Seed capital

When starting your urban farm one of the areas that can be a little overwhelming is the sheer variety of seeds. I’m not talking about all the plants you could grow, just the seeds for one plant you wish to grow. To prove the point, type ‘lettuce’ into most online seed stores; on one very popular US store they have 151 pages (15 seeds to a page) just for lettuce and associated salad stuffs. That’s before we’ve even got into the debates about genetic modification, heirloom seeds, hybrids, purebreds (plants that will produce viable seeds once matured) etc.  We’ll leave that for another blog, but for now, keep it simple!

One of the most fun ways to get started is to look at what you’re already eating and grow from what you’d normally dispose of.  Those seeds you scrape out as you prepare food are potential new crops, just as past-its-best veg or fruit in your fridge or cupboard can be a new plant. This approach can be hit and miss – for the abovementioned seed viability issues, amongst others – but it’s not much effort, so what have you got to lose? So let’s look at how.

Harvesting seeds

With some plants it’s very easy, as often you won’t eat (all, or any) of the seeds. So next time you’re preparing chilli, or capsicum, or melon (and so on, and on) and scraping out those seeds, keep some. Similarly, if a fruit you’d normally eat (I include cucumber, tomatoes and so on as fruits here) is going a bit squidgy or mouldy, keep the seeds. 

If you read various books, articles and posts about how to prepare the seeds it can be quite complicated, but it’s not. When you buy a packet of seeds they are usually dry. That’s all you have to aim for. So if they start in mushy and pulpy form – like the aforementioned mouldy tomato – dry them out. You’ll need to clean the rotting residue off, but that’s easy enough in water. Then just dry them out, simple. 

A capsicum/pepper I grew from seed, and as the various plants develop I will thin out to leave the two strongest plants with adequate root space, and re-plant or discard the other stems. 

You can sometimes skip that step if you cut corners, like I often do. I’ve stuck passion fruit seeds straight into soil, and even a fallen cashew fruit seed picked-up on a holiday in West Africa. The latter I really did not know how to grow in my South London kitchen, but grow it did. Experimenting by trial and error is fun, but if you’re a little hesitant, just start with capsicum/pepper or chilli, it’s surprisingly easy in most indoor climates: 

Plant recycling 

The other source of potential crops is the offcuts and spoiling fruit and veg you have lying around. One of my neighbours stuck a pineapple top in the ground a few weeks ago, which I thought was a good use of the otherwise dead space that Ranulph loves to patrol for cats, while pretending he’s not scared of the toads, wind and large leaves. 

I appreciate that the tropical climate for pineapple growing may not be something you all benefit from. But the slideshow below depicts a selection of possible alternatives:

Lemongrass sprouting

If some of the sticks start to sprout roots, but them in soil (or hydroponic basket, if growing that way). You can also peel away the dry and dead outside of lemongrass you’ve already got and stimulate root growth by sticking the greener shoots in water. 

Lemongrass plant

The plant will resemble a course grass with fragrant leaves and eventually develop into the sticks you’ll recognise (one about 30cm, or 1ft tall). 

Garlic sprouting

If you see these sprouts pick the biggest and least shrivelled looking cloves and put them 5cm (2inches) beneath the soil, with the shoot pointing up and the flatter hard end (which may be sprouting roots) pointing down. 

Garlic flower

The garlic clove should, in time, grow into a whole new bulb. The added benefit is that the flowers are edible and make a great edition to stir fries or salads. 

Potato sprouting

You’ll need more space for this crop – something equivalent to a medium-to-large sized trash can/bin. Put the potatoes, with the sprout (called the eye) facing up, about 10cm (4inches) beneath the soil surface, and ideally each potato at least 25cm (10inches) apart. 

Potato plant

Potato’s foliage will take up quite a lot of space but if you’re growing sweet potatoes (a different species) the leaves are commonly used in stir fries, particularly in Chinese cuisine, and they’re delicious. With non-sweet potato varieties, wait either about 10 weeks, or until the foliage starts to wilt, to harvest. 

Ginger root sprouting

Surprisingly easy and fun this one. Once you spot the shoots/eyes either break up (not too small mind) or just stick what remains of your ginger in the soil, eyes facing upwards, between 5-10cm (2-4inches) should be perfect, and you can crowd a few shoots in a 15cm (6inches) diameter pot. Ginger is a tropical plant, so rich soil is a must, and ideally the most humid part of your house (usually the bathroom), in a partially sunny (ginger doesn’t like strong direct sun). 

Ginger plant and root

The leaves look like a nice tropical houseplant anyway. Harvest once the leaves start to fade back, or earlier if you wish, but the longer you leave it the more flavourful the rhizomes you’re digging up will be.  

Avocado sprouting

Less likely to result in your own produce unless you have a large urban farm area – as the avocado will want to turn into a tree – but fun nonetheless. Take an avocado stone/seed, dry it out, put toothpicks (or similar) into the sides as shown in the photo and submerge the larger end in about 2.5cm (1inch) of water. Place somewhere sunny and replenish the water regularly. 

Avocado plant

Once your seed sprouts, and the shoots are about 15cm (6inches) tall, cut back to about half the size, let the foliage get denser again and put in a pot. Hey presto, a nice indoor plant, talking point and maybe, if you’re really lucky a tree one day! 

That sample is by no means exhaustive, and sign-up or come back again as we build up the growing guide databases. Now, happy experimenting!