Another six-pack

All six of the seed varieties that I sowed experimentally in a cardboard egg-box have now germinated; the rocket, which germinated first, was getting extremely leggy, so this morning I decided it was time to 'plant them out' by cutting up the cardboard to put the individual cells into pots of compost. Hacking into soggy cardboard with blunt scissors (I wasn't about to use my good sewing scissors on the job) turned out to toss the unfortunate seedlings around about as much as decanting them from a standard plastic seed-tray would have done, and I'm not all that convinced about the ability of the roots to escape their cardboard confines, since the bottom of the box was still pretty sturdy. Maybe it will break down faster when it is entirely surrounded by damp soil.

In any case I was unimpressed by the experiment, and had consciously resolved not to bother with it again. Then this afternoon I was given a freebie pack of cherry tomato seeds that had been a special offer on a magazine cover; it's pretty late to start sowing them (should have been started in March or April for outside plants as opposed to a greenhouse, according to the packet instructions) but I decided it wouldn't hurt to try the experiment. It's billed as an 'early' variety, which may mean that if they start late they still have time to squeeze in some fruit before the autumn frosts ;-)

So, having just finished eating another half-dozen eggs, I carefully planted six individual tomato seeds into one egg compartment each, and we shall see if they germinate. ( Tomatoes and herbs )

( Poppies )

Frying aubergines

I did everything scrupulously right this time. I salted the cut aubergine slices and left them 45 minutes to drain the juices, then washed them thoroughly in the sink to remove the salt, then patted them each dry individually. I put half an inch of oil in a large cast-iron pan and heated it until it smoked (I've had to open a window even in here, as the smoke is everywhere). I cooked the aubergine slices a few at a time so as not to overload the pan.

And they still soaked up vast quantities of oil, like the proverbial blotting-paper. ( Read more... )