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Growing your own |
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Growing food can help us to live out one of our most fundamental connections to the land around us, and enjoy delicious fruit, vegetables and salads fresh from the garden at a fraction of what it would cost to buy. Not only that, but by growing our own food, we have a reason to enjoy the outdoors, breathe fresh air, get our hands in the soil and get back to nature. Get growing Some top tips from our expert gardeners on how to make the most of your garden this year:
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Top ten unusual fruit and veg containers |
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Starting a vegetable garden doesn’t necessarily mean rushing out and buying new window boxes and expensive equipment. There are a surprising number of things that could be lying around the house which make perfect containers for growing vegetables, and don't forget that you can still grow food even if you don’t have a garden!
With a little help from Giles Palmer - Head Gardener at Chartwell, Kent - we have come up with some creative solutions to container vegetable growing: Goldfish bowls and tanks look wonderful planted with herbs – think greenery in glass. They also make fantastic wormeries! Old car tyres are great for growing potatoes - stack them up and paint in bright colours one Sunday afternoon Plant tumbling tomatoes or strawberries in a watering can and wind the creepers round the handle as they grow Keep an eye out for unusual teapots. When you find one, take the top off, fill with soil and plant mint - which you can boil for delicious tea later on From colourful clogs to an old leather boot, punch holes in old shoe soles for funky, creative plant containers. Wellington boots are great for leeks! Fill toilet roll tubes with compost and seeds and you can start off many kinds of vegetables - including beans, carrots and parsnips - inside. Transplant them into the soil after a few weeks without disturbing the roots, where the biodegradable cardboard will just rot away Buckets are ideal for all kinds of root vegetables – they are just the right depth and ensure your lovely parsnips won’t take over the whole garden Scour charity shops for earthenware pots - they come in a variety of shapes and sizes and can be very cheap Fill old shoeboxes with compost for growing lettuces - remember not to over-water! If your child grows out of their lunchbox, don’t just throw it away. Help them plant some herbs in it for an eccentric addition to the window sill or garden |
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Sow or Splurge? |
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More and more people are interested in growing their own vegetables to save money, but are not sure where to start. With some help from Head Gardener Tina Hammond from Felbrigg, Norfolk, we have put together some clever tips to help you get the most out of your garden. So whether you’re short on space, money or experience, here are the vegetables that are best picked from your own soil, as well as those that are just as good bought from the shops. Sow
Splurge
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10 easiest things to grow |
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The Trust has teamed up with Eat Seasonably to produce this no-nonsense guide to the ten easiest fruit and veg to grow... We're not stopping there, we've also got a guide of the best time to sow it, where and in what. Here's what's on the menu: Salad | Mint | Tomatoes | Strawberries | Beetroot Salad Easy to grow indoors in moist compost Leaves can be picked and will continue to grow back for multiple salads Add variety by planting different types of seeds, e.g. Rocket, green or red lettuce, or special salad mixes like oriental saladini Perfect for either the garden or an indoor window sill Seed tray, pot and soil Seeds All year round Salad Mint Can be bought as a young plant and will keep on providing plants Can be used in salads, cooking and drinks Perfect for either an indoor window sill or garden Pot Plant All year round Mint Tomatoes Satisfying and fun to grow, especially for children They just need a sunny space outside and a stick to support them Perfect for the garden Grow bag and soil Plant Plant in late May, harvest August to October Tomatoes Back to top Strawberries If bought as young plants they will produce fruit in weeks Can be planted in your garden, in a large pot or even in a hanging basket, so you can eat the fruit straight off the plant! Perfect for the garden Grow bag, pots, soil or a hanging basket Plant Plant between April and May, harvest June to September Strawberries Beetroot Beetroot is east to grow and is the nation's best-selling vegetable seed Can be sown directly into the garden or in a big pot Perfect for the garden Pot and soil Seed Plant between March and July, harvest June to October Beetroot Courgettes Easy to grow and generous in crop - one plant will easily feed one person Easiest if bought as a young plant and can be grown in a pot or in the garden Perfect for the garden Pot and soil Plant Plant late May to June, harvest late July to October Courgette Peas Peas can be grown for their tasty young shoots which make a great side salad Cut the shoots off when they are 3 or 4 inches high, or even leave them to grow into proper plants and harvest the pods Perfect for the garden Soil Seed Plant late March to July, harvest June to October Peas Back to top Dwarf french beans Easy to sow and doesn't need additional supports Perfect for the garden Soil Seed Plant mid April to June, harvest June to October Dwarf French beans Onions Easy to grow from sets (these are the tiny onions grown for planting) in the spring Perfect for the garden Soil Plant Plant late February to April, harvest July to August Onions Pumpkins These large seeds are easy to sow and produce satisfying results Great fun for children Perfect for the garden Soil Plant Plant late May to June, harvest September to October Pumpkins |
