GARDENING A delicious winter garden

CONTAINERS CAN BE MOVED AROUND TO SHELTERED, SUNNY SPOTS

n winter the changing angle and position of the sun plunges previously sunny areas into shade.

As most winter herbs, veggies and flowers are sun lovers, making use of the sunspots becomes one of the challenges of winter gardening. The first resort is containers and they can be extremely productive. One can grow broccoli, baby cabbage, baby carrots, rocket, spinach or Swiss chard, loose-leaf lettuce and Asian greens, such as mizuna, pak choi, tatsoi and red giant mustard in containers.

For instant greens, consider the Simply Delicious planted-up mixes that can be kept in their pots and offer a good variety of edible leaves. The “Wonder Wok” mix contains Asian greens, mustard, kale and bok choy, while “Kale Storm” contains purple, green and blue-leaved kale.

Lettuce also thrives in sunny containers and a mix of green and red-leaved lettuce, as well as rocket, endive and radicchio are combined in the Simply Salad “Alfresco” Mix.

Perennial herbs (thyme, rosemary, winter savory, oregano, parsley, chives) can be planted with the vegetables or on their own and mixed plantings can be brightened up with edible winter flowers such as calendula, violas and nasturtiums.

The Simply Herbs range for winter include oregano, rosemary, parsley and thyme and all are mature plants that can be harvested from the get-go.

If you opt for a container garden on a balcony, bear in mind the weight of containers filled with soil, plus your weight. Terracotta pots look great but they do get very heavy!

Space is also an issue, so choose compact, upright growing veggies.

Containers must have drainage holes and be wide and deep enough. Carrots and lettuce do well in a deeptrough like container. A large, wide container planted up with four to six Swiss chard “Bright Lights” or Red Giant mustard or a mix of the two can be a very attractive feature.

Pak choi, tatsoi and mizuna would probably be best planted on their own in containers as they can develop into quite substantial plants.

The same applies to the Brassicas and having them in individual containers also makes it easier to meet their specific water and nutrition needs.

The other important consideration is the growing medium. Don’t use garden soil because it becomes too compact and doesn’t drain well enough. Commercial potting soil should be mixed with palm peat, or vermiculite improves water retention. Use a liquid fertiliser like Margaret Roberts Organic Supercharger to make nutrients immediately available to the plants.

Check the containers daily. The soil should be moist but never dry out. Foliar feed with a liquid fertiliser at half strength once a week. This is especially important for Brassicas (which includes the Asian greens) because they are heavy feeders.

Cover the surface with a light mulch of leaves or peanut shells. This protects the roots and the soil life. Regular watering with a watering can may compact the soil and mulch prevents this.

It’s a good idea to use a soft nozzle on the watering can or hose.