The nasturtium is an easy to grow, maintain and popular garden plant. The flowers are available in different colours. Black Velvet has very beautiful, dark chestnut brown, almost black looking flowers with a contrasting heart. The flowers, leaf and seeds of this plant are edible. The flowers have a distinctive and slightly peppery flavour. Use them as a colourful addition to salads and soups. They also make delicious appetizers when stuffed with herb cheese or the like. Place these plants in a sunny spot with some shade and provide some support. People who do not have a garden can also enjoy this plant, as it can easily be grown in flower pots and boxes on balconies.Nasturtium attracts aphids and you can use this characteristic to protect other plants against them. Remove spent flowers regularly. Semi-hardy annual. Height: 30 cm.
Soaking: 24 hours
Sowing indoors: end of March - mid April
Sowing outdoors: middle of May - June
Germination: 10 - 14 days
Germination temp.: 18 - 20 °C
Sowing depth: ¼ - ½ cm
Sowing distance in rows: 25 cm
Plant distance: 30 cm
Plant position: sunny with well-drained and sandy soil
Flowering period: June - October
Soak the seeds 24 hours before sowing in tepid water. Sow indoors in trays or individual pots from end of March till mid April and put the trays or pots in a warm room or propagator. Make sure the germination temp. is about 18 °C and keep this temperature as constant as possible. Don't let the temperature drop during the night. Cover the seeds with a layer of potting soil. Keep moist and warm during sowing and germination. Cover the tray or pots with a lid or some clingfilm. After about 10 -14 days the seedlings emerge. Remove the lid or clingfilm when the seedlings have emerged. Harden the seedlings of for approx. 10 - 14 days by putting them in the sun during the day from the first of May or put them in a coldframe. Plant the seedlings outdoors in the middle May, when there's no longer any danger of nightfrosts. Put the seedlings on a sunny plot with free draining and sandy soil and keep the plants about 30 cm apart. Don't fertilize the plants because this causes to much foliage growth and not enough flower growth. Don't overwater the Nasturtium plants.
Sow outdoors on a sunny plot with some free draining soil and some shade, from May on, when there's no longer any danger of nightfrosts. Sow thinly in rows about 25 cm apart and cover the seeds with some soil or rake in gently. Keep moist and weedfree. After about 10-14 days the seedlings emerge. Thin them to 30 cm apart, when they're are about 5-8 cm tall. Thinned seedlings can be replanted. Nasturium needs a sunny plot with free draining and sandy soil. Don't fertilize the plants because this causes to much foliage growth and not enough flower growth. Don't overwater the Nasturtium plants. Nasturium is very attractive to lice and can be used to make sure the lice leave other plants alone.
