Today I decided to check on the leek seeds that I sowed on the 7th. The packet said if sown outside they would need 14 – 21 days, but I hoped on top of the central heating boiler they might be a bit quicker, and guess what? They were.

There’s always an air of tension when I sow seeds. Peter says I’m a bit ‘random’, what this means in practice is that they don’t always germinate. This could actually be due to poor seed quality, but I usually assume it’s something I’ve done wrong, so there was great joy when I discovered my first leeks had germinated successfully and in record time too.

I’ve stood them on the boiler house window sill just to get them used to life without bottom heat and then tomorrow I will now put them in the conservatory for maximum light and frost protection. If it gets really cold at night I’ll cover them up.

Buoyed by this success I decided to sow some red onion seeds. I didn’t buy any red onion ‘sets’ the other day as they were twice the price of the white ones.

I shall use the same principal as I did with the leeks. Allow the compost to warm a little before sowing. Sow seeds in modules, cover and place on central heating boiler.

The only problem is that these seeds are ‘best before 2006’ so the germination rate might not be as good, so I’ve sown 5 or 6 in each in the hope of getting 4 or 5. We shall see. Watch this space.