And their off!

Boxing day signifies the start of the growing season for me. The first crops to be sown are: Giant Onion (Mammoth), Blanch leeks, Pot leeks and Shallots (Matador). The seed trays have been sterilised in the bath using supermarket anti-bacterial spray and then thoroughly dried. Each of the above crops will be sown into a compost / sand mix. This is normally a mixture of 50/50 sharp sand and multipurpose compost with no added nutrients. These seeds are placed under a grow lamp (A bright windowsill is a good alternative.) which will be on for twelve hours a day until they are ready to be transplanted into individual 3"pots in about a months time. These crops will be watered from below by placing the trays into a larger tray of water and waiting until there is    a colour change in the surface of the compost, I will not water these seeds again until they have germinated. The reason for this is so as not to disturb the newly sown seeds.