Unfortunately our gardening sessions are on hold for the moment. We’ve also been unable to hold our annual seed sowing session so we’re asking for you to help us out by starting some of your own fruit/veg seeds off at home ready to plant out with us when the lockdown is over.

Things you need to get going:

• compost*
• seeds*
• something to grow them in*
• somewhere to keep them*

*You might think you don’t have any/all of these things but with a bit of creative thinking you might be surprised how easy it is to get started. Here are some ideas to help you out:

Compost

All you really need here is a bit of soil. Proper compost is the five star option here but a lot of seeds will grow in soil from the garden so just dig a bit up and have a go.

If you don’t have any soil to hand you can always try out making your own instant compost from household waste (you’ll need to vary the consistency depending on whether you’re using as a plant drink or soil substitute).

Seeds

Have a root through the back of your cupboards for a half empty seed packet or two – there’s usually something lurking back there! Even if the packet is out of date it’s worth trying a few seeds out. And if you draw a blank on the seed hunt why not try using leftovers from your lunch including: chilli, pepper or apple seeds – use your imagination and experiment!

Something to grow them in

Apart from the obvious plant pots there are so many other options on this one – any single use plastic item are great e.g. mushroom boxes or margarine tubs. Or biodegradable options include egg boxes, toilet rolls and newspaper (made into pot shapes).

Somewhere to grow them

A sunny windowsill will do the trick here. If you don’t have a spare window sill you can always make yourself a hanging window shelf. Other options include planting them straight outside and making a cloche to protect the seeds (those pesky single use plastic bottles work well for this) or making yourself a coldframe out of bits and bobs.

We’ll let you know when we’re back out gardening again and ready to plant out all the seedlings but in the meantime it would be great if you could take some photos of your progress and email them in to us for our newsletter at hello@vegontheedge.org or tag us in on Twitter @vegontheedge