I thought I might show you a window into my world of veg gardening, so I have taken a few pictures of my trial and error veg patch.
I feel there comes a point in life when you are old enough, ugly enough and wise enough to grow what you want rather than what you feel you ought and this year I have reached that point. This year there will be no more cannon ball sized beetroots that we never get round to eating and I am not packing beds with lots of spuds as I do not have room. I have refrained from seeding a whole packet of lettuces as who will eat 200 and I have tried to stick to the criteria of growing what is expensive to buy, what I what I like and what it is convenient to have a quick supply of in the back garden.
What I Planted in My Beds This Year
You might notice I have a few flowers. Sweet peas for cutting, marigolds and I also have some nasturtiums that have seeded from last year. I usually have a few self-seeded calendulas. I also have few tansies in the peripheral border along with my bush raspberries, rhubarb, and tayberries. I would like the patch to look pretty and flowers can help attract pollinators.
Marigolds, calendula, tansies, and scented herbs all help distract pests from the crops though I will be moving my nasturtiums to another corner as they have come up near brassicas and I really do not think that is a good idea with them also being so vulnerable to the cabbage white butterfly. Hence, I have also netted my brassicas. I feel a few cosmos look really pretty mixed in veg borders and I found room last year and it is great to have a few flowers to cut. I am pleased a large patch of sweet Cicely that has thrived under my old existing pear tree.
Lots of herbs including wild rocket (netted) and parsley grow in this bed, handy to pick as and when with a bit of lettuce. Salad bags are expensive and often wasted. Directly under my oak which unfortunately shades half a bed I have added wild garlic bulbs, whilst in the awkward part of the shaded bed I have spinach and chard. Having learned to pay attention to the total failure of a pumpkin in the shade. I feel spinach and chard will be good little thugs to make use of what could be a difficult spot. They are thriving.
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| Chard and spinach in dappled shade, garlic thriving on the corner, herbs one courgette and space in the middle for something else! |
I have planted carrots with leeks to help prevent carrot root fly. It also has the benefit of being a raised bed and we all know carrot fly will fly low. Though the carrots are doomed to be weird shapes because the soil had a bulk load of muck on it and will be too fertile for them to root down. I also feel leeks may be cheap to they are so handy to grab from the garden in the winter. I can never have enough so I will continue to drop them in any spare spots and puddle them in.
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| First early potatoes and runner beans and dwarf French beans. |
I have one row of first early potatoes. They taste great and worth growing as they can be overpriced. In my middle bed I have half spuds and half beans. Not broad beans. I am not a fan but runners on canes and as many dwarf French as I could fit that do not need big supports.
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| Sweet peas, baby sweetcorn and strawberries |
Behind my strawberries and sweet peas, I went for a large grid of baby sweet corn. This is a trial. Last year I grew tall sweetcorn, and it was Ok, but I expected more crop. The baby sweet corn is expensive, so I think worth a go. The soil is fertile the plants should pollinate. I hope it works.
I have never done a lot with brassicas before because they always get attacked but I managed a few holey savoy cabbages last year and they tasted so good first lightly tossed in butter, then adding cream cheese and walnuts. This year I have gone all out with sprouts also to give away as gifts for Christmas instead of wine! Purple sprouting broccoli, cabbages, pak choi and cauliflower. They are netted and I will feed them. Pak choi is pricy and heaven to eat with duck and soya sauce. So, let’s see how they do.
My large patch of garlic is thriving and in the same bed I have some space yet to decide where I have just pulled up the last of my leeks.
Planting in Pots
Tomatoes, cucumbers, and my Apache peppers I will start in pots in the polytunnels. There is not the space for all these essentials in these bed. My exception is one courgette which has plenty of light and space..
It will be trial and error and my decisions over what to grow have been ruthless, but they suit me for now and my small space, I hope.
