Seed Pantry Blog

I have been growing my first ever chilli plant and this one is my pride and joy! It was from December’s Grow Club box, however, it took me a little longer than I would have liked to get going, so it is a little behind everyone else’s. Now that it is growing nicely, I have been zealously taking care of it!

I didn’t take note (again!) of what was planted where, but I am hoping it could be ‘Moruga Red’ as I would like to have some serious mouth scorchers! I made a makeshift greenhouse out of a sandwich bag, whilst not visually pleasing, it has helped the chilli plant grow and stay warm.

Soon I will re-pot them, but in the meantime, they will be kept safe here on my windowsill. I cannot wait to grow my own chillies!

Nick – Rookie Gardener

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And so begins our venture into growing our indoor office garden! 🌿🌶️ We are starting with two Seed Pantry Grow Pods in the office, to grow as we work! 😁

Recently we moved office and we wanted to bring gardening life into the workplace. With one situated on one of our desks and the other on the windowsill.

Right now we have chillies, purple basil, broad leaf thyme and cherry tomatoes growing! Hopefully, soon we will have a range of edibles to add to our lunches! 🍽️

We are also planning to get office flowering plants in soon too! So keep your eyes out for that! 😃

Why not start growing at home or in your office with us too! 🍅

https://www.seedpantry.co.uk/grow-pods/seed-pantry-grow-pod-2.html

 

Seed Pantry Team

Following in the footsteps of Richard (Sharpen Your Spades) and Neil, it is now my turn to finish planting all of my Dahlia flowers! 💐…and you thought we may have been done talking about them!

So I have already planted 3 into containers over the last few weeks, but as I have a shared garden, I wanted to check with the rest of my building that they were OK with me planting things in the shared space.

As you would expect, they all agreed! I have planted them all directly into the ground on the garden borders as the frosts seem to be behind us now! I closely followed the instructions given to me by Neil in our blog, as this is the first time I have ever grown Dahlia flowers.

This has to be the most excited I have been to grow these Mexican flowers, so roll on Summer! 😁

Nick – Rookie Gardener

Seed Pantry Team

In all the excitement of the RHS gardening week, we almost forgot that the beginning of May went by… which means a fresh new selection of food and flowers for the Seed Pantry Grow Club!  This Month we have a beautiful range of Canna Flowers.

Canna flowers or also known as Canna lily (although not actually being a true lily) are stunning plants from the tropics that are related to banana plants! We have four varieties available this month: Canna ‘Black Knight’ has dark foliage and deep red flowers, ‘Pink and Roses’ is beautiful, ‘Verdi’ (AGM) is a tall big plant and will look great in city or rural gardens and large containers,  and ‘Stuttgart’ with striking variegated leaves.

You can see the varieties in this month’s Grow Club with the link below:

https://www.seedpantry.co.uk/grow-club/discovery-box.html

Each plant grows to around 80cm, however, the Canna ‘Verdi’ can grow up to 1.5 metres tall for a real dramatic jungle effect! On top of their beautiful flowers, they are often grown for their magnificent foliage. So much so, that some people even clip the flowers to keep only the exotic leaves!

We thought as these are unusual flowers, We would put together a quick guide on how to plant and care for your own Canna plants! 🌱

1. Now that the colder weather is (hopefully) behind us, you can start planting canna rhizomes outside, mid-May onwards, directly into borders or in containers. It can be very helpful for drainage if mix in a few handfuls of sand/grit to the compost you use.
2. Plant the rhizomes 10-15cm deep and 50cm apart for tall varieties or 30cm apart for the medium size types. Place the rhizomes with the eyes, or growing points, facing up.
3. Position your cannas in full sun for the best foliage colour and the greatest number of blooms. Or people do grow them just for the jungle-like foliage, so semi-shade works.
4. Cover the rhizomes with compost, add a splash of water and that’s it! Wait for the magic to happen.
5. For care, remove old flowers from the plant to keep them producing. Cannas are not full winter hardy, so you should lift and store in late autumn after the first frost or mulch well and leave in the ground in the South of the UK.

And that is everything you need to get you growing beautiful Canna flowers come August! 💐

Seed Pantry

I have a small shared growing space at my house and my plan is to make the most of it! With the help of quite a lot of pots (some pretty ugly ones too), I have been able to plan Spring and Summer flower displays, and I’m now waiting to see how successful they are.💐

Most of these were planted before I realised the importance of marking what I have planted! 😅 But I do know there will be some amazing tulips, Dutch Irises and Fritillaries coming out soon!

Just goes to show, you don’t need much space to start growing! I can’t wait to see what’s next…I seem to be getting addicted to plants!

Nick – Rookie Gardener

Seed Pantry

ATTENTION!! 🏫 The Seed Pantry University tutorial is now in session! 📚 So get your pens and paper out and put your phones away! 📝 Today’s tutorial: Setting up The Grow Pod 2!

Over the last few months, we have received questions about growing plants from scratch with the Grow Pod 2. So we thought we would make a video series to help people get the most out of their Seed Pantry Grow Pods!👨‍🎓👩‍🎓.

In the first video, Professor Seed Pantry (Neil) will run through setting up the Grow Pod 2, some planting tips and tricks and the best times to grow the included Starter Grow Pack! 📚

Link:  

 

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The Vitamin super booster that is 🥬 Kale 🥬 and green-leafy vegetables! 🥗

Dark leafy vegetables such as kale and spinach are a great way to dramatically increase your daily vitamin intake. The combination of vitamins and minerals give it high nutritional value, making leafy greens the ultimate health addition to meals and drinks! 🍵 From soups to smoothies, leafy greens are really versatile and could we ever forget the strength spinach gave Popeye! 😉 –
Vegetables like these are just packed full of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and with health beneficial compounds such as Lutein 👀 Known as “the eye vitamin”. Researched has shown that Lutein can help prevent eye disease and deterioration of sight! 👓
They are filled with Vitamin A, C and K. 100 grams of fresh leaves can provide over 200% of recommended daily intake!! 🥬

To grow leafy greens, simply sow some seeds outdoors, add a little TLC, and you’ll be cropping all year around!

🌟 Special Power – Vitamin-K 🌟

Green-leafy vegetables have many superpowers as mentioned 🤓 However it is their high vitamin content that separates them from other fruits and veg.🥗
Kale is an excellent source for Vitamin-K; 100g provides over 300% of our recommended intake! Vitamin-K is an important factor in bone health and wound healing, and is used often to help treat bone problems 🦴 Research has shown it can help reduce the risk of bone fractures and breakage. 🥬 Amazing! 🌿🌿🌿

 

Seed Pantry

We may have spoken about how the reappearance of the sun over the last week got us excited for Spring and Summer! 🌞 Now it’s a bit stormy! but the rain is good for the plants….so while watching the rain we’ve been sowing herbs from February’s Grow Club Box! 🌧

This month we chose French Sorrel ‘De Belleville’, Lemon Grass, Nigella sativa and Thyme Broad Leaf from the options, as we want to start growing our own herbs to use in the kitchen this Spring and Summer 🏡

We also have some more great herbs to add to our collection in March’s Grow Club box, so we should have a herb garden to show you soon! 😄

Neil

Seed Pantry

The cool refreshing taste of the herb 🌟🌿 Mint 🌿🌟

Mint’s (Mentha) refreshing cool taste has made it as a favourite for adding to deserts and drinks from Mojitos to mint tea to mint ice cream 🍫 Mint gets its name from the ancient Greek mythical character Minthe, who according to Greek mythology, was a river nymph. 🔱

Mint is not usually associated with being a good source of nutrients. However when ingested, mint is a great source of Vitamin A, containing around 140% of your RDA per 100 grams! 🌿 Mint is also a excellent source of antioxidants which helps counteract the effects of free radicals to help support the immune system. 💚

Easy to grow, Mint spreads horizontally, perpendicular to gravity through a rhizome root system that sprouts new vertical shoots as it spreads – top tip, grow in a pot to keep it contained.

🌟 Special Power – Menthol 🌟
Mint contains the essential oil Menthol, which has been hailed as a great natural pain relief for colds, upset stomach and indigestion. Menthol is a natural aromatic decongestant that helps to break up phlegm and mucus, making it easier to remove from the body. It also has a soothing effect which can help with sore throats, but also can help aid digestion. Because of all this, mint is used to help those with IBS as it helps prevent stomach discomfort. –
Fresh Mint is great for adding flavour to tasty spring dishes (new potatoes!) or to diffuse into liquids to create soothing teas and beverages.🍹

We have a great range of different herbs you an start growing today at Seed Pantry 😁

 

Seed Pantry