Here at Seeds By Post (http://www.seedsbypost.co.uk), we’re more than aware that many people would like to buy seeds online from us, but are deterred by a lack of gardening knowledge. Indeed, you may have recently read about our horticultural courses that allow you to get up to speed with certain subject areas, all in the comfort of your own home.

But what if you’re new to, for example, herb gardening, and quite fancy finding out more about it, so that you can have an abundant supply of fresh herbs at home? Perhaps you are always cooking with herbs or using them in salads, and are wondering just how hard it could be to grow your favourite herbs from seed in your back garden? Well, the good news is that by sowing herb seeds in the spring, by the end of the summer you can have a fantastic final harvest of summer herbs, ready for use immediately.

There’s even better is that herb gardening doesn’t require a huge investment of time and energy on your part, and nor is there any shortage of cheap seeds, available to buy right here at Seeds By Post, that you can use for your first tentative attempts at herb gardening. From the traditional garden mint that is used in meat dishes, sauces and potatoes, right through to garlic chives that are an ideal accompaniment to cream cheese, you really won’t need to look anywhere else for herb seeds.

Despite the aforementioned inexpensiveness of herb gardening, we would still urge you to purchase certain key items. These include a small bag of soil-less growing medium in which to grow your seeds, which can be a rather better bet than garden soil. Among other items, you’ll also need several seed trays that have been divided into cells and that come with a plastic domed top, the latter so that the soil remains moist while the seeds are germinating.

Then, you’ll need to follow the full herb gardening process, starting with filling your seed trays with soil-less compost and wetting the seed trays before placing one or two herb seeds in each cell, and continuing through to the actual seed germination process. Once the seedlings have grown into young firm plants of 1 to 2 inches tall, you will need to replant them in 3 inch plastic pots, followed by keeping the plants in a light ventilated area and watering them regularly. Eventually, the plants will be 2 to 3 inches tall, at which point it will be necessary to replant them in your herb garden.

That, of course, simply leaves the harvesting process in the early summer. Be careful about the number of leaves that you remove at a time, so that each herb can continue to grow and be harvested again and again, all summer long. Explore the full range of herb seeds for sale at http://www.seedsbypost.co.uk.

We all know that the cost of living is on the up in the UK, and unfortunately it’s not just the cost of petrol, food and train fares that is increasing, it’s also the fun things such as hobbies. But the good news for growers is that gardening has been found to be the only affordable hobby left in Britain, reports the go-to company for cheap seeds, Seeds By Post (http://www.seedsbypost.co.uk/).

According to a recent review by the Halifax bank into leisure spending in the UK, in these times of double-dip recession the costs of ten out of 11 leisure activities have now risen more quickly than inflation, with gardening (and seeds sowing!) being the only hobby that had not! For instance, the study found that the average price of tickets to a Premier League football match had risen by a whopping 184 per cent compared to a decade ago, now costing £48.90 per ticket. That’s more than six times the rate of inflation! Fitness fans have also been hit, with gym fees having risen by 48 per cent in ten years. Film buffs will also have to fork out more for their cinema trips – tickets will now set them back 46 per cent more than a decade ago. By contrast, the cost of gardening has risen by only 17 per cent; over ten years that’s a manageable rise in anyone’s book.

Take into account the fact that most hobbies don’t take place in your back garden and there’s also the rising cost of petrol to consider. Getting to the location of your favourite hobby is no small cost given that the cost of petrol and diesel rose by 89 per cent in a decade, to an average of £96.95, according to the Halifax report. Economist at Halifax, Martin Ellis, said: ‘There has been a significant rise in the cost of pursing some of the most popular hobbies and days out in the UK over the past decade. Rising transport costs have been a clear driver behind this, although all expenditure categories, apart from gardening, have seen a greater increase than that of inflation.”

So, some great news if your favourite leisure activity is right there in your back garden. And remember, buy your mail order seeds online with us and the cost of gardening just got even cheaper! Take a look through all of our flower, vegetable and herb seeds at http://www.seedsbypost.co.uk/.

Timing is everything when it comes to successfully growing tomato plants from seed. Sow the seeds too early on in the season and the cold weather and lack of light will not let them flourish. Sow them too late, and the tomatoes won’t have time to ripen. Generally speaking, the end of April is the latest you can sow tomato seeds outside in the UK, which means this is the month to get sowing. Here are some helpful tips from mail order seeds company Seeds By Post (http://www.seedsbypost.co.uk/) that will help you grow a bumper crop of tomatoes this year.

Give seedlings room

One of the worst things you can do when growing tomatoes from seeds is to crowd the seedlings. They need enough room to branch out and grow to their full capacity. As soon as they grow their first leaves, transplant them and then in around 2 weeks move them into a larger pot (around 4 inches).

Give them light

Just as for many vegetable seeds and seedlings, your tomato seedlings will need lots of light and strong, direct sunlight is best. Be sure to grow them in the sunniest spot in your garden and if you are growing them in a greenhouse, you will need to use grow lights on them for at least 14-18 hours, with the youngest plants being closest to the light.

Warm the soil

If you want to be able to harvest your tomato plants in the shortest time possible, you’ll need to ensure the soil you plant them in is warm enough. Tomatoes need heat to grow to a healthy size so a few weeks before you plant (ideally) cover the soil area with plastic sheeting which will warm up the soil underneath and should help your tomato seedlings to flourish earlier.

Water your tomato plants

When your seeds have developed from seedlings to young plants, it’s very important to water the plants well and often. You may hear that watering less helps the tomato plant to produce its natural sweetness, and while there is some truth in this, underwatering is all too easy and will stress out your tomatoes!

Sow soon and follow these simple tips and a bumper crop of tomatoes is a good possibility. We have a huge range of tomato and other cheap seeds for sale at http://www.seedsbypost.co.uk/, so why not take a browse?

Have you ever thought of giving seeds as a gift? Probably not, but in fact they make a great gift: they’re unusual, useful, cheap, thoughtful and ideal for gardeners, cooks, kids or even those who have never grown a thing! Here are our some of our tips for giving seeds as a gift here at Seeds By Post (http://www.seedsbypost.co.uk/).

When we give gifts, we want the recipient to know we’ve given some thought to the gift, we normally want to give something a little bit unusual rather than the same old book token, and with money tight for most people right now, we don’t want to have to pay the earth yet don’t want to seem cheap. Well given all those demands of gift giving, may we suggest that flower seeds, herb seeds and vegetable seeds are the ideal gift – they tick all the boxes! We even sell seeds for kids which have been designed for the youngest of growers and are great to give to children as gifts.

We think that just about any of our mail order seeds are ideal gifts, just consider whether the recipient is more of a gardener or a cook, a vegetable or a flower grower, an allotment holder or the owner of little more than a window box. Then take a browse round our huge range of cheap seeds to see what takes your fancy. How about lavender seeds for the fragrance lover, coriander seeds for the budding cook, ‘lucky’ clover seeds for someone starting their new job, or cat grass seeds for a pet owner?

They are a great present for sending through the post given their handy postage size, but there are also lots of imaginative ways you can gift-wrap your seeds to make them a lovely present to give and unwrap in person. You can put them in a glass jar tied with ribbon or string and adorned with a note detailing the seeds and care information, or try filling a little peat pot with the seeds and decorate with leaves or dried flowers. However you present them, we’re sure the recipient will love the gift of growing! Get inspired to give at http://www.seedsbypost.co.uk/.

There are lots of reasons why kitchen herb gardens are a great idea. A lot of people live in apartments and so can’t grow herbs in a garden; it’s an easy, low-maintenance hobby which also saves you money on buying herbs; and not only are the herbs great for cooking when picked, the herb garden itself is a fragrant and attractive addition to your home. Here are some tips on how to create one from mail order seeds supplier Seeds By Post (http://www.seedsbypost.co.uk/).

Many herbs can be grown inside on a sunny windowsill, but some are particularly easy so if you’re new to growing from seeds then why not choose some of the easier ones. Mint and rosemary fare well grown in pots inside, as does basil, oregano and bay leaf. Of course if you have a particular love for a herb and often use it in cooking, then add it to your kitchen herb garden even if it isn’t one of those that will flourish with little care. We stock all sorts of herb seeds and even those that need a little more care and attention (such as Lemon Grass which has a long germination and needs to be sealed in a polythene bag) can be made to flourish with our simple to follow instructions listed alongside the product details on the Seeds By Post website.

Once you’ve chosen which herbs to grow, you need to find a space for your kitchen herb garden. Both herb seeds and herb plants need lots of light so choose a sunny windowsill which enjoys at least a few hours of direct sunlight a day. Also make sure that the windowsill or area near the window is large enough to cater for your kitchen herb garden without having to disturb it to open a window or use that area of the kitchen for cooking. Make sure you can easily reach all of the plants so that you can easily water the seeds and then later the plants, as well as harvest the herbs as they grow.

Now it comes time to sow your herb seeds in the containers you have chosen. Most containers will be fine, but unglazed terracotta is ideal. You can choose to combine different herbs together in one large container, but just ensure that the light and water needs of all the herbs are the same, and don’t forget to use indicators so that you can easily tell which herb is which. Soil should be a potting mix and not just garden soil as potting mix ensures adequate water drainage which is important when growing seeds in containers.

When it comes to watering, a good dose of water is beneficial to most herb seeds and plants (so that water comes out of the drainage holes at the bottom) but be careful not to over water. As for watering seeds or plants in general, use your fingers and feel the soil on a regular basis so you get to know exactly how much water your herb garden needs, and how often.

Follow these tips and you should have a beautiful and bountiful kitchen herb garden which will look and smell fantastic, as well as keeping your kitchen stocked up with your favourite herbs, all for the small cost of the seeds, soil and pots.

You can find the full range of our herb seeds and other flower and vegetable seeds at http://www.seedsbypost.co.uk/.

It’s nearly time for the clocks to go forward which means spring has well and truly sprung and summer time is nearly upon us. That means it’s time for veggie growers to get ready for salad season with some of the best tomato, salad and herb seeds from mail order seeds company Seeds By Post (http://www.seedsbypost.co.uk/).

The salad is such a versatile summer time dish – it’s ideal as a side to go with just about anything and is great as a main if you add a bit of chicken, some prawns or just heaps of vegetables. Now is the time to make sure your vegetable patch is going to give you enough salad staples such as leaves, tomatoes and onions all through the summer months and growing salad from seeds is easier than you may think.

First, there’s tomato seeds, veg seeds which will flourish on a window sill which gets lots of light or in a greenhouse. You can sow tomato seeds any time between January and April, simply fill some small pots with seed compost leaving a couple of centimetres at the top, sow in the seeds evenly, water well and cover the top with a plastic bag or cling film to make sure the compost is kept moist (remove the cover as soon as seedlings appear).  When seedlings are around 10cm tall you can transfer them to another larger pot, although large tomato types are better grown in the ground or in bags. Germination takes around two weeks and your tomatoes will be ready for picking between July and August.

Salad leaves are a must for most salads and there is a huge array of leaves to choose from, iceberg, frisee, little gem, lamb’s lettuce, watercress, the list goes on! Depending on which salad leaves you plump for, you’ll be sowing them between March and September (we’ve clearly detailed sowing times on each of our salad seeds for sale on the Seeds by Post website). What’s great about growing your own salad from vegetable seeds is that you can cut away the larger leaves when they’re ready for eating, leaving the smaller, younger leaves to grow and come back to harvest later in the season. Grown and cut correctly, you can have a salad crop that keeps on giving throughout the summer.

Then there’s cucumbers, which like hot greenhouse conditions and need lots of watering, and remember to remove the male flowers as only the female ones produce cucumbers which aren’t bitter. Onions are cheap seeds which are also easy to grow and planted normally around March time. Again, there is a wide choice of onions, from sweet spring onions to more robust red and white onions. Top off your salad bowl by making sure you’ve planted enough herb seeds – handfuls of fresh parsley are great in any type of salad, oregano is perfect in Greek salad and coriander packs a peppery punch.

Now is the time to get your salad seeds in a row and you’ll be able to eat healthily and heartily through the summer months. Check out the huge range of salad seeds available at Seeds By Post (http://www.seedsbypost.co.uk/).

At Seeds By Post (http://www.seedsbypost.co.uk/) we are committed to improving gardening and ‘growing-from-seed’ skills and knowledge. Being able to produce flowers and vegetables from their seeds is an enjoyable and valuable life skill which we believe should be shared with each generation. To that end we have collaborated with Online Courses in Horticulture to offer our customers discounted courses.

There are over one hundred and fifty courses to choose from, split across twelve areas of interest. Whether you are interested in creating the best turf or lawn technique, obtaining an advanced certificate in hydroponics, perfecting your propagation of seeds skills, or qualifications that can lead to a career in horticulture, look no further than the extensive range of courses on offer. Many have no deadlines or timetables, and can be completed at the learner’s own pace.

Anyone with an interest in learning about a specific aspect of horticulture can benefit from taking part in a tailored course and the new skills and information acquired will stay with them for a lifetime, helping in the garden, both when cultivating seeds and caring for adult plants. Courses are ideal for all ages – full-time parents, retired people or those with disabilities can take part in completing a course at their leisure from home, without having to attend any place of study or change their normal daily activities. Students and full-time workers can also take advantage of the convenient nature of distance learning to add another string to their bow.

Check out our Horticultural courses page for more details of how you can claim your 5% discount, simply by quoting our promotional code. Buying seeds online is a great way to stock up on flower or veg seeds, and brush up on your gardening skills ready to start a distance learning course.

Courses are designed to be completed through correspondence, by using CDs or entirely online. It is up to each learner or client how they complete the work. Each course has a complete set of information available, with details of exactly what qualifications would be gained, the type of assignments involved, timescale for completion and any fees or required experience.

As well as accredited professional qualifications and RHS courses, learners can complete courses designed to help them become more self-sufficient, kinder to the environment, and perhaps even able to sustain themselves and their family in the future. It is this type of course that will enable a green lifestyle, even for those who are unsure how to go about growing their own fruit and vegetables. Starting from just a few packets of vegetable seeds, whole gardens and self sustaining households could negate the need for the weekly shop!

Seeds By Post (http://www.seedsbypost.co.uk/) offer a wide range of cheap seeds, and are the perfect source for advice, information and stock for your garden.

Now is the perfect time to get your children interested in the garden. Here at Seeds By Post (http://www.seedsbypost.co.uk/) we have created the ideal solution by offering seeds that are of a manageable size for little fingers. Simply visit our seeds for kids section where you will find a fantastic range producing floral colours and sizes to suit most gardens.

It can be very rewarding for both adult and child alike to plant these flower seeds and follow their progress as they fill your garden with a mass of colour, scent or even headier aromas. The flowers can be large and imposing like the sunflower Russian Giant or small and dainty like Dianthus deltoids Artic Fire. The choice is huge.

Sweet peas are amongst those with the sweetest of perfume and can be found in this section. They are relatively easy to grow and can be cut to provide a beautiful indoor arrangement. It is a good idea when buying seeds for kids to ensure they are always used under adult supervision. With that said what a wonderful way to introduce children to the art of gardening.

Vegetable seeds are another way to get your children involved in gardening. From planting the seeds to seeing them germinate, grow and finally be big enough to harvest, can be an exciting experience for both you and your child. Here at Seeds By Post you can experiment with different varieties of vegetable seeds (at very little cost), to tickle your taste buds. Flavours of the same genre can vary dramatically.

In this day and age healthy eating is a hot topic. You are constantly bombarded with messages of how to live a healthier lifestyle by consuming more fruit and veg. In order for your children to have more of an affinity with their food, get them to have a hands on approach. By being there at every stage of the growing process, your child will have a sense of pride in their ability to produce something they can eat.

Buying seeds online is an easy way to begin. There is a wealth of choice at affordable prices. Once you have completed your purchase you can sit back and relax, we do the rest. All you need to do then is await their arrival. All of our packs of vegetable seeds and flower seeds come with planting instructions and other relevant information including culinary uses, plant origin and word searches. Seeds By Post (http://www.seedsbypost.co.uk/) hope you have enjoyed browsing the website, please visit us again soon when we can offer you more hints and tips on gardening.

Editor’s Note:
Seeds By Post (http://www.seedsbypost.co.uk/) is represented by the search engine advertising and digital marketing specialists Jumping Spider Media. Please direct all press queries to Louise Byrne. Email: louise@jumpingspidermedia.co.uk or call: +44 (0)20 3070 1959 / +34 952 783 637.

Here at Seeds By Post (http://www.seedsbypost.co.uk/) we are all too familiar with one common problem that gardeners face: cats! Cats from next door, down the street, strays or even your own fluffy moggy can be a menace to a keen gardener. Planting out, whether sowing seeds or bedding in new plants, usually involves digging or raking fresh soil, and unfortunately it is well loosened or raked soil that cats love to use as a toilet.

Completely eradicating cats from the garden is not usually possible, and the best that can be hoped for is a dramatic reduction in the number of visits by taking steps to make the garden as unattractive as possible to cats. There are several methods that are effective and humane, and can be implemented without much expense.

• If there is one particular direction from which cats usually approach the garden, use unstable or flimsy netting or wire / plastic mesh along the top of the barrier they climb, e.g. a wall or fence. By allowing the netting to lean outward from the garden, cats approaching find it much harder to gain a footing on the fence and may be put off trying altogether.
• Cover newly planted seeds and seedlings with tough metal chicken wire.
• Shiny items around the garden that reflect light are supposed to confuse cats, as they think it may be the eyes of other rival cats. Some retailers stock metal cat shapes with marbles for eyes, but any reflective materials will do.
• If you have issues with a cat climbing up to a bird table or to a seed dispenser, try attaching a cone shaped section of mesh to the leg, or around a tree trunk. The cone should have the large end pointing downwards, and will prevent the cat from climbing higher. The cone’s bottom must be wide enough to encompass the cat, as otherwise it could climb over it.
• Cats love to sit under bushes and ledges, where they can rest and silently observe the terrain unnoticed by birds and small animals. Lay a piece of tin foil sheeting on the ground – the crinkly noise and reflective surface will prevent a cat from using the convenient hiding hole.
• Citrus smells are thought to be offensive to most cats, and sowing herb seeds such as Lemon Grass, Lemon Coriander and Lemon Balm can add a lemony scent to flower beds, whilst providing new flavours in the kitchen.
• The old favourite, squirting water, has been successful for many gardeners, but does require the same cat being hit multiple times before it has any effect. If you want to try this technique, use only water, as cat owners could retaliate if they think their cat has been harmed. Automatic motion detection squirters are available, however often suffer from technical problems and use a large amount of water.

Keep checking in with the blog from mail order seeds company Seeds By Post (http://www.seedsbypost.co.uk/) for more gardening and sowing advice.

Editor’s Note:
Seeds By Post (http://www.seedsbypost.co.uk/) is represented by the search engine advertising and digital marketing specialists Jumping Spider Media. Please direct all press queries to Louise Byrne. Email: louise@jumpingspidermedia.co.uk or call: +44 (0)20 3070 1959 / +34 952 783 637.

Most gardeners love spring, for this is the time when their efforts throughout the year are rewarded, and a large proportion of their plants and flowers come into bloom. The visual display is reward enough for many, whilst others prefer to take their gardening a step further by growing for food. Vegetable gardeners may not create the beautiful flower displays that others do, but can benefit from eating their own produce and absorbing the vitamins and minerals from their own vegetable or fruit patch. Edible flowers can add a new dimension to gardening, as the art of using selected flowers in food is revived. Seeds By Post (http://www.seedsbypost.co.uk/) are an excellent source of flower seeds for all types of planting.

Eating flowers, either as part of a recipe or as a garnish or sweet treat goes back to ancient times, with various forms of raw and cooked flowers eaten in Roman and ancient Greek civilisations. Recently many top chefs and restaurants have taken up the practice and add floral garnishes to their cuisine. Many vegetable gardeners are not surprised by the use of flowers in cooking, as many commonly used vegetables are in fact flowers, such as artichoke, broccoli, cauliflower and even capers.

Some common edible flowers:

Nasturtiums
A peppery, fiery taste not unlike watercress, ideal for spicing up salad or adding to savoury snacks such as sandwiches, crackers with cheese or pate on toast.

Pansies
Taste sweet and fresh, with a mild flavour, ideal for adding colour to a salad or fruity dessert.

Marigold
A great alternative to expensive saffron, Marigolds add colour and a citrus taste. They are easy to grow and the flower seeds are cheap, so they really can save money in the kitchen!

Peony
Often made into tea in some parts of Asia, the petals are great for boiling as a hot drink or adding to cold drinks or meals in summer.

Primrose / Cowslip
Can be eaten and adds a nice garnish, but has a very mild taste which will not interfere with other flavours. It is easy to buy cheap seeds and grows well without help. Ideal for people who are trying edible flowers for the first time.

Roses
Roses can make a beautiful addition to any plate, however the white part of the petals should be removed, as they are very bitter. The coloured parts can taste different according to colour or specie, but are often compared to fruits. As roses are widely available as both plants and seeds online it is easy to cultivate a garden full of edible roses.

Angelica
Eaten widely throughout the world, both raw and candied. The flowers themselves go nicely with fish, and vary from lavender coloured to dark fuchsia. The overall taste is similar to celery.

It is essential to check before eating any type of flower or foliage as some can be poisonous or cause severe reactions in some people. If you are in any doubt visit Seeds By Post at http://www.seedsbypost.co.uk/ for advice, or to buy seeds online.

Editor’s Note:
Seeds By Post (http://www.seedsbypost.co.uk/) is represented by the search engine advertising and digital marketing specialists Jumping Spider Media. Please direct all press queries to Louise Byrne. Email: louise@jumpingspidermedia.co.uk or call: +44 (0)20 3070 1959 / +34 952 783 637.