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| Chia (Salvia Hispanica) £1.49 for 200g Home Bargains, food aisle. |
Looking for something cheap and cheerful to sow in your borders this year? Try Chia found in the supermarket, baking aisle, they can be grown as an attractive annual and form upright spikes of purple/blue flowers reaching up to 6 feet tall, not bad going from a seed not much bigger than a full-stop. When they reach 4 inches, pinching out the tips will encourage them to bush out and make them grow at a more manageable level. I take a handful of chia seeds out with me on my evening jaunt, if I see an unsightly patch of land I strew some chia seeds over it.
I love Salvias of all types - beautiful flowers! We've found, however, that only certain types will adapt to growing in pots in a semi-shaded garden, so we probably wouldn't risk these as they probably wouldn't do well.
ReplyDeleteDo these have scented leaves? Some varieties have the most intoxicating smell. Others, such as our 'Nachtvlinder', smell (to me, anyway) like tomcat piss.
Jx
I know what you mean about salvias smelling of cats. I can't say I smelt anything unpleasant about chia though.
DeleteI might chuck some seeds around my garden and see what pops up. We all need some Chia.
ReplyDeleteSx
Whilst you're down the baking aisle pick up a packet of poppy seeds £1 for 100g usually, they come up a treat.
DeleteI've been known to pinch the tip when it reached 4 inches. 4 inches is enough for some of us.
ReplyDeleteYou'll get a decent girth from 4 inches, you don't want them long otherwise they go all spindly.
DeleteI'm with John in that I love Salvias, and living in California, any plant that likes hot, dry, and sunny is always welcome.
ReplyDeleteHot, dry and sunny that's how I like my men.
DeleteDon't they make a pudding that looks like frogspawn?
ReplyDeleteYes, you can also make a no cook jam using any pureed fruit and chia seeds. Also as a green manure.
DeleteI'm aghast at the thought of randomly throwing seeds about. I'm trying so hard to create a safe space here for indigenous plants. An overwhelming task. Preservation of the native ecosystem is the only thing I get anal about. As a plant group, I love salvias. My hummingbirds get so excited when I bring new flowering plants home. They won't even wait for me to put it in the ground. They'll partake of the flowers while I hold it in my hands. One even sat on my head! How did I end a servant to such a tiny overload?
ReplyDeleteSowing specially chosen seeds to boost local wildlife is encouraged over here.
ReplyDeleteI hope that doesn't make me a yoghurt-knitter.
ReplyDeleteDarling Mitzi,
ReplyDeleteWe are delighted to read that you throw your Chia seeds about with gay abandon rather than eating them. Although they are edible, we are reliably informed that one can choke on them as they swell up to ten times their size when in liquid.
We have always considered the baking aisles of supermarkets dangerous....and now we have proof!
When soaked in water, chia seeds form a gel, when strained through a muslin cloth, the gel makes an excellent, natural lube for dryness, you know, down there! I suppose you could leave the seeds in it for an extra thrill if you are that way inclined.
ReplyDeleteMore furtively than with gay abandon, I don't want to be the "and finally" bit at the end of News at Ten. I've become a hedgerow detective during my mid afternoon walks in search of my chia scatterings, nothing yet.
Darling Mitzi,
DeleteYou really are a mine of information.
We were with you at the soaking in water bit but straining through a muslin cloth rather defeated us. Sadly, we are completely out of muslim cloths and are left wondering if a tea towel might do instead??
Be careful about hedgerow detecting.... you never know what could be lurking in the undergrowth!!:):)