Tony Dickerson answers your gardening questions
Q What’s best to grow in a small vegetable plot? Olivia Harris, Plymouth, Devon A
Unless you have an allotment or very large garden it’s impossible to be self-sufficient in vegetables, so in a small space grow things you like and go for flavour!
Freshly-harvested early potatoes, spring onions, sweetcorn and baby carrots far surpass anything in the supermarket. Also consider cost: winter cauliflowers take most of the year to grow but cost as little as 39p in supermarkets, for instance. Opt instead for salad leaves – lettuce, chicory, chard, rocket, oriental mustard, parsley, lamb’s lettuce and purslane, to name but a few. Without doubt, these are the most productive and valuable crops in terms of money saved over supermarket vegetables. In a small space it’s important to focus on relatively fast and/or productive crops. To salad leaves add beetroot, turnips, radish, young carrots, spring cabbage, spinach, Swiss chard, kohl rabi, calabrese and early potatoes. Productive crops over a long period include tomatoes, courgettes, runner beans and climbing French beans. Kale is very productive for the winter months. Avoid long term crops and/or low yielding ones such as main crop potatoes and peas. Cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, purple sprouting and parsnips are also questionable except if they occupy space over winter that would otherwise be unused.
Think about the layout, arrangement and, in particular, check the aspect of your plot. Ensure taller veg don’t shade out your other crops. On sunny walls or fences grow climbing veg such as runner beans and climbing French beans.
Finally, rather than sowing direct in the ground where seed may take three weeks to germinate, sow seed singly into module trays in a cold frame. Once a crop has been harvested you’re able to plant small plug plants immediately, saving time and space. Alternatively, consider buying mail order plug plants.