No Veg Plot? No Problem. Use A Sunny Windowsill Or Conservatory

Those lucky enough to have fruit and vegetable plots will have been making the most of them in the past few weeks. But even if you don’t have an outdoor space in which to grow food, you can do a lot with a windowsill or conservatory, explains Let’s Talk’s gardening expert Charlotte Philcox.

- Charlotte Philcox.

The classic windowsill salad crops are ordinary mustard and cress, which many of us remember from our childhood.

All you need to grow them are some seeds, and a couple of pieces of kitchen towel. Double layers seem to work best, so fold the paper to fit a small recycled container, such as one of the small boxes in which mushrooms and tomatoes are sold.

The container doesn’t need to have drainage holes. Soak the paper well, pressing it down wherever air bubbles have formed, and then scatter the mustard or cress seed quite thickly across the surface.

You can fill any gaps by moving the seed around with the dry tip of a pencil or your finger. Put the sown box aside, and cover with a piece of card or paper until the seeds have germinated, then remove this and place the box on a sunny windowsill. Keep the paper moist, and after a few days, you should have a good crop that can be harvested with a pair of scissors.