Harvesting Last Season's Vegetable Seeds - Onions, Aubergines & French Beans

As-salamu`alaykum beautiful people! My gosh, Allahu-akbar, I've had a mad couple of weeks. Just finished propagating a truckload of seeds and I have my first batch of grown plants ready for planting outdoors. For greenhouse tips and photos from my Huddersfield home, check out below!

March to April are ideal for growing the following veg indoors: cucumber, aubergines, onions, french beans, tomato varieties, courgettes. Eco-mum had bought packets of seed but I already had some harvested from last year's veg.

If you've still got seeds to grow this late into the year (April-May), propagate them on a windowsill, (plant and cover with lid to quicken growth), and when plants are 3-4 inches tall, repot into larger containers or plant outside in nutritious, moist soil.


One of the best reasons I can think of for growing my own vegetables is that it's a step closer to becoming 'self-sufficient'. Self-sufficiency is a boastful idea because as a Muslim I believe all sustenance comes from God. But that doesn't mean I expect my food to fall out of the sky like a revelation, nor do I choose to eat packaged, preserved food.

Taking the time to understand, grow and eat the "good things" of God's earth actually improves my faith. That's another reason why you should grow your own veg too.

Continuing from the top-most image: cucumber and courgette seeds should be planted laid sideways; 3 per pot at least 3inches deep. 

Cover the cucumber/courgette seeds with a half-inch of soil, water and propagate. Seedlings appear within 7-14 days and need to be at least 4-5 inches tall before re-potting into larger containers. 

I recycle plastic cups from the office as plant pots, they last a good few years. Before using, heat a nail over a flame and insert into the paper or plastic cup base to melt in a few drainage holes.

These beauties are my dwarf French beans that need lots of space to root. Their marbling colour is a real testament to Allah's Creativity. 

Pot a maximum of 3 dwarf beans to a medium-sized container that's 2-3inches deep. Cover with 3/4inch of compost, water and propagate.

Onion seeds can be randomly sprinkled over a tray filled with compost. Cover with a 1/8th inch of compost and gently press down flat. Water, place in a warm room then expect seedlings after 10 days.

I have three variety of peas this year: Green shaft, Onwards and Scarlet Emperor. With over 60 peas to plant I re-used the plastic cups I've been saving from our not-as-ethical iftar a few year ago.

Aubergine seeds are straight forward to plant too. Sprinkle over a 1.5-2inch deep tray filled with clump-free compost. Cover with an 1/8th layer of compost and pat down before watering and propagating. New seeds that aren't propagated will just take longer to germinate because they rely on the climatic environment for warmth and moisture to grow.

Week 1 in April: This is one table of the final planting I undertook. I have two more tables! I hope insha-Allah they all grow (*spoiler alert, most of them did!)

My little greenhouse (:

Ah... the first little snowdrops. Ma-sha-Allah (this is what Allah willed)

Thank you for joining me.

Peace + eco-jihad.
Zaufishan, The Eco Muslim