Cover
About the Book
Title Page
Introduction
Containers
Unusual containers
Super scents
Tomatoes in pots
Standard currant
Magic carpet
A taste of the Orient
Salsa!
Salad in a trough
Cabbages in crates
Mini runner beans
Blueberries in pots
A box of mini turnips
Crops in grow bags
Herb pyramid
Herbs in hanging baskets
The ‘three sisters’
Autumn fire
Wacky wellies
Purple magic
Culinary container
Colourful Cape gooseberries
Wild strawberries in wall pots
Beetroots and carrots in pots
Tomato basket
Lavender and thyme basket
Pots of potatoes
Courgettes in containers
Grow mint in pots
Small beds and clever spots
Make your own raised beds
Plan your space
Plant thyme in gravel
Chitting potatoes
Make a rhubarb patch
Choosing small fruit trees
Making a seedbed
Improving your soil
A space for figs
Make compost with a wormery
Plant veg around the patio
Grow fragrant fennel
A wigwam of runner beans
Doubling up
Carrots in beds
Dig out perennial weeds
Blackberries on walls and wires
Step-over apples
Buying ready-grown plants
Grow your own garlic
TLC for plants and soil
Companion planting
A pretty and productive patch
Beautiful baby beetroots
Espalier apples and pears
Thinning and spacing between plants
Fruitful French beans
Composting in a small space
Grow a strawberry wall
Grapes on a sunny wall
Grow gooseberries in shady corners
Edible flowers
Fruit
Pick pears in their prime
Give melons a go
Choose the right rootstock
Get early rhubarb
Prune raspberry canes
Making fruit jams
Summer pruning
Plant bare-root fruit trees
Fruitful small plots
Protect fruit blossom
Make room for raspberries
Root new strawberry plants
Feed and weed
Preserve your fruit crop
Juicy gooseberries
Strawberries from seed
Jewels of summer
Pretty as a peach
A shady corner for raspberries
Success with strawberries
Herbs
Try something different
Take cuttings
Save your seed
Growing supermarket basil
Sow herbs in a grow bag
Divide herbs
Growing mint
Plant great garlic
Herbs in pots
The secret of sowing parsley
Prepare a brew
Know your tarragon
Bundle up a bouquet garni
Make more of your crop
Herbs for shade
Time to harvest
Freeze fresh herbs
Make a herbal tea
Make a lavender bath bag
Soothe the skin
Salad
Tasty winter salads
Grow watercress
Super salads and leaves
Quick and tasty mini leaves
Grow lettuce
Protect salads from slugs
When to water
Warm up your soil
Start salads in guttering
Try sprouting seeds
Early salads under cover
Ripen the last tomatoes
Grow rocket from seed
Swift spring onions
Keep sowing lettuces
Compost bags as growing bags
When to harvest
Super-speedy crops
Vegetables
Keep leeks healthy
Bigger, better onions
Move your crops around
Keep cropping for longer
Enjoy the sweetest corn
Fuss-free leeks
Try mangetout peas
Colourful carrots
Veg in the flower beds
Keeping warm in winter
Feeding know-how
Try something different
Make a wigwam
Outdoor aubergines
Make space for courgettes
Get a taste for winter chicory
Make raised beds
Easy onions
Success with beans
Plant asparagus
Beat blight
Prevent carrot problems
Enjoy a late crop of peas
Make onions last
Plant shallots
Boost your tomato crop
Brassicas under attack
Grow better spuds
Rent an allotment
Get composting
In the greenhouse and under cover
Spring clean your greenhouse
Prolong your peppers
Cultivate cucumbers
Don’t frazzle in the heat
Juicy peaches
Baskets of early strawberries
Turn up the heat
Hassle-free watering
Get better tomatoes
Success with seeds
Try biological pest controls
Aubergines indoors
Cloches extend the seasons
Windowsill propagator
Grow winter lettuces
Herbs under a bell cloche
Grow your own lemons
Growing peppers and chillies in pots
Wrap up your greenhouse for winter
Moving bananas under cover
Make your own mini-polytunnel
Grow basil indoors
Sowing seeds
Force mint in winter
Top tips for making the most of your crops
Sow peas in loo-roll tubes
Mulch to conserve moisture
Good housekeeping
Winter-prune apple trees
Make a string of chillies
Storing onions and garlic
Apples for keeps
Storing potatoes in sacks
Easy irrigation tips
Fill in gaps
Winter harvests
Winter-cropping kale
Cropping to encourage more
Planting in containers
Sow green manure
Keep sowing herbs
Parsnips for winter eating
Grow a quick crop of pak choi
Recycling ideas
Plant bare-root trees and shrubs
Watering wisely
Make your own comfrey feed
Common pests – vine weevils
Timely protection
Common pests – whitefly
Common pests – blackfly
Common pests – carrot root fly
Common pests – slugs and snails
Index
Picture Credits
Copyright
There is nothing quite like home-grown produce. Whether it’s a crisp apple, freshly picked on a summer’s day, or a handful of hardy vegetables and herbs to keep you going through the winter months, the benefits of growing your own crops are endless. Which is why the experts at Gardeners’ World magazine have compiled this collection of their most useful tips for making the most of your garden or allotment.
Whether it’s pointers on how to get started or expert hints for the seasoned gardener, 201 Ideas for Growing Fruit and Veg is packed with useful gardening know-how. From simple projects for growing veg in small plots, to inspired ideas for ensuring that your crops grow successfully year on year, you will find here a wealth of advice, all gathered from the years of gardening experience of the team at Britain’s biggest-selling gardening magazine.
Growing your own, and then eating the herbs, vegetables and fruits of your labour, is incredibly satisfying. It’s a great way to save money and keep yourself healthy, as you know exactly how the food you are eating has been grown. You’re also doing your bit to help the environment by cutting down on food miles to your plate.
Having access to an allotment is one of the best ways in which you can give your crops the space to flourish. But don’t worry if you’re one of the many held on a waiting list, or feel you can’t commit to such a big plot; the good news is that lack of space won’t prevent you discovering the joys of growing your own food – because even the smallest spaces can be productive. Whether you’ve got a tiny front or back garden, or even just a balcony, you can still grow a wide range of produce. The key is choosing the right varieties of seeds and plants to suit your soil and space.
To help make growing your own easier, here at Gardeners’ World Magazine we’ve collected together our top ideas into one book. You’ll find suggestions to suit all sizes and shapes of gardens, starting with a whole chapter on containers for gardeners with only a window ledge to spare. Try growing beetroot and carrots in pots (here) or herbs in hanging baskets (here).
For those of you with gravel rather than grass, try growing thyme between the stones (here). If you have wall space to use, grow plants upwards, such as wild strawberries in wall pots (here), and don’t be put off if your garden doesn’t get much sunshine – you can still grow raspberries in shady corners (here).
As well as advice on the best times of year to plant and harvest your crops, you’ll find tips on planning your space (here) and improving your soil (here), how to make your own compost to feed your garden (here) and how to ward off pests and diseases. This book has all the inspiration and tips you need for making the most of your outside space – so the sooner you get growing, the sooner you’ll be eating!
Have fun growing crops in unusual pots.
Time to plant: spring–summer
You don’t have to stick to conventional pots to grow vegetables – anything will do, as long as it has adequate drainage holes and enough room for the crop to develop properly.
Old fruit crates, olive-oil tins and metal troughs make fun containers that are large enough for crops such as baby beetroots and turnips, salad leaves, and all sorts of herbs. Or, as here, develop a kitchen theme with edible pot-marigold flowers and salad leaves bursting out of an old bread bin, or a colander of radishes.
Make sure the container drains properly by drilling a few holes in the base, if there aren’t any, and adding a layer of crocks over the bottom before putting in the compost. Some containers may be too well drained, such as crates and colanders, in which case you need to line them with perforated polythene in the same way as you would a hanging basket.
TIP Use a multi-purpose compost rather than garden soil, which can contain weed seeds.
Every time you brush past this pot, this highly aromatic collection of herbs will release their delicious perfumes.
Time to plant: spring
Most herbs originate in hot, dry climates and dislike British cold, wet winters. So growing such herbs in pots is the perfect solution, as they can easily be brought indoors for the winter.
Serrated-leaved Lavandula x christiana makes an attractive alternative to ordinary lavender. It’s on the tender side, but if you bring it indoors when the weather turns cold it will get it through the winter unscathed. Woolly thyme (Thymus pseudolanuginosus) also benefits from winter protection as it hates wet ground. This thyme has wonderful tactile leaves, which are topped by pretty pinky-mauve flowers, which cover the plant all summer.
Many herbs have colourful foliage, and sages offer some of the widest range of varieties. In this pot we’ve used golden-leaved sage (Salvia officinalis ‘Icterina’), but you’ll also find purple and tricolour types on offer. All sages produce purple-blue flowers in summer and are delicious in cooking.
A prostrate rosemary placed at the front of this pot helps soften its edges. There are a number of varieties that have this unusual habit, such as Rosmarinus officinalis Prostratus Group, and they make a useful alternative to the more commonly seen upright sorts. They’re just as tasty in cooking and are covered in flowers from spring onwards.
TIP Herbs love sunshine, so put them in the sunniest place you can. A south-facing spot is ideal as they can bake in the sun all day.
Growing tomatoes in pots is easy, if you keep them well watered and fed.
Time to plant: spring–early summer
There are hundreds of varieties of tomatoes available, and many have been developed specially for container culture. Although you can sow seeds early in the year, it’s often simpler to buy ready-grown tomato plants from a nursery or garden centre – especially if you only need a few plants. You can plant these outdoors in late spring or early summer, once the risk of frost has passed.
Choose a large pot with plenty of room for the roots to grow, as tomatoes are vigorous, and place in a sunny, warm spot. Water regularly, probably daily in hot weather, adding a high-potash tomato feed every week in summer. Watering is the tricky thing to get right with tomatoes: too much and the flavour is spoiled, too little and the fruit becomes marked or the skins split. Sinking a finger into the compost to judge its moisture content will help. If in doubt, little and often is better than no water, followed by a good soaking.
Good varieties include ‘Totem’, a compact bush plant that’s perfect for smaller containers; ‘Gardener’s Delight’, a cordon type; ‘Balconi Yellow’, which has small yellow fruits.
TIP Go for one of the bush types rather than a cordon variety, as they’re far easier to grow and look much better in pots.
Potted black-, red- and whitecurrants are fruitful and easy to manage in a small space.
Time to plant: spring–early summer
Trained standard plants are ideal for small gardens as they grow well in containers. Red- and whitecurrants are easy to train in shapes like cordons and fans to make the most of a small space. Prune red- and whitecurrants in winter, and blackcurrants after fruiting.
One plant can produce a substantial quantity of fruit, providing it’s kept well watered while the fruits are developing. Grow them in a large container or pot in a fertile, rich soil with plenty of garden compost mixed in, and protect the developing fruit from birds with netting.
Good varieties for pots include blackcurrant ‘Ben Sarek’, which is hardy and has a good flavour; redcurrant ‘Red Lake’, which produces masses of jewel-like fruits; ‘White Versailles’, a classic whitecurrant variety.
TIP Currants prefer cooler conditions and are happy to grow in some shade.
Recycled containers add an individual touch to your displays. The only limit to what you can use is your imagination.
Time to plant: spring
Indulge in a scented carpet of colourful leaves with this display of different types of thyme. Most garden centres will have a reasonable selection of varieties on offer, but to get the widest choice, buy your plants from a specialist herb nursery.
This display uses no less than six varieties of thyme: broad-leaved (Thymus pulegioides), lemon-scented (T. x citriodorus), golden (T. pulegioides ‘Aureus’), variegated (T. citriodorus ‘Golden Queen’), silvery (T. vulgaris ‘Silver Posie’), and common thyme (T. vulgaris). All these herbs enjoy a sunny spot and well-drained compost – use a loam-based John Innes compost with extra grit added to improve the drainage.
As an evergreen herb, thyme can be picked for the kitchen at any time of year, and any leaves you can’t use straight away can be dried for use later on. They don’t need much maintenance either. Just give the plants a quick trim if they start to become unruly.
TIP Make sure your container drains freely by filling the base with gravel or broken-up chunks from polystyrene trays before adding compost.
It’s surprising how many oriental vegetables and herbs can be grown successfully in Britain. This group of containers features some of the most popular types.
Time to plant: late spring–mid-summer
Lemon grass forms a big, impressive plant once it gets going, and is the centrepiece of our group. Its stems have an intense lemon-like flavour that’s delicious in Thai cookery. The plant can be harvested all summer long, then when autumn arrives it should be left to go dormant, then brought into a frost-free place over winter.
Thai basil has a different flavour to the Italian types of this popular herb. It’s a favourite ingredient in Thai and Vietnamese cooking. Plants are easy to raise from seed each spring.
The final two pots contain pak choi and mixed oriental salad leaves. You’ll find a good selection of seeds available in mail-order seed catalogues. Their only peculiarity is that they shouldn’t be sown until after midsummer in the UK. This is because they have a tendency to produce flowers instead of leaves if sown when the days are lengthening. Wait until midsummer – when the days start to shorten again – and you won’t have any problems.
TIP Planting in separate pots means you can get ahead on the lemon grass and Thai basil to get the most from them over the summer. Then you can add the pak choi and oriental salad leaves to the display at their optimum planting time.
If you’re a fan of Mexican food, this colourful collection of pots is perfect for you. It contains everything you need to make your own salsa.
Time to plant: mid- to late spring
Chillies are best grown in pots so they can be easily moved indoors when the weather cools. Larger-fruited varieties are great to flavour stuffing as well as salsa. The keys to success with chillies are to feed once a week with tomato food as soon as the first fruits appear and to keep the compost moist – dry conditions will cause the flower buds to drop.
Tomatoes also do well in containers, as long as they’re big enough. Large-fruited tomato varieties ripen best in the greenhouse, but smaller types do well outdoors. Keep an eye out for dwarf varieties such as ‘Tumbler’, which have been specially bred for growing in pots. Like the chillies, they also need regular feeding and watering.
Sowing a pinch of coriander seeds every few weeks during spring and summer will produce a regular supply of fresh leaves. If your plants do begin to flower, don’t despair – not only are the white blooms very attractive, but you’ll also get coriander seeds, which are equally useful in cooking.
TIP There is an amazing number of varieties of chillies from which to choose, but one good piece of advice is to check how hot the fruits promise to be – some can be absolutely scorching and you might find them inedible!
Plant an attractive container with lettuces and other salad leaves.
Time to plant: spring–summer
Salads are perfect crops for large pots and containers; they are quick and easy to grow and harvest. Salad leaves such as lettuces, chard and leafy mustards make trouble-free container plants. For one thing, they suffer less slug and snail damage than those grown in the ground, and they’re easy to keep well watered, as long as the container is a good size.
Planters like this trough look great and the depth allows for plenty of compost, which will help the plants grow well. Place broken-up polystyrene chunks into the base of the trough, as this will improve drainage and reduce the amount of compost you need to fill it.
You could make it a complete salad in a bed by planting a few quick-growing crops such as beetroots and radishes alongside the lettuces.
TIP For best results, use young plants grown in modules, although you could sow seeds directly into a planter of this size.
Grow big, leafy cabbages that are fit for kings. An old crate makes a good container to grow a couple of plants.
Time to sow: summer-hearting cabbages in early spring, winter-hearting cabbages in late spring, spring cabbages in midsummer
With their big, bold leaves and dense hearts, cabbages are remarkably attractive container plants. Grow them as mini-vegetables to be harvested when they are the size of a large cricket ball, but leave a couple to grow on to maturity.
Any good-sized container will do, as long as there is enough room to space the plants far enough apart, otherwise they will bolt. Large fruit crates lined with perforated polythene and filled with compost are ideal for growing about four plants: two to be harvested young and two to grow on. Make sure you choose really attractive varieties for the boldest, architectural look.
Good varieties include ‘Ruby Ball’, which is a beautiful red variety; ‘Stonehead’, a sturdy, green-leaved type.
TIP Protect from pigeons with netting, if necessary, and remove any cabbage white caterpillars as you spot them.
Dwarf varieties of runner bean make attractive container crops.
Time to sow: late spring
Pretty and productive runner beans grow well in a large container, and are happy to share the space with other crops or flowers.
Sow beans 5cm (2in) deep in modules or pots indoors and grow them on until the risk of frost has passed. In late spring or early summer, plant the seedlings up outdoors in a container filled with multi-purpose compost.
Space the plants about 10–15cm (4–6in) apart and provide a framework of twiggy sticks, canes or metal spirals for the beans to climb up. Underplant with trailing tomatoes, herbs or salads, or add a few flowers, such as climbing morning glory, for more colour. Water the container regularly, especially in hot weather.
Good varieties include dwarf ‘Pickwick’, which has red flowers and needs no support; ‘Hestia’, which has red and white flowers but needs pea sticks to scramble up.
TIP Feed occasionally with liquid fertiliser to give the plants a boost.
Grow this ‘super food’ in pots for the best results.
Time to plant: spring
This fruit is ideally suited to growing in pots, as it needs a moist, acidic soil, which isn’t found in many gardens.
Blueberries are a great, long-lasting and long-fruiting crop that should be planted in pots filled with ericaceous compost. They’re reliably fruitful as long as they’re watered with rainwater (which means setting up a water butt, if you don’t already have one). The harvest is also considerably improved if you grow two or more blueberries that flower at the same time, as they will help pollinate one another.
Blueberries are attractive ornamental plants in their own right and often produce lovely autumn colours as the leaves fade. They are tough, hardy plants, but the spring blossom can be damaged by frost, so protect them with horticultural fleece if a cold snap is forecast. They also need regular pruning, as the fruits are produced on two- and three-year-old wood and you need to keep a steady supply of new branches coming. In winter, cut out any dead, diseased, or damaged stems, plus those that fruited the summer before.
Good varieties include ‘Bluecrop’, an early fruiter; ‘Berkeley’, a vigorous, mid-season cropper.
TIP Protect the fruits from hungry birds by covering them with netting.
Make the most of your space by growing mini turnips – you can eat the tops and the roots of these tasty vegetables.
Time to sow: spring–late summer
Forget Baldrick’s tasteless old turnips – these baby roots are fast growing and full of flavour. Tender, young baby turnips are a revelation to anyone used to tired, old roots cut into chunks in a stew. The seeds germinate within days, which makes this a great crop for the first-time veg grower. They grow Incredibly fast, too – the first sowings are often ready to harvest in around 6 weeks.
Turnips grow well in large containers, pots or even old fruit boxes filled with soil or a soil-based compost, as long as they’re thinned to about 8–10cm (3–4in) apart. If they grow too close together they will bolt and produce no roots.
As they’re closely related to cabbages, the new young leaves can be harvested as a tasty leaf vegetable in early–mid-springl, when other crops are still getting under way.
Good varieties include ‘Purple Top Milan’, which has tasty flat-bottomed roots; ‘Snowball’, which is perfectly white with a delicate flavour.
TIP It is essential to keep them well-watered to get them to produce a good crop, as turnips grow so rapidly.
The perfect disposable solution for growing crops in small spaces.
Time to sow: spring–summer
Grow bags are a brilliant disposable method of growing crops in gardens where space is limited. They can even be used on balconies or put by the back door to provide fresh herbs and salads at arm’s reach.
Although most often used for growing tomatoes, you can also use them as a complete mini-veg plot by cutting out the top of the bag – you can leave a couple of strips of plastic or add a binding of parcel tape around the middle to stop the compost spilling out and to separate varieties. Then sow directly into the bag or plant up with young plants. Salads, such as rocket, lettuces and mustards, and round-rooted carrots can all be grown in this way, as well as annual herbs such as dill and coriander.
Once the grow bag is planted up, if you have space, sow some more seeds in modules a few weeks afterwards and grow them on alongside. These can then be used to replace any plants you harvest from the grow bag, or any that die.
TIP Make sure you feed and water plants in grow bags regularly, as they will dry out quickly in summer.
Herbs are the perfect plant for growing by the back door, then within seconds of harvesting they are in the kitchen, ensuring their freshest flavours.
Time to plant: mid–late spring
To make the pot pyramid, start off with a wide container and fill it halfway with John Innes No. 3 compost. Adding extra grit to the compost gives the herbs the good drainage they enjoy.
Choose a second pot that, when placed inside the first one, will leave a band around the rim large enough to plant in. Fill in around the second pot with more compost, then repeat the process with a smaller, third pot.
Once you have your pyramid of pots, plant it up with your favourite herbs and put it in a sunny spot. Turn the pot regularly to give all the plants equal sunlight. Keep it well watered and it should provide regular harvests of fresh herbs all summer long.
TIP A pyramid pot creates a simple feature for a sunny site, but do plant it up in situ, as the completed display will be very heavy to move.
Brighten up a dull wall with a glorious, aromatic basket of herbs, just asking to be picked.
Time to plant: late spring
Take advantage of a sunny house wall and plant up a fixed basket with a selection of your favourite cooking herbs.
Fast-growing leafy herbs make a pretty and practical hanging basket, and as long as they’re within reach, you will even brave a spot of rain if you know you can quickly pick a handful. Any type of hanging basket will do: rustic woven ones are particularly fetching, and large wire ones with coir liners, like this one here, are readily available at garden centres and nurseries.
Choose herbs that you use all the time: moss-curled parsley, marjoram, sage and thyme are always good for cooking, and chives, chervil and coriander are great for spicing up salad leaves.
Water the basket regularly once it’s planted, especially if it’s on a sunny wall. Pick the leaves regularly, otherwise the basket will become overcrowded.
TIP Pop in a couple of nasturtiums for a splash of edible colour.
Named by the Native Americans, the ‘three sisters’ – pumpkins, sweetcorn and beans – were grown together as the plants naturally help one another. Sweetcorn provides a climbing stalk for the beans; beans provide nitrogen to nourish the sweetcorn, and pumpkins cover the soil and help suppress weeds.
Time to plant: mid–late spring
Look out for dwarf varieties that are perfectly suited to growing in containers. ‘Hestia’ is an excellent dwarf runner bean that doesn’t climb.