How to sow your free rocket seeds - Six Months of Seeds

Your January seed pack contains our healthy eating duo, worth £4.95:

• Rocket ‘Tricia’ - fast-growing and full of flavour, your leaves will be ready to eat in as little as five weeks
• Chilli ‘de Cayenne’ - classic red fruits, nicely spicy, the ideal heat for stews, soups, stir fries and salads

Start sowing your own crop of peppery rocket leaves, with the help of our video guide, below.

You Will Need

• Free rocket seeds
• Seed tray, or large pot
• Multi-purpose compost, or vermiculite
• Tamper, or another flat object
• Watering can with rose attachment
• Plant label

Step 1

Fill a tray or large pot with multi-purpose compost and use a flat board or tamper to gently firm and level the compost.

Step 2

Pour some seeds into your hand, then carefully sprinkle them as evenly as possible over the surface of the compost. Lightly and evenly cover the seeds with a more multi-purpose compost or vermiculite. A sieve will help to remove any lumps.

Step 3

Water your tray, using a watering can with a rose attachment to avoid dislodging your seeds.

Step 4: Pricking out

Once your seedlings have germinated, you'll need to prick them out. Use a tamper or another flat object to apply light pressure. This will ensure good contact between seeds and compost.

Step 5

Water gently using a small can with a rose to make sure the seeds and compost aren't disturbed. Keep just moist.

Step 6

Place it in a frost-free spot and watch for germination. Thin out the seedlings as they grow, eating them as delicious micro greens.

Coming up - more free seeds

February 2021: Dahlia and echinacea

Colour made easy with our February double pack, worth £5.20

• Dahlia Mignon Mixed - loved by bees and butterflies, these colourful, compact plants are ideal for pots and borders
• Echinacea Large flowered - beautiful in summer borders, with elegant, lance-shaped leaves and large daisy-like blooms. The long stems make them ideal for cut flowers

March: Pollinator mix and sunflower

Perfect for pollinators, our March packs are worth £5.50

• Pollinator Mix - a wildlife-friendly mix of beautiful flowers, rich in nectar and pollen
• Sunflower Sunburst Mix - super-easy to grow, the cheery large flowerheads are a magnet for pollinators and the seeds are a great source of food for birds later in the year

April: Tomato and basil

The taste of summer. Packs worth £4.80

• Tomato 'Red Cherry' - heavy crops of small fruits with delicious, sweet fruits flavour. Can be grown outside or in an unheated greenhouse
• Basil 'Lettuce Leaf' - this unusual basil bears enormous, frilly-edged leaves, which have a sweet aromatic flavour you can enjoy all summer long

May: Cosmos and carrot

A couple of classics in this double pack worth £5

• Cosmos 'Purity' - this much-loved favourite will give you a dazzling display of large white flowers right through summer. Also great for cut flowers
• Carrot 'Royal Chantenay 3' - sow direct in the ground, or in containers. Kids will love growing and eating this fast-growing variety and the small, sweet roots are delicious cooked whole

June: Zinnia and cornflower

Get speedy results with this colourful couple, worth £4.80

• Zinnia 'Early Wonder' – large dahlia-like blooms in a mix of showy, vibrant colours
• Cornflower 'Blue Ball' - easy to grow, with masses of bee-friendly blooms, cornflowers are the perfect cottage garden flower