My Tiny Plot

I’ve cleared out my seed box, cleaned it out and put everything back sorted into which month they need to be sown in. It feels good to be this organised at the beginning of the seed sowing season.

It’s pretty difficult to put seeds into the months they are sown in because most seeds have a period of a few months where they ‘can’ be sown. If you sow them at the beginning of that period then you’ll get an early crop, if you sow them at the end then you’ll get a late crop. What I decided to do is to put the seeds in the month that they can be sown in first. Then if I want to sow them successionally I will move them to the month after once I have sown them.

This works fine for most things except seeds that need to be sown more often than every month - example Lettuce, Radish and other quick maturing crops. These I put into a separate compartment for seeds that are sown virtually all summer at fortnightly intervals. And I just dip in and out of that one.

It would be brilliant if growing vegetables were more simple than this, but unfortunately it’s not. What to sow when was the one thing that I struggled with for probably the first two or three years of growing. And still the only way I can feel truly in control is to constantly check sowing times and reorganise my seeds yet again!

It’s time to start thinking about buying some seed. I spend weeks researching which vegetables and which varieties I will grow. Most of my decisions are made based on what I’m into eating at the moment. But I always leave room to try out new vegetables that I’ve never grown before.

Because my tiny plot is, well, so tiny. There are tons of fruit and vegetables that I’ve never grown before. Some because I just don’t like to eat them - Celery, Celeriac, Chicory - not really sure why they all begin with C…hmmm.

And some because I’ve not had the right equipment or the space. So with that in mind I’m homing in on some new veg that I’d like to have a go at.

• Seakale (Angers) - ever since I saw it featured on The Victorian Kitchen I’ve always been fascinated by what it would actually taste like.
• Melon (Sivan) - because now I have a huge coldframe I finally have the space to grow one!
• Borlotti Bean (Supremo) - I’ve never grown beans for drying and the red pods will look so good in my garden.
• Tayberry (Buckingham Thornless) - When I saw a Tayberry trained into a fan at Heligan a couple of years ago I’ve always wanted one. Now I just need to find a bit of wall to train it on.

That’s it for now. I’m sure I will think of more before the seed order goes in. I always do.

So I’m all like…

In my opinion there’s nothing better than snuggling up with a seed catalogue when it’s snowing outside! Okay there is one thing better, snuggling up with a seed catalogue and a glass of wine. But it’s only 2pm after all! What’s your favourite thing to do when the ground is too frozen to dig? And… what’s your favourite seed catalogue? Mine is Marshalls - they do do a nice layout.

Yep it’s that time of year again - time to get your Garlic in. Personally, I love the fact that Garlic goes in the ground this early. It’s a great way to get you focusing on next year’s season even while this one hasn’t quite finished.

Sowing Garlic now means that you have to really think about what vegetables are going to go where in next year’s garden. You have to make room and be confident that that little patch of land can stay undisturbed until late Spring next year (when you harvest your Garlic) - it’s a big commitment! Of course if you’re undecided and need the extra thinking time you could always sow it in pots.

This year I’ve decided to try my hand at Elephant Garlic. I’ve seen the cloves on sale many times but never bought any. So when I saw some at the Malvern Show last week I took the plunge. They really are big! Hence you have to give them more room than normal Garlic. Plant them 4 inches deep and 6 inches apart (2 inches deep and 4 inches apart for normal Garlic).

Elephant Garlic is technically a wild Leek which may account for its milder flavour. As with all Garlic its best planted in Autumn as it prefers a stretch of cold weather. And ideally the ph of your soil will be around the 6 mark. Garlic doesn’t like acidic soils. But for me the best thing about Garlic is that the slugs won’t touch it! Of course there is a possibility that the evil white rot might appear again but I’m taking my chances.

I took this photo today. The Cabbages on the left are coming up for ready for harvest. The ones on the right were planted a little later.

This photo I took when the Cabbage seedlings were being planted back at the beginning of April. You can just about see the Peas pushing through the soil on the left hand side too. What a difference.

Better late than never. I finally managed to get some manure dug into the garden this weekend. Ah - that’s better.

I just love the smell of well-rotted manure. It smells so sweet and earthy. The whole garden has been taken over by manure smells, it’s great!

I’m asked on a regular basis what to grow in the shady part of a vegetable plot so I thought it was about time I wrote a post on the topic. So here goes.

Firstly, you’re not alone in wondering what the heck to grow in the shady bit of the garden. Most of the vegetable books talk about giving plants an ‘open site’ ‘in full sun’. Which is totally possible on an allotment but is virtually impossible in your own garden at home. There are usually walls, fences, trees, and buildings to contend with making it inevitable that there will always be a ’shady bit’

Mtp has a shady bit - or if you’re going to get technical, a ‘north facing wall’. It runs down the right hand side. In the morning it’s in full shade, but in the afternoon the sun has moved around and it gets at least a couple of hours of sunshine before the sun drops behind the house.

This is the type of shady bit that is totally usable in a vegetable garden. The type of area that isn’t usable is an area in full shade. There are very few vegetables that will grow in full shade. If you have an area which is in full shade, your best bet is to plant some shade-loving shrubs or flowers - sorry, I know that’s not much fun but it’s the truth.

Now for the cream - what ‘can’ you grow in partial shade? The answer is, tons of stuff. Yey!

Here’s a list of the vegetables that will tolerate shade

• Leeks
• Kale
• Calvo Nero
• Radicchio
• Chard
• Spinach Beet
• Cress
• Radish
• Sage
• Rosemary
• Bay
• Lettuce (winter varieties)
• Mustard Greens
• Asparagus (although fewer spears will be produced)

And here’s a list of fruit:

• Alpine Strawberries
• Autumn Raspberries
• Plums (Czar etc)
• Pear (Conference, Emile D’Heyst etc)
• Morello Cherry
• Gooseberries
• Redcurrants
• Rhubarb
• Elderflower
• And Quince (apparently, although I have no experience of this)

You could also think about using your shady space to grow plants to use as Christmas decoration. I grow Yew, Holly and Ivy for that very reason. And of course there are countless flowers you could grow in the shade too. I’m no flower expert but I manage to grow Foxglove and Echinacea without too much drama.

There are also crafty ways that you can get around the shade problem. For example you could sow and grow Runner Beans in the sunny part of your garden, then plant them in the shady part once they have grown big enough to cling to a frame. I tried it last year and it worked a treat. The top half of the Runner Bean teepee is in the sun for long enough during each day to produce lots of nice long pods come summertime.

So there you have it; what to grow on the north-facing side of your garden. Most of these vegetables will, of course, produce more robust plants if grown in full sun. However, if your space is limited and you simply ‘have’ to make use of that shady spot then these are the vegetables to do it with. Good luck.

Yey! After a long, long wait it’s time to start chitting Potatoes. The garden centres and seed merchants are selling or delivering seed potatoes as from now so why not get stuck in and start yours off. I headed to the garden centre last weekend to buy mine. I went for Winston (First Earlies or New Potatoes to you and I) because the label said they had good blight resistance. 

I didn’t have any trouble with blight on my Potatoes last year but (as with everyone’s) my Tomatoes were ruined by blight and so I’m taking no chances this year. I’ll be opting for resistant varieties of everything capable of catching even the slightest bit of blight.

I’ve put my seed potatoes under the window in the potting shed - that way they are out of way of frost but have lots of light to enable then to grow nice, short, green sprouts. Make sure to look for the biggest eye and face that one towards the light. What you’re looking for is one healthy, big shoot, the rest can be rubbed off with your finger.

Good luck, chitters!

I love clearing up in Autumn and preparing the garden for winter. There’s something refreshingly final about clearing the ground, digging it over and starting again. My resident robin loves it when I get in clear up mode. He sits and watches me until I’m done and then swoops in for the kill. He normally goes home with a morsel or two in his beak.

However, the thing I love best is sweeping up leaves.  There are so many colours in my garden but I’m not sure why. I only have one tree (an Acer that I have had for about 7 years and it’s only ever grown an inch). All the other leaves are blown in from neighbouring gardens. I don’t mind because they’re all such gorgeous Autumny tones.

I cut down the last of the Runner Beans too and stored the poles until next year (making sure to scrape off all the dirt and bits of vine). I harvested the last of the Runner Bean seeds and stored them in an old tin box in the potting shed ready to plant next year.

I even had time to oil my garden furniture to protect it from the winter frosts, which, says the woman in the florist, are coming this weekend! Bring it on, I say. I shall be inside sat in front of my cosy woodburner reading seed catalogues.

I’ve always wanted my own branded seed trays, just like Monty at Berryfields. But it’s one of those things that you never see for sale in the shops and much less the opportunity to put your own name on it. And even though I did find somewhere online selling traditional seed trays, and also somewhere offering personalised branded trays I felt that they were charging too much to make it really worth while. After all, I am only going to fill it with dirt and leave it in my cold frame all winter!

So, in these cash-strapped times there was only one solution - to make my own. I used part of an old packing box for the tray and bought a stencil and permanent marker. I’m pretty proud of the result. After one season of dirt and moss it will look just as good as the real thing, I’m sure.