Tag: grow your own

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Make the most of your Growing Space with Vertical Gardening!

Making the most of our growing spaces is a big part of gardening, so it’s no surprise that growing vertically is a new gardening trend for 2022.  This is perfect for smaller growing spaces like patios, balconies and even indoor gardens.

Growing vertically isn’t just a good way to make the most of your space, it can also be an easier and more fun way to manage your plants! So we have come up with a few ways you can start gardening vertically today!

Vertical Vegetable Gardens

A common misconception when growing vegetables is that they need to be grown in the ground with a lot of space. This isn’t the case however and a lot of vegetables can be grown in smaller spaces quite easily!

If you have not got enough space in your garden to grow in the ground, try growing vertically. There are a lot of ways to do this, such as wooden tray shelvings, pods and pots that can be attached to walls and many more. We have seen many people take the DIY approach also making vertical growing spaces out of wooden pallets and recyclable plastic bottles, so get creative!

Herbs, quick crops and leafy greens are great vegetables to use for this as they do not require that much soil and space to grow!

Indoor Herb Wall

Why not make the most of your indoor space too! Having homegrown herbs handy in the kitchen will make cooking fresher and much more convenient! if you don’t have space in the kitchen, try to grow some in another sunny room in your home.

By using windowsills and ledges around windows you can set up and grow plenty of plants! If you have a conservatory, you can move shelving towards the light and plant a whole row of herbs and food plants. If you don’t have enough light, you could use a hydroponic kit like our Grow Pod 2. Set one these on your kitchen window sill and you be growing all kinds of herbs, fruits and vegetables in no time at all!

You can grow all types of salads and herbs such as basil, coriander and parsley. We have a wide range of great herbs you can start growing in the Seed Pantry Gardening Subscription Grow Club, so have a look at those too!

Hanging Baskets Flower Displays

Hanging baskets are always a brilliant way to get more flowers into your growing space without using floor space! They are also a great way to make unique and beautiful displays.

With the use of hanging pots or containers, you can hang flowers from walls, balconies or fences in your growing space. Fill them with a dazzling array of colours and flowers and you will be able to create unique displays that sit above the rest of your growing space!

One of the best flowers to do this with are begonia and viola flowers, which both just love to cascade down from baskets creating gorgeous and intriguing displays!

We have a great range of Begonia flowers in the Grow Club this month, so come have a look and plan your hanging basket displays now!

Seed Pantry Team

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Spinach and Onion Puff Pastry Tart Recipe

The Seed Pantry Spinach ‘Perpetual’ has certainly lived up to it’s name, but we’re not complaining! We’ve been devising new and delicious ways to use up our continuous supply of fresh leafy greens…including this spinach and onion puff pastry tart recipe!

Home » grow your own

Ingredients:

– 350-400g spinach
– 2 tbsp rapeseed or olive oil
– 1 onion, diced
– 1 garlic clove, chopped
– 1 tsp fresh thyme or parsley, chopped
– A packet of ready-rolled puff pastry
– 75g cheese (cheddar and feta work brilliantly)
– Freshly ground black pepper and a pinch of sea salt

How to do it

Preheat the oven to 180°C and grease a baking tray with a little of the oil.

– 350-400g Spinach

Tear out any tough stalks of Spinach and wash thoroughly. Place it into a saucepan with a tablespoon of water, cover and put over a medium heat to wilt the spinach for a few minutes. Drain and allow to cool.

When the Spinach has cooled enough to handle, squeeze as much liquid as possible out with your hands before chopping.

– 2 tbsp oil
– 1 onion, diced
– 1 garlic clove, chopped
– 1 tsp thyme, parsley, or both

Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 10 minutes, stirring often. Add the garlic and cook for a further 3-4 minutes before adding the fresh herbs and chopped spinach. Remove the pan from the heat and season with salt and pepper to taste.

– Ready-made puff pastry

Roll out the puff pastry on a floured surface into a rectangle shape, about 4mm thick, before lifting onto the baking tray. Spread the spinach mix over the pastry (leave a small margin along the edges). Scatter over the cheese and place in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until the pastry is puffed and golden. Delicious!

Variations

Spinach and Pesto Tart

Try spreading a layer of Pesto over the puff pastry before piling on your spinach mixture, top with parmesan cheese and halved cherry tomatoes before cooking for a Mediterranean take! If you’ve been growing Basil in your Seed Pantry Grow Pod, you might even make the pesto yourself with our simple recipe!

Spinach and Ricotta Rolls

For a creamy dinner time favourite, add 75g each of ricotta and feta cheese to your spinach and onion mixture. Spread over the pastry, leaving a 2cm margin along one of the long edges and roll into a long sausage shape. Cut the roll into 4 equal pieces and pop into the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until golden.

Enjoy!

The Seed Pantry team 🌼

BUY your own Seed Pantry Grow Pod 2 here…

#SeedPantryGrowClub

WIN a lucky-dip addition to your next box by sharing your plant pictures with us on Instagram. Use the hashtag #SeedPantryGrowClub or tag us @seedpantry to enter.

Subscribe to the Grow Club box for flowers, food and herb seeds ready to sow each month… Curious? Come check out all of this month’s options!

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Grow Pod Basil Pesto Recipe

So you’ve successfully grown basil in your Grow Pod 2… what better way to use it than making your own pesto? No fancy expensive ingredients needed; Here is our variation on the classic pesto recipe.

Home » grow your own

Don’t feel confined to pesto pasta! This versatile basil pesto recipe is great for sandwiches, added to salads, alongside plain-cooked fish, smeared over roasted vegetables, dolloped and stirred into soup or as a simple dip with crudités. You can use other herbs in pesto too, mint works brilliantly, as do stronger herbs such as sage or thyme, although these are best combined with parsley so they don’t overpower the more subtle flavours in the sauce. If you fancy giving other herbs a go, check out our Top 10 best herbs to start growing.

Ingredients:

– 50g breadcrumbs
– 50g basil, leaves only (or 25g each Basil and Parsley)
– 35g strong cheddar, grated
– ½ garlic clove, peeled and chopped
– 100-150ml rapeseed or olive oil
– A good pinch of sea salt and black pepper

How to do it

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas Mark 4. Scatter the breadcrumbs on a baking tray and bake for about 10 minutes until dry and golden, checking them frequently towards the end as they burn quite quickly. Tip on to a plate and allow to cool.
  2. Place the toasted breadcrumbs into a food processor, along with the basil, parsley, garlic and cheese and blitz to a paste.
  3. With the machine running on low speed, slowly pour in the oil until you have a thick purée.
  4. Scrape your pesto into a bowl, and season to taste with a little salt and pepper.

Variations

Try replacing the breadcrumbs with toasted pine nuts or walnuts. Walnuts can be lightly toasted in an oven preheated to 180°C/Gas mark 4 for 5-8 minutes. For the pine nuts, place them in a dry frying pan and toast over a medium heat for a few minutes, tossing frequently. One they’ve turned golden brown, remove them from the pan to stop them from burning and leave to cool.

The Seed Pantry team 🌼

BUY your own Seed Pantry Grow Pod 2 here…

#SeedPantryGrowClub

WIN a lucky-dip addition to your next box by sharing your plant pictures with us on Instagram. Use the hashtag #SeedPantryGrowClub or tag us @seedpantry to enter.

Subscribe to the Grow Club box for flowers, food and herb seeds ready to sow each month… Curious? Come check out all of this month’s options!

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How to start growing your own vegetables

Seed Pantry – getting the kids involved with food growing at home!

It’s Veganuary and many of us are switching to plant-based diets for health benefits and helping the climate. At Seed Pantry we  always encouraged our green-fingered fans to plant and grow their own vegetables, salads and herbs and #Veganuary is a month we fully support!

As well as being cost-effective and environmentally friendly, growing your own food; vegetables, salads and herbs means you can eat completely organic produce freshly picked by you with the best flavours and nutritional value. Growing your own food locally means no high-carbon transport miles which is far better for the planet.  Tending plants is so rewarding and connecting with nature is proven to lower stress levels and improve overall well-being!  So what’s not to love!?

With this all in mind, we have put together a quick guide to help those who want to start off their own journey of growing food! It can be daunting and confusing at first, so make certain to follow this guide to get yourself ahead.

What’s the best thing to start with?

Micro-greens – spicy radish shoots

There are lots of great places to start on your growing adventure. One of the easiest food crops to start with is growing your own micro-greens and herbs. These a great easy way to dip your toes into the world of growing your own food. Try growing spicy radish shoots, you grow them for a 5-7 days in a tray with a little compost (1cm deep) – seeds are scattered liberally and bobs your uncle! Cut them and eat as you need on a sandwich or in side salads. Both micro-greens and herbs can be grown indoors on your window sills and with minimal space and equipment. We have loads of great food and flower options on the Seed Pantry website.

Rocket and chilli crops

From there we would recommend trying fast-growing leafy greens like rocket, lettuce, pak choi, mustard leaves and small single plant crops such as cherry tomatoes, chillies, both grown in pots indoors. They will require a little more attention than micro-greens and herbs but still remains light work. However, the more work, the more satisfying the crop! We have a whole range of tomatoes and chillies in the Grow Club this month (Jan 2020) so come and have a look!

Where and when do I plant and grow?

One of the biggest struggles new growers find is that it is hard to choose what to grow and when. A common mistake with new growers is the belief that they can start growing what they like when they like. With some plants, this may work, however, most plants benefit from being planted at the right time to develop through their desired seasons.

We have put together a very useful Urban Veggie Table with all you need to know about when to sow, plant and harvest various types of fruits and vegetables. With this, you will be able to work out what you can plant around that given time of year and where to grow it.
When choosing what veg to grow, the amount of space you have to grow will have an impact on what choices you should make, so make sure to check how big plants can grow that you wish to grow first.

What do I need?

Sowing seeds, propagators, rice husk pots

All you really need to start growing is some seeds, compost and a small space in the ground or pots and containers, for indoors or outdoors, to start food growing, but there are also a few other bits you could use to make your life easier! Propagators are great for starting off your seeds and getting them going in a protected environment, as quick as possible, particularly for warmer climate crops like chillies. They will help develop seedlings before planting them in bigger pots or veg patches.

Another amazing and smart piece of technology you could use to help grow food is a hydroponic planter. This device helps develop and grow plants as easily as possible by providing the light and water your plants need continually so that you don’t have too! You can see the Seed Pantry Grow Pod 2 here and we think it is rather brilliant!

Seed Pantry Grow Pod 2

How do I keep my plants going?

Caring for your plants is one of the most rewarding parts, so make sure your plants have everything they need to survive. Take note of how much water and sun each plant will need and provide it’s desired amount as it grows.  Some plants need potting on to bigger pots/containers or planting seedlings out in veg patches once they’re big enough and some may need a little maintenance along the way, such as pruning or clipping to keep them tidy and focused on growing your food crops, but most should be happy as long as they get the water and sunlight they need! Look out for slugs and other creatures who may want a nibble also!

One last thing that you will probably need is…patience! Unfortunately, plants do not grow to full size overnight and need a little time to develop and grow. Give your plants the time they need and some love and you will have amazing crops in no time! Watching nature is truly one of life’s most rewarding things!

We’re here to help you get started…

At Seed Pantry we are encouraging everyone to grow some of their own food plants and flowers, as its fun, educational and tasty too! We provide the seeds, bulbs, equipment and expertise you’ll need to grow food at home!
Our experts are also available to help you every step of the way within our online community, via social channels and more – visit www.seedpantry.co.uk

For more information on Veganuary, their website is here: https://uk.veganuary.com/ 

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Christmas Gift Guide for Gardeners

With Christmas fast approaching and the gift-giving period nearly upon us, we have created the ultimate Seed Pantry gardeners gift guide to help you find the perfect gift for your loved ones!

Everything we make at Seed Pantry is dedicated to our mission of getting more people growing plants, food and flowers and to enjoy the rewards of nature, wherever you live!

For the Indoor Grower

For those who want to grow from the comfort of their own home or desktop, the Seed Pantry Grow Pod 2 is a fantastic gift. Designed to produce ultra-fresh food indoors with an LED grow light, hydroponically, with no soil, no mess and be hassle-free. You don’t need to be a gardener or green-fingered, the Seed Pantry Grow Pod 2 does the work for you! It’s perfect for growing herbs, chillies, tomatoes, salads, flowers and fruiting vegetables, in the kitchen, on a desktop, anywhere really!

Price: £69.99

 The House Plant Enthusiast

For those who prefer to keep their gardens indoors, we have a range of gifts for them. Our Easy Grow Kits come with everything you need to start growing indoor plants like cactus, areca palms, Venus flytraps, Jalapenos and even Coffee bean plants!

Each kit comes with pots, seeds and growing medium, so your gift recipient can start growing in no time!

Price: £10.00

The Family Presents

Our Jumbo Summer Allotment Starter Pack is full of everything you need to start your own home allotment veg patch. With all the kit needed to start propagating seeds the kit includes tomatoes, peppers, beetroot, lettuces, french beans, herbs and more, the pack is perfect for any budding gardeners, green-fingered chefs and all the family to enjoy!

Price: £38.00

Another great family gift would be our Grow Club Gift Subscriptions. Monthly personalised discovery boxes delivered at the right time to grow each month, gift recipients will always be on top of what to do in their garden along with gaining knowledge and expertise as they go. Instead of just one gift for Christmas, you can give one every month of the year, for the whole family to enjoy!

Price from £39 for a 3 month subscription

6 months: £78

12 months: £156

The Thrill Seeker 

For those who live life on the edge and love a challenge, we have our Hottest Chillies in the World Easy Grow Kit! containing not one, not two, but three varieties of the world’s hottest chilli seeds inside! (Guinness book of records).  Each tin includes seeds, growing medium, easy instructions and a tin that doubles up as a pot, so everything needed to embark on a fiery adventure!

Price: £12.00

The Expert

Recently introduced at Seed Pantry is a new range of top-quality garden tools, that are expertly crafted and perfect for both experienced and novice growers alike. Tools ranging from beautiful Japanese forged, Garden Secateurs for all pruning situations, to durable and sturdy cultivation tools; bulb planters, spades, transplanting trowels, dibbers and forks that are handcrafted in the Netherlands. There is a tool for everyone and every garden situation.

Prices starting from: £20.00

Another great gift for the garden expert in your life is our Grow Club Pro-Box. Monthly personalised boxes delivered at the right time to grow each month for food and flower growing, with a wide range of seasonal plants, flower bulbs and seed to choose from, delivered to your door.

Price: £19.99 a month

The Beginner

For those who are starting out and dipping their toes into the gardening world for the first time, the Herb Seeds Starter Pack would be perfect! Packed with all you’ll need to start growing your own delicious organic herbs like basil and coriander at home as quickly and easily as possible. A great way to start on the journey of connecting with nature!

Price: £26.00

Another great option would be our Grow Club Discovery Box – Gift Subscriptions. Monthly personalised boxes are delivered at the right time to grow each month. Gift recipients will always be on top of what to do in their garden spaces, with expert grow guides, they will gain knowledge and learn as they go. Instead of just one gift for Christmas, you can give one every month of the year, delivered to their door!

The Young Gardener

The Children’s Me Seeds Starter Kit contains a fabulous selection of seeds that Children of all ages can enjoy growing. Selected seeds for plants that children just love to grow like massive pumpkins, the tallest ever sunflowers and super quick growing indoor crops. Some grow quickly, others take their time, but the joy of watching a tiny seed grow into a majestic plant is part of learning about the wonders of nature!

This makes for a perfect with kids who love exploring and being outside in nature.

Price: £10.00

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We’ve launched the new Seed Pantry grow pod 2!

The Seed Pantry Grow Pod 2 is designed to produce ultra-fresh food indoors with no soil, no mess and hassle free. The Grow Pod 2 now with LED grow light is a smart automated system for growing plants quicker, even in darker spaces, year round.

You don’t need to be a gardener or green fingered, the Seed Pantry grow pod 2 does the work for you! It’s perfect for growing herbs, salads, flowers and fruiting vegetables, like cherry tomatoes or chillies, in your kitchen, on your desktop, anywhere really!

If you love cooking, knowing where your food comes from, the grow pod 2 is essential for having the freshest ingredients ready to pick.

  • Grow ultra-fresh ingredients essential for cooking
  • Automated growing, tells you when to water
  • LED grow light with ON/OFF timer feature
  • Red/Blue light spectrum for strong healthy plants
  • Fast growing hydroponic system
  • Optional ‘get started’ grow pack includes seeds and grow medium
  • Advanced growing medium with nutrients
  • Grow nutritious, pesticide free crops & flowers too

NO SOIL | NO MESS | NO HASSLE

To find out more visit page: Seed Pantry grow pod 2

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Seed Pantry’s new Grow Club Discovery Subscription Box

Delivered at the right time to grow, we’ve launched Seed Pantry’s brand new monthly subscription service – the Grow Club Discovery Box, perfect for anyone keen to grow fresh food and flowers at home in any spaces.

Delivered just in time to your door and keeping you up to date with everything to do in the garden, this is really convenient and is mapped out for the year in tune with the seasons.

Designed to inspire growers with beautifully curated monthly boxes and easy to follow grow guides – it’s great value and each month you can make six choices, from 10, of expertly selected food and flower plants to grow.  Discover new to market varieties, heirloom and new, best in show cut flowers, and the best food flavours for super healthy fresh food.

Our new Grow Club Discovery Box keeps you bang up to date with the latest gardening trends, so you get to discover new plants as they become available.

Gifting options are available for 3, 6 and 12 month subscriptions and the Grow Club Discovery Box is priced at just £12.99 per month with FREE delivery.

To find out more visit Seed Pantry

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Could you go vegan for Veganuary?

Thousands of people around the UK are going vegan for January by taking part in Veganuary!

The campaign encourages people to try a vegan diet for a month, and the Veganuary website offers inspiring recipes, meal ideas, videos, cookalongs and advice on the the best places to eat out.

Veganuary aims to raise money for partner charity, Viva, which campaigns for a vegan / vegetarian world and to improve the welfare of animals all over the world.

Going vegan can improve your energy levels, boost your mood and can help you to lose those extra pounds gained over the festive period. It also helps to reduce animal cruelty and provides environmental benefits too.

Here at Seed Pantry, we strongly encourage growing your own vegetables, herbs, salads and as much as possible, as it helps to reduce waste and allows you to eat wholesome, fresh, organic foods. Now is a great time to start thinking about setting up a vegetable patch in the garden, or if you don’t have the space, our popular kits let you grow your own in even the smallest of outdoor spaces – from balconies and patios, to window sills and yards.

As well as being cost-effective and environmentally friendly, growing your own veg, salads and herbs means you can eat completely organic produce, grown and picked by you. So why not make the most of Veganuary by growing your own and enjoying fresh, organic, vegan foods.

Follow Veganuary on Twitter @WeAreVeganuary and on Facebook. Visit the website for more information, recipe ideas or to donate funds to Viva – http://www.veganuary.com.

For more information on growing your own vegetables and to find out more about Seed Pantry’s products, visit www.seedpantry.co.uk.

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Seed Pantry’s support for new National Gardening Leave scheme

The New Economics Foundation has put together a proposal for a voluntary National Gardening Leave scheme – calling for a shorter working week, allowing us all to spend less time at the office and more time in the garden!

Fancy spending one day a week growing your own food? The NEF argues we would all reap the lifestyle, health and environmental benefits and that it would lead to a stonger, happier Britain.

It is also calling for the development of available outdoor spaces for gardening across Britain’s towns and cities.

It believes a four day working week, with one day dedicated to growing, sowing, planting and harvesting would leave people happier, healthier, and better equipped for these challenging times. As well as protecting the nation from external food price hikes it would also strengthen communities and give many disused outdoor areas a new useful lease of life.

Neil Whitehead, founder of Seed Pantry says: “This is a very interesting proposal and we look forward to hearing feedback from government bodies and ministers. We strongly support the idea that one day a week spent growing fruits, vegetables, salads and herbs would benefit people’s health, wellbeing and lifestyles, improve the physical suroundings of some areas of the country and strengthen communities. The proposal makes a very convincing case for a Gardening Leave scheme and we’ll watch the developments closely.”

For more information and to download the proposal, visit

http://www.neweconomics.org/publications/entry/national-gardening-leave

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Seed Pantry sponsors Chelsea Fringe event – Edible Askew Road

With Seed Pantry’s headquarters based on Askew Road, Shepherds Bush, it made perfect sense for us to get involved with this year’s Edible Askew Road festival.

Organised by the Hammersmith Community Gardens Association (HCGA), the event is part of the Chelsea Fringe Festival and aims to create a river of fruit trees along the Askew Road. The trees will be under-planted with flowers and herbs to attract bees and butterflies to the area during the late Spring months – and also to make Askew Road a delightful, vibrant green area.

The festival also encourages locals to appreciate the value of locally produced food and the organisers have invited local shops, cafes, restaurants, pubs and other businesses to sponsor a fruit tree and plant it outside their premises from 18th May to 9th June.

Naturally, we have rolled up our sleeves and got involved! We are one of the main sponsors of the festival and have also donated prizes for the treasure trail for local schools on both Edible Askew Road and sister project Edible High Road Chiswick.

Neil Whitehead, founder of Seed Pantry says: “Edible Askew Road is a great community event, bringing people together to enjoy growing, planting and transforming the road. The aim is to plant blossoming apple, peach, pear and plum trees, under-planted with herbs to attract all kinds of pollinating insects. Everyone can get involved so why not come down to Askew Road to see the trees and plants growing for yourself.”

Activity runs until Friday 7th June and culminates in a music and wine tasting event at the Ravenscourt Glasshouses at 6.30pm.

More details are available on the HCGA website: http://hcga.org.uk