Category Archives: The Plot

THE BIRTH OF A NEW VEGETABLE GARDEN

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Finally I believe I have found a new home for my veggies, and even though we have yet to complete on the purchase, I have started work on a plot that has been sadly neglected for many year, but promises much.

A gently sloping south-facing blank canvas

A gently sloping south-facing blank canvas

The plan is to initially create 14 raised beds in an area of approximately 12metres by 10 metres which will be fenced against all four-legged intruders. To the north of the plot in full sun will be two 10 metre x 5 meter polytunnels and one 10 x 5 fruit cage. To the east of the vegetable plot will be one 12ft x 8ft greenhouse and an assortment of cold-frames and propagating beds.

The first raised bed under construction

The first raised bed under construction

As of today I have beans, potatoes, onions, shallots, beetroot, carrots, parsnips and peas growing with about 50% of the garden covered to supress weeds.

The first raised bed awaiting black mulch and planting with beans and a few heirloom potatoes

The first raised bed awaiting black mulch and planting with beans and a few heirloom potatoes

My approach is to use as much of the plot as I can with the minimum of weeding. Some of the land had been covered so that is now growing roots and onions. I plan to work bit by bit on creating new raised beds and plant through black mulch as much as I can through this year.

Already starting to look more like a vegetable garden

Already starting to look more like a vegetable garden

IT MAY BE WET BUT THERE IS WORK THAT CAN BE DONE

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I am often asked, “What should I sow now?  What can I do when it is so wet? What can I do to be able to garden now?”  Well, it may be raining and pouring, the ground may be sodden, but all is not lost.

I am a passionate believer in working with raised beds.  Anyone who has them will be able to start work sooner because with a raised bed you avoid compacting the soil by walking all over it.  I am currently living in a little cottage with a tiny garden whilst I search for a new home.  Fortunately I have been able to prepare some ground for growing vegetables.  Three weeks ago during a lull in the rain I double-dug a strip of ground some 1 metre wide by 7 metres long.  Double digging is hard work but you only ever have to do it once, and if you create a raised bed as I have done you will never need to dig the ground again.  I covered the new bed with black polythene to keep any more rain off, having first put a good 5cms layer of well-rotted manure on the ground.  Yesterday the sun shone and I put two polythene cloches over the bed.

new raised bed with cloches

new raised bed with cloches

I have early seed potatoes chitting on a windowsill and next week I shall plant them through the black poly under the cloches where, hopefully they will grow on through wind and rain snug and warm. Don’t be put off by this ghastly weather. So long as you do not need to walk all over your vegetable patch and if you can either make cloches as I describe on the website, or, like me, renovate and resurrect old and forgotten frames, you can get lots of things started now. I dug over an old fruit bed during Christmas and created two raised beds which I duly covered with polythene. I had started some garlic off in pots in the greenhouse the month before and now I have planted them out, again through black mulch as I fear the beds are infested with weeds and I need to keep the ground clean. I have reduced the shock of transplanting by covering the young bulbs with frames and after a week or so, removed them. the large frame in this picture contains some of my Omani garlic that likes it hot, so I will leave the frame on until mid-summer.

Large cloche contains Omani garlic. In the foreground is Chesnock Wight and Carcassone Wight

Large cloche contains Omani garlic. In the foreground is Chesnock Wight and Carcassone Wight

Herbs in pots like chives, mint, and parsley should be given a good high nitrogen feed and put under a frame if possible to bring them on

Parsley, thyme and garlic keeping warm and growing on

Parsley, thyme and garlic keeping warm and growing on


I have a green house so am growing early crops and finishing off over-wintering salad crops, all grown in troughs and pots. If you don’t have a greenhouse then do try and sow seeds of lettuce, spinach, radish, rocket, carrots even in deep pots or long troughs and place under a frame or cloche.spinach seedlings in foreground, radish and salad crops background S Continue reading →

MORE AUTUMN SOWING AND SAVING

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My friend John Tamplin likes to sow his over-wintering broad beans on Guy Fawkes day and I will be doing the same.  However, I first must clear squash out of one of my greenhouses to make room.  The F1 variety is a cross between Crown Prince and a butternut type and is called Autumn Crown and tastes fab.  They are great keepers too.  The fruit are a golden yellow and nice and ripe now.  I’ll store them in the potting shed where they should keep into late winter.

In place I plan to sow home saved seed of the classic bean Aquadulce and  also a row of home saved pea called Douce Provence and a few more Omani garlic cloves too.  I like to grow these over-wintering crops under cover these days as the winters can be so cold and damp that once trusty varities suffer.  At least in the greenhouse I am reasonable sure I’ll get a good early crop.

I have harvested the last of the beans I am saving for seed to put in my library, grow next year and share.  They include the black-seeded runner bean Meesner, the show bean which is also delicious to eat when young called Jescot Longun.  This runner bean has grown to 23 inches this year.  A guaranteed show-winner.  Other beans include a fantastic climbing French bean called ryder Top of the Pole and a Swiss pole bean and a dwarf French bean also from Switzerland called Brown Swiss.

Yesterday I had a great harvest from my polytunnels which I brough home in the back of the car.  In the picture you will see Crown Prince squash and a small Pompeon squash too; Italian Treveso onions courtesy of Franchi seed, ruby chard, winter radish called Pasque, Jescott Longun pods, some salad leaf, Mizuna and red Japanese cress and hidden in amongst it all a few beetroot too and also some sweet pepper from Syrian seed I found in Aleppo last year.

THE POLYTUNNEL IN WINTER

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I am a passionate believer in the virtues of polytunnels. If you have the space they provide a far cheaper alternative to a greenhouse and will extend the growing season dramatically. I am fortunate to have three of them; two which are 30 feet long by fourteen feet wide and one which is ten feet wide by 15 feet long. This gives me the best part of 1000 square feet to grow in.

Succession is very important to get the most out of one’s polytunnels. In late Februaruy I will plant new potatoes. In March I will be planting up French beans and sweet corn. I use these poltytunnels to grow crops in isolation for seed so this year i will also be sowing Stenner runner bean as I have very little stock of this magnificent variety and in another polytunnel I will grow climbing beans.

Come June things can get a bit crowded as you can see!

Squash and sweet corn do particularly well