Allowing unexpected guests to make themselves at home in the plot results in some unplanned developments A piece in praise of accidental planting. Or at least, allowing some self-seeding. Every year, now, we have red orach, though it was last sown here 10 years ago. The purple seedlings start sprouting early, signalling when our soil is warm enough to germinate. A trigger to sow our own rows. Some I eat young as salad. Others I cook later, like a crimson spinach. But I always leave a few plants to grow tall and punctuate through the chard and beetroot leaves. It’s the same, of course, with the nasturtium and calendula that pop up in what might at first feel like an inappropriate place, but with some small management work well and is easy to work around. Others I will move or perhaps not want this year, but being open to some randomness in my growing increasingly appeals. Continue reading...