There are few more satisfactory results of toil in the garden than bumper
yields of home-grown organic vegetables. That first dish of new potatoes and
baby broad beans is one of the high-lights of the summer.
Now is the time to make a start for the new season to guarantee delicious
early crops. The task may seem daunting, but there is not much to it: an
application of compost or manure to begin with, some hoeing during the
summer on sunny days to remove weeds and a keen eye for the odd pest, such
as rabbits or pigeons. The key is not to plant too much, as you will only
end up with gluts but, with a little planning, you should have crops that
last you throughout the season and into early winter.
Before you start
Make a plan and pace out the plot, deciding what you want to grow where. In
limited space with poor soil, you could build a raised bed to fill with
compost, or buy one ready made from a gardening catalogue. Fill with
compost. Strictly speaking, a rotational plan should be the aim, with crops
moving to a different section of the plot next year to build fertility and
break the cycle of pests and diseases. Send off your seed order to the
relevant company as soon as you can — most of them will take orders by
telephone and are happy to suggest a good alternative if your choice is out
of stock.
Prepare the ground
Wait for a warm day when there is “good drying”, ie, there is plenty of
sunshine and a stiff breeze. Don’t work the soil in the wet, as this only
causes compaction. Remove weeds to the compost heap and then lightly fork
over the plot, using only half the length of the garden fork — no deep
digging is required.
Any homemade compost you have can go on to the plot, with a third saved for
mulching to keep the hot summer sun at bay. If you have none of your own,
buy in some spent mushroom compost — about a barrowful per 30sq ft.
Good garden centres should stock it, or be able to give you the name of a
supplier; or, if you are lucky enough to live near a mushroom farm, you can
pick up some bags yourself for next to nothing. Most crops will do well
growing on compost alone and have no special requirements. Potatoes and
courgettes are the hungriest.
Prepare for planting
After the compost has gone on, rake the soil to a fine tilth or consistency,
with a structure like breadcrumbs. Don’t do it all at once, only the piece
you are going to use. A fine tilth is not necessary for potatoes, but for
small seeds, such as lettuce, it is essential. Use a stiff rake, rather than
a flexible metal spring rake, which is for clearing up leaves.
Use a string line for marking out your rows and always leave a stick in at the
end of the row so you know where you are, and a label stating what you have
planted and when. Follow the packet instructions on how densely to sow.
What to grow
Whatever you can get cheaply in the supermarket or at the farmer’s market is
not worth growing. This means don’t bother with maincrop potatoes, maincrop
carrots, onions or brassicas (the cabbage tribe). This will leave you more
space for gourmet crops and mean you can avoid having to deal with some of
the worst garden pests and diseases. I defy anyone to tell the difference
between a home-grown and a shop-bought onion; grow shallots instead, as they
are harder to get and are essential for dishes such as risotto and coq au
vin.
Finally, advances in the field of crop protection have at last brought us a
decent organic solution to the slug problem: the slug nematode, which is
sprayed on the soil in diluted form. This microscopic eelworm lays its eggs
inside the slug, killing it in the process. Expensive it may be, but it
works.
Early or “new” potatoes: taste like nothing else when dug
straight from the garden, boiled with a little mint and slathered in butter.
Seed pototoes should be left on the windowsill in a warm room for a week or
two to sprout or “chit” before planting 1ft apart in the row. Rows should be
at least 2ft apart. Ridge the soil over the emerging growth after a month
and harvest after 90 days.
Best variety: Red Duke of York. Starts waxy and gets progressively
floury as they are left in the ground.
When to plant: get chitting now.
Broad beans: leguminous crops, such as peas and beans, are essential
for putting back into the soil the nitrogen that has been robbed by previous
crops. Crucially, broad beans do not keep once picked, so shop-bought ones
are poor. Home-grown, on the other hand, are exquisite when caught small.
They are traditionally grown in double rows so they self-support but they
will need string around the outside of the row to keep them in order.
Best varieties: Aquadulce Claudia for spring sowing, or Bunyards
Exhibition for mid-season.
When to sow: coming up to the end of the season for Aquadulce, between
February and March for the Bunyards.
Peas: a fresh raw pea is a fine addition to the salad bowl but you need
to grow these early in the summer, as later they are troubled by pea moth
(maggots) and thrips (which kill foliage). Protect from pigeons throughout
their life cycle by wrapping chicken wire around the row. This will also
give them something to cling to.
Best variety: Hurst Green Shaft, by some way. It yields lots of peas
and is no trouble.
When to sow: from March to June
Chards and perpetual spinach: the best crops to take you through the
summer, autumn and even into winter. Sow them now, and again in July for a
winter crop. One tip, especially with the chards, don’t pick them too young.
Let the leaves get to at least 8in length. Pick any smaller and it will
check the plant.
Best varieties: Rainbow and Ruby are good, with brightly coloured
stems.
When to sow: April and May.
Salad: I grow lots of salad because bagged salad from the supermarket
is dreary and tasteless. Sow a pinch of lettuce every three weeks and
transplant when about 2in high. Best varieties: I like an honest
butter-head lettuce, such as Marvel of Four Seasons but the classy lettuce
is a chunky cos. Paris Island is good, too. For a really tight head, tie
string round the middle of the plant when it is three quarters of the way to
maturity.
To pep up the salad, sow a pinch of rocket and mizuna every three weeks and
harvest them at the baby-leaf stage. I also like to grow some dill: sow a
pinch in a short 1ft row; it makes a good addition to a dressing.
When to sow: March to July.
Radicchio and Belgian chicory: these two salads are for autumn and
winter but need to be sown in May and June. Radicchio grows as a green
lettuce, only for it to turn the colour of a white-ribbed cricket ball when
the temperatures drop. It is then ready.
Best variety:Palla Rossa is a reliable one. Belgian or Witloof chicory
grows like a cos lettuce through the summer. In November the root should be
lifted, the top growth cut off and the root placed upright in a pot of sand
in a dark, warm place. The root’s top should be above the sand.
Yellow-tipped white “chicons” will appear after three to four weeks.
When to sow: late May to July for the radicchio, April-May for the
chicory.
Spring onions and shallots: keep a regular supply of spring onions,
rather than culinary onions. Simply sow a sprinkling of seed in a drill
about 2ft long every month through the spring and summer. Shallots are sown
as bulbs as early in the season as possible, at the same time as potatoes.
They will be ready by the end of July and will dry naturally in situ when
pulled.
Best variety: the high-yielding, early-cropping Pikant.
When to sow: February to September for spring onions; now for shallots.
Tomatoes: essential for every garden, though they will have more
protection from blight if they are grown indoors. They are good in pots,
too, but must be fed weekly from the time the fruit has set. Stop a week
before eating, otherwise they will taste of comfrey juice or liquid seaweed,
the two best feeds. Stake them and, for protection against blight, grow
cordon (single stem) types.
Best varieties: Sun Belle is a delicious small yellow plum tomato,
while Sun Baby is a small and very prolific yellow cherry. Shirley is a
regular to large red with a superior flavour.
When to sow: indoors, until March.
Courgettes:can be sowed in pots or outside. Eat them small and cut off
any that get to marrow size, even if you don’t want them, to encourage
further fruits.
Best variety: Jemmer, a yellow cour-gette, as they don’t often appear
on vegetable stalls.
When to sow:mid May to early June.
Where to buy
Raised beds:Harrod Horticultural, 0845 402 5300,
www.harrodhorticultural.com. Mushroom compost:Turf and Stuff (08707
606130, www.turfandstuff.com)
Seeds:Simpson’s Seeds, 01985 845 004, www.simpsons
seeds.co.uk; W Robinson and Son, 01524 791 210, www.mammothonion.co.uk
; Seeds and slug nematodes: The Organic Gardening Catalogue, 0845 130 1304, www.organiccatalogue.com
