix 3 – 4 different lettuces together to make the most of a limited space. Good varieties include Mizuna, Pak Choi & Mustard leaves, Spinach’ Toscane’ as it’s slow to bolt and Rocket ‘Serrata’. Keep an eye out for slugs and snails – try broken eggshells as a deterrent.
Cooped up with the kids? A fun activity with younger children is to grow cress eggheads. Use a broken eggshell as a container and fill with a little moist cotton wool. Sprinkle over some cress seeds and pop onto a sunny window cill. Keep moist and soon you’ll have a filling for your egg sandwiches!!
Follow this link for more gardening activities with children - https://www.kidsdogardening.com/
Photo by Monika Grabkowska on Unsplash