Despite the current state of the world, I am taking a lot of refuge in the fact that it's growing season, and there are vegetable seeds to be sown. I’ve been finding the process really enjoyable, so I thought I would share what I am hoping to grow this season, in case anyone reading might also be planning to grow some of their own vegetables and would like some inspiration.
To let you into a little secret, I wasn't planning to grow many vegetables this year - only some salad crops such as cucumber and tomatoes and lettuce, and some beans and peas. But since this global pandemic has hit us, and changed life for the foreseeable future, I've decided to up my game. Personally, I feel more comfortable knowing that we have some food growing in the garden, and since I am lucky enough to have some growing space, I am determined to put it to good use.
Salad leaves
There are lots of different salad leaves that I would like to try, such as mustard and watercress, but I'm keeping it basic this year, and sowing the seed left over from last year - lettuce and rocket.
Why am I sowing salad leaves? Well, Sam quite likes rocket, and he is a bit fussy when it comes to vegetables. So as soon as he expresses any interest in trying a vegetable - I jump right on it! I also think growing salad leaves is an easy way of adding a bit of fibre and greenery to your diet, and you can cut leaves as and when you need them. They also grow well in containers, which is perfect when you don't have a huge amount of space. If I remember, I will sow small batches every few weeks for a constant supply over summer.
Herbs
Herbs are fantastic plants to grow when you are starting your own kitchen garden. They're generally happy in pots, don't take up much room and they transform dishes. For spring and summer, there are a few herbs that I use more than usual, namely chives, basil and parsley. My chives, technically a herbaceous perennial, come up every year, and basil and parsley are easily grown from seed. I think out of the three, parsley is the most versatile herb as it can be added to so many dishes and adds a welcome bit of green to a plate of food. I also like incorporating chopped leaves of parsley, basil and mint with other traditional salad leaves for a punch of flavour. If you can't get your hands on the seeds for any of these herbs, remember that they are often sold as plants in supermarkets.
Brassicas: purple sprouting broccoli and kale
I had a bit of a disaster with my brassicas last year, but I am determined to try them again this year. I have sown an early cultivar of purple sprouting broccoli which I hope will give me an earlier harvest. I believe it is called 'Summer Purple' (pictured above). Last summer, we got one harvest from this plant (before the caterpillars had their turn), and it was delicious. I am also hoping to try growing kale for the first time, because it is so nutritious and easily added to different meals (cut up into small bits of course, for the vegetable tolerator in my life).
I am choosing to grow brassicas for a couple of reasons. To start with, they have the potential to provide quite a lot of food, with multiple harvests of purple sprouting broccoli, and lots of leafy greens from the kale. If you have the space, it seems almost rude not to. My main reason for growing them is their high nutrient content - they are so rich in minerals such as iron, as well as numerous vitamins. And I want to keep us as healthy as possible this year.
From my admittedly limited experience, brassicas aren't hard to grow from seed, it's just keeping them safe from pests that is the challenge, so I'll try growing them under netting this year, and fingers crossed, hungry caterpillars shall remain the nightmare of 2019.
Swiss chard and spinach
If brassicas are a bit of an effort, swiss chard or spinach make a suitable alternative. Much like broccoli and kale, these cut and come again crops are highly nutritious and beneficial to human health. They also have a long harvesting period, which I am a massive fan of, as I don't have a huge amount of space.
Both the chard and spinach currently growing in my raised beds were sown last year, and I got a couple of harvests from them over the winter too. The swiss chard is the Bright Lights variety, which has colourful stems and really brightens the vegetable plot. The spinach I have grown is called 'Giant Winter', which is particularly hardy and recommended for winter harvest. I will use the last of it in the coming weeks and then clear the space for another crop. There are summer-cropping varieties of spinach that I have yet to purchase and grow, but I will if I can. I am open to suggestions if anyone has a recommendation.
Peas and beans
With all the space being taken up by various crops in my raised beds, it's quite nice to include a vegetable that just grows upwards - enter peas. There are other climbing vegetables of course - cucumbers and French beans are good examples. But this year I am growing peas especially because Sam loves them. They are easy to grow from seed, and if you feed and water them enough, you will get lots of pods. If you don't want to eat them fresh, they are easy to freeze.
I am also growing broad beans because they are a fairly early cropping vegetable, and beans are so versatile in cooking. Like peas, they can be frozen if you get a glut. Broad beans are usually quite vulnerable to black fly infestations, but don't let this put you off. Not only are broad beans easy to grow, they are also delicious and really satisfying to shell.
Courgettes
Two years ago, when I first started growing vegetables, I grew on a young courgette plant given to me from my mum and it went insane! The amount of courgettes we got from this plant became a little bit unbearable - it actually put us off, and I didn't grow courgettes last year because of our experience the year before.
But one thing I know for sure, courgettes are pretty damn fruitful, and in these times, that is just what I want - so bring on the courgettes! I was given some seeds for a yellow-skinned courgette variety called 'Atena', so I will definitely be trying them.
Courgettes are tender, so don't plant them out until the risk of frost has passed. Mature plants are also prone to a kind of powdery mildew on their leaves, as seen in the picture above. From my experience, they should still keep producing courgettes as long as they are watered.
Tomatoes
Last year I tried growing tumbling tom cherry tomatoes for the first time and I am now a convert. I have already ordered my plug plants for this year. I waxed lyrical about these in my fruit and vegetables successes 2019 post if you would like to know a bit more.
I would have always ordered plugs for this variety of tomato, but in the current situation, I am really happy I have ordered them because they are so reliable, compact and heavy fruiters. To keep them fruiting, you will need to water and feed them regularly - look out for tomato feed, which you can also use on other fruiting vegetables, such as courgettes and peas.
Potatoes
I have grown potatoes the past two years. They are fun to grow, and pretty satisfying to harvest. However, they do take up quite a lot of space, and pre-corona virus, I wasn't planning to grow any. Then the pandemic hit and I changed my mind.
I have ordered 'Charlotte' seed potatoes, which are meant to be a good all-round potato. I think potatoes in general are a useful crop to grow, as they provide vital carbs when harvested and they store reasonably well. If you feed them a lot, and water regularly, you should get a pretty good yield in a container (which is how I will be growing them), although If you do have space, grow them in the ground.
Spring onions
At first glance, spring onions feel like quite a frivolous vegetable to grow in a pandemic. But in the kitchen I find them so versatile, and I usually buy them year round, so it makes sense to grow them. I like to add them as garnishes to curries and stir fries, but I also love them in risotto, which I cook on a weekly basis. Spring onions grow easily from seed and you can grow a lot of them tightly together in a small space or container.
Berries
Its all been pretty vegetable-heavy post so far so I've saved the sweetest for last. I actually don't grow much fruit except berries - but berries are the best! Sam and I breakfast on them every morning and it's amazing to be able to harvest them fresh from the garden in the summer. They are packed with nutrients - just the thing to keep your immune system boosted.
Our blueberry shrubs aren't particularly established but I take pride in the small yield I get each year. Because they are acid-loving plants and our soil isn't suitable, I grow them in large pots of ericaceous compost, and each spring, I add sulphate of Iron as a fertiliser and soil conditioner. If you decide to grow blueberries, It is better to grow a minimum of two plants for cross pollination and better fruit yields.
Up until this year, I have grown 'Toscana' strawberries. However last summer they finally gave up and died. So I have ordered new plugs for this year, which I hope to receive in the next few weeks - fingers crossed! If you can get hold of some strawberry plants, I would recommend investing. They fruit so well in the British climate, and they are easy to grow in a container. In fact they are better grown in a container as they tend to be invasive in the ground.
Our raspberry canes are autumn-fruiting, which means we usually start harvesting from August. You can get earlier summer-fruiting canes too, but as there are other berries available earlier in the summer, I think autumn-fruiting raspberries are a treat to round off the season. It is too late to plant raspberry canes now, but look out for bare root canes in the autumn.
There are other vegetables I am hoping to grow this year, mainly varieties that are new to me, so I will see how I do with these before I comment further. I say hope because I haven’t yet got my hands on all the seeds, plants and supplies I’ll need. I normally would have been prepared earlier, and I have made a few hasty orders in recent weeks, so hopefully everything will come through in time.
So what are you growing this year? Are you growing more than you originally planned because of the pandemic? Are you managing to get everything you need?
Take care and stay safe everyone.
Thank you for reading and have a great week.
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