Now it's February you are probably itching to get seed sowing. We have sown our first lettuces and a few other bits and pieces, but we will leave most until March.

Chilli, pepper, and aubergine seeds can be sown from now, but they need extra heat and light. We recommend waiting a few more weeks to sow these seeds.

For a full list of seeds you can sow in February click the button below.

SEEDS TO SOW IN FEBRUARY

Imbolc

Last week we celebrated the Celtic festival of Imbolc. This marks the cross-quarter point between the winter solstice and the spring equinox, and was traditionally seen as the beginning of spring.

Imbolc is a time of renewal and new beginnings, and is a celebration of the returning light and the awakening of the natural world.

It might still feel like winter but the buds on the trees are swelling and behind the scenes Mother Earth is getting ready to burst back to life when the time is right.

Many people use Imbolc as an opportunity to do a “spring cleaning” of their homes and gardens, getting rid of clutter and making space for new growth.

Others use Imbolc as a time to set intentions and make resolutions for the coming year.

Exciting and obscure Italian broccoli types!

We wanted to showcase two new broccoli-esque varieties that are new to our catalogue this year. One is called Cima di Rapa, and the other is called Broccolo Fiolaro.

​Cima di Rapa​

Cima di rapa is botanically a type of turnip (sp. Brassica rapa), but it is used like tenderstem broccoli. When the plant flowers it sends up many succulent spears, followed by an abundance of secondary spears after the first harvest.

It is much easier to grow than conventional broccoli or calabrese and will give you a crop after about 45-50 days. It is best sown either early spring or late summer, to avoid premature bolting in hot weather.

The spears are delicious in stir-fries or lightly steamed. Here is a great pasta recipe from Riverford.

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​Broccolo Fiolaro​

Broccolo Fiolaro is botanically a type of broccoli (sp. Brassica oleracea) but instead of making tender spears, it makes sprouts along its stem (known as "fioi" - derived from the Italian word for children).

To harvest, these sprouts are separated from the mother plant, and cooked along with the young tender leaves. Check out this video of the harvest from the plant breeders.

Broccolo Fiolaro is an autumn / winter crop and is sown from mid June to the beginning of August. Harvest begins after the first frost when the flavour and sweetness of the fioi are concentrated as the plants draw water down into their roots.

It has been cultivated in Italy since Roman times but has not been widely commercialised, tending to be maintained in the fields of small-scale farmers.

The strain which we have has been improved by the legendary plant breeders at Smarties (who also bred our chicory varieties).

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BUY BROCCOLI SEEDS

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Agretti / Salsola availability

Agretti is an Italian leaf which is gaining in the UK particularly with chefs.

Its flavour could be described as ‘chivey samphire’ and is slightly salty. It can be lightly steamed, stirred through pasta, or added raw to salads to add an interesting twist.

The seeds are only viable for a few months – they are actually little plants, not strictly seeds.

If you haven't tried growing agretti before then we highly recommend giving it a go.

We are excited to announce that this year's agretti seed is now available in our shop. The folks at Trill Farm Garden have produced this for us again and the germination is excellent (unlike mass-produced agretti seed).

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BUY AGRETTI SEEDS

All the best and happy gardening

Fred, Ronja, and the rest of the team

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P.S. in our next newsletter we will explain our technique for sowing chillies, peppers and aubergines so stay tuned!