What can I say? I am always after a bargain, and right now garden centres up and down the country are just the place to find them. The dusty seed aisles are currently going through their annual restocking, which means many firms slash their prices, dumping hundreds of packets into the reduced bin.
This is sort of ridiculous considering the extremely long viability of many seed. For despite the “sow by” date usually being a good two years away from when they get reduced, the seeds of many species can actually germinate well even after decades – especially if well dried and sealed in foil packets as most seed now are.
Apart from one or two families which are notorious for having a short shelf life, such as the carrot family (including plants like parsley, celery and dill), almost everything will work just as well yet cost you half the price or less. Right now is when I buy my seeds for the next year.
One of the wonderful things about cut-price seed is it allows you do things that normally might be prohibitively expensive, like growing my favourite veg to sow over the autumn and winter: microgreens. These trendy sprouted seedlings might often be unfairly dismissed as merely a pretentious garnish at fancy restaurants, but I feel this is a shame. Pick the right varieties, and the flavour (and health benefits) can be just as good if not better than that of the full-size veg, growing in a fraction of the time and providing fresh harvests that can be sown and harvested at any time of year from the comfort of your living room.
And using bargain-basement seed makes it super economical, too. Any crop with edible leaves is a safe bet. As I have tested more than my fair share of varieties, here are some of my favourite options for impatient food growers this autumn and winter.
Onions
All seedlings from plants in the onion family make tasty edibles. At the seedling stage they are essentially all interchangeable, with wisp-like like delicious herbal pungency. Yum.
Cabbages
This family encompasses everything from radishes and red cabbage to rocket and broccoli. Their pungency is provided by antioxidant sulphur-based chemicals linked to a range of health benefits. These are produced by the plant to ward off infection, and come packed at high concentrations in their seeds, making seedlings much richer sources than adult plants.
Herbs
All the leafy, quick-sprouting herbs seem to work well, so side-step thyme, sage and rosemary in favour of basil, along with fragrant dill, intense coriander, citrusy lemon balm and exotic shiso.
Email James at james.wong@observer.co.uk or follow him on Twitter @Botanygeek
