A month on from planting our first seeds and some of them looked to be doing really well. We've been dyeing to plant them out but according to my gardening advisers it's still too cold at night to do this full time. The beans in particular are getting way too big for the tray. It was suggested to me that we could start putting the trays out during the day so that they would begin to get accustomed to the outside world.They were looking gorgeous in their trays, big sprouts everywhere. So out they went for their first view of the sun. By the end of the day they didn't look quite so happy, some of them seemed to have dried out altogether, others just collapsed back into the compost. Next day we kept them out of the Sun but still outside in the shade, they fared slightly better. Now at the end of the week that lovely sunshine and warmth seems like a distant memory yet our seeds seem to be recovering a bit. Two of the Beetroot stems have thrived looking stronger and hardier than ever and the beans are still rocketing in height. Some of the seeds will have to be started again from scratch, but there is still plenty of time. In the mean time if anyone has any suggestions on how to make the leap from indoor to outdoor without all the casualties please leave a comment.
To make up for the disappointment I decided to take the first harvest from the garden. One of the things that thrives in our garden, and probably in most gardens is Nettles. They are young at the moment so there is no better time to be gathering some for nettle soup. So out I went in my yellow marigold gloves and clipped the new growth from all the nettles I could find. An hour later my carrier bag was bursting with free food. I have to admit to being a little apprehensive at the idea of eating nettles, would they taste good? would they sting? It also seemed a little strange to be cooking whilst wearing washing up gloves but it did help me get through the whole experience sting free.
I now have enough soup to feed me for at least a week! I'm going to be sending the recipe to my recipe of the month subscribers so if you want to know how to make your own free food sign up on the right hand side of this page. Next on the agenda is Dandelion Wine!
