How to make a windowsill light reflector

Well my February sowings did not do well: not enough light, even on my southwest facing windowsill. Brussels sprouts, summer cabbage and cauliflower, spinach and lettuce -- all leggy and pale. So I abandoned them and sowed new brassica seeds a couple of weeks later, and this time put them in a plastic propagator (big tray with clear plastic lid and ventilation slots, unheated) outside on the balcony -- at first I brought it in at night, but then I kept forgetting, so it stays out all night now. Seedlings much shorter, sturdier and darker green from the increased light, but growing slowly due to the cold. I have also now been given a tip about making a light reflector out of cardboard and silver foil, which I will try on the windowsill (see top of this blog for link to instructions "how to make a windowsill light reflector).

That top tip was given to me when I became a Garden Organic volunteer "Master Gardener" in Islington last weekend. The idea is that we support and encourage others in our community to grow fruit and vegetables. I aim to help ten households grow food over the course of a year, and also spread the word more generally in the community at local events etc. If you would like free advice or support growing food, you can contact me on this blog, or visit the Master Gardener website: www.islington.mastergardeners.org.uk (don't be put off by the fact it's Islington -- several of us are based in Hackney) where there are details of all your local Master Gardeners.

So far I've helped one of my neighbours put compost on his bag in our edible garden, ready for sowing/planting in a month or so (the organic way is not to compost in the autumn, but in the spring). Later this month I hope to get our gardeners together to sow tomato seeds in pots for transplanting in May/June.

In terms of my garden....I read that I should feed the crops that have been growing over winter to give them a growing boost for the spring, so I forked in some poultry manure around my overwintering onions, garlic, winter lettuce (growing better since I covered with plastic water bottles), spinach, spring cabbage and kale.

Hungarian grazing rye (green manure -- see this month's photo) is growing well after a slow start. Apparently you should dig it in six weeks before sowing a new crop, because otherwise the roots can hamper seed germination. I plan to transplant my tomatoes into that bag at the end of May / early June, so I will wait until at least mid April to dig it in (but must dig in before it flowers...whenever that is).

Sowed parsnips and radishes together in another bag. Apparently it's good to sow them together as the parsnips are very slow to germinate and you can forget where you sowed them, but the radishes come up very quickly and so mark the area.