Amateur Gardening – 10 August 2019

18 AMATEUR GARDENING10 AUGUST 2019

with Lucy Chamberlain, AG’s fruit and veg expert

Fo cu s o n...Edible seeds

T

HEY’REnutritionalpowerhouses

thatbringusprovenhealth

benefits,andyetwerepeatedly

walkonautopilottohealthfood

storesandsupermarketstobuybagsof

pumpkin,flaxandquinoa,Stop!Youcan

havefungrowingyourown,andhere

I’llgiveyoudetailsof thosethatareeasy

togrowandsimpletosourceand,most

importantly, they taste delicious!

Best-keptsecrets

Growingseedsforeatingis nothingnew.

Afterall,what’sa peaif it’snota seed?

Wewalkordrivepastacresof wheat,

barley,oats,flax,borageandoilseed

rape.It seemswe’refinallylatchingon

to what farmers have known for years –

seedsarea cinch

Whilefieldcropso

requirefiddlyprocessingfortheiroilsor

flour,manyotherscanbeeatenwhole

oncerelievedof theirseedpod,making

thema greatoptionforhomegardeners.

Grainssuchasamaranthandquinoayield

suchanimmenseharvestfromjusta few

plantsthatyourcupboardswillbestocked

upformonths.Soaretheyreallythateasy

to grow? The short answer is yes!

Familiarterritory

Manyof thesecropswegrowalready:

sweetcorn,pumpkins,coriander.Herbs

andornamentals,too,arewell-known

favourites.Poppies,fennel,nigella,flax

and sunflowers – the beauty of growing

themfortheirseedsis thatallare

encouragedtobloomin yourgarden;

in fact,that’sanessentialpartof the

process.Nowis theperfecttimetosee

if thesearealreadygrowingin your

garden. If so, reap the rewards!

All photography TI Media, unless otherwise credited

Fennelanddill:

Bothherbsimpart

ananiseed-like

flavourtodishes.

Steepedin hot

water,theymake

anexcellenttea,to

Poppyseeds:

Papaversomniferumoftenself-seed

in thegarden;onceyoustartgrowing

them,expectanendlesssupply!

Nigella:Love-in-a-mistflowers

(Nigellasativa) quicklyforminflated

seedheadsfilledwithblackseedsthat

areclassicallyaddedtonaanbreads.

Coriander:Theseedsof this

quick-growingherbcanbeharvested

andeitherusedfreshordried(green

seedstastetotallydifferenttodried).

Quinoaandamaranth:These

ancientgrainsyieldanincredibly

heavyreturn.Thrashofftheloose

outerhusks,andsoakyourquinoa

overnightbeforecooking.

Flaxseed:Popularduetomultiple

healthbenefits,andeasiertogrow

thanother‘supergrains’suchas

buckwheat,whichneedhulling

before consumption.

Lucy’s tips

The best ways to grow the classic seed trio...

1

Sweetcornforpopcorn:

Lookforvarietiesspecifically

recommendedforpopping;these

havea suitablyhardouterskinto

buildthepressurewhichthenpops

thekernel(suchasSweetcorn

‘Fiesta’, ‘Strawberry and ‘Robust).

2

Pumpkinseeds:Whengrowingfor

theseeds,lookforvarietiessuch

asPumpkin‘Kakai’andPumpkin‘Baby

Bear’– thesewillproducefruitswith

hullessseedssothereis nohard,outer

casingtoremove.Simply scrape out,

and then roast!

3

Sunflowerseeds:Large-headed

sunflowerssuchas‘Russian

Giant’producelargeseeds(and

therefore,largekernels).Hangheads

somewheredryoncethepetalsfall,

andthenrubseedsintoa bowl(the

hard outer husk needs removing).

Seedscanbeeasilyharvestedfromdried

seedheadsofHelianthus ‘Russian Giant’

Main image and insets: Alamy

Don’t

forget!

Marshalls Seeds

Youcanyieldanimmense

harvest from a few quinoa plants

Seed-producingnigella

hastheaddedbonus of

looking stunning!

6 seeds to grow at h

Lucy takes a look at healthy grains you can harvest now

Dillcanbe

allowedtoflower

and set seeds

Sarah Raven / Jonathan Buckley Alamy