3rd January – normality?!

So, I got up at 6.30am. So did the kids.

Astonishing, as our sleep patterns have been very out of kilter for the last two weeks. What will I do with these blissful few days before I go back to work too? It’s too frozen to garden, so I’m going to sort out my seeds.

The lovely Kate and Ben at Real Seeds sell the best seeds for growing here in Wales. Seeds that have a short growing season, are open pollinated, and that have been tried and tested by themselves in Pembrokeshire. I got my order in early, as they are so popular and often run out of choice varieties.

I save some of my own seed, as Kate and Ben recommend. A few years ago, a chance

sunflower came out of a pack that were given to me. All the other seeds that germinated grew into large, single flower ‘Mammoth’ style plants. One particular plant grew to about nine feet, but with multiple heads. All the flowers, when they went over, had the added bonus of having seeds with thin shells compared to the meaty seed.

I have saved and sown this seed for the last three years, and I have just found six dried heads! As each head has over a hundred seeds, and I only want to grow a few, I think it’s time to make my own sunflower seed snacks.

Sunflower Seed Snacks

Ingredients

One head of sunflower seeds (harvest when the flower is beginning to lose its petals)

Method

Take the head and dry in a paper bag. Forget about it for about 4 months!

Soak the seeds in salted water for 6 hours. This activates the germination process and makes them more nutritious.

Roast in a warm oven, about 150C/ gas mark 2 for about half an hour, until they begin to brown and crisp up.