SOME people will do anything for a batch of early peas. An old trick which dates back to Victorian times is to germinate them in the greenhouse in tubes of newspaper. When the time comes to plant them out in the garden, the roots, protected by their paper sheaths, suffer minimal shock and the plants get established quickly. The newspaper decays naturally in the soil.
To make the tubes, take an old Irish Times and cut 7-inch strips across a double page. Roll each strip loosely to form a tube about 1.5 inches in diameter, snip one end and fold it in to make a base. Fill each tube with potting compost, placing two peas two inches from the top. Stand your tubes upright in a seed tray, and gird them with twine or a large elastic band. Water until completely soaked and leave in greenhouse or on a window ledge. The whole affair looks rather like a giant wasps' nest.
For early salad crops, sow lettuce and nutty tasting rocket in seed trays. When they have grown their second pair of leaves (and are less attractive to soil pests) transplant them into the greenhouse bed or cold frame.