THE GOOD LIFE
Practical ideas and advice for would-be smallholders
THIS MONTH’S COLD, DARK EVENINGS are perfect for browsing seed catalogues and dreaming of the summer bounty you’ll be harvesting from your dormant plot. Don’t worry if your garden isn’t big enough to swing a radish in – you can grow veg and salads in the smallest of areas.
POTS
You don’t have to sacrifice your garden’s looks when planting produce. The stems of ‘Bright Lights’ chard add fantastic colour in a large terracotta pot, while the pretty flowers and pods of dwarf bean varieties, such as borlotti and yellow or purple French beans, provide visual interest and grow well in containers. Frilly salad leaves, including lollo rosso, frisee and oak leaf lettuce, can make a dramatic display, especially if arranged in geometric patterns across a large, wide planter like a trough or old bath.
WINDOWBOXES
Often sunny and sheltered, windowsills provide perfect growing conditions for many heat-loving plants such as basil and chillies. Windowboxes lack depth, so opt for shallow-rooted crops. Try cut-and-come-again
Plants in containers need regular watering – try not to let them dry out. Make sure the soil you use is filled with lots of compost or manure to keep moisture locked in.
salads, such as rocket and mizuna, or even a couple of rows of little peppery radishes.
HANGING BASKETS
Hung outside, tumbler tomatoes will cascade over the edge, and the bright flowers of nasturtiums look as good as they taste in salads. Just make sure your baskets are suspended from a sturdy hook, as plants can get much heavier once in fruit.
GROW BAGS
Cordon tomatoes (the ones that sprout up – you need to pinch out the side shoots) fare well in grow bags, as do courgettes, cucumbers and peppers. The trick is not to cram in too many plants – no more than two courgettes or cucumbers, or three tomatoes. Give your veg a little more soil by inserting open-ended pots (plastic pots with the bottoms cut off ) into the grow bag and filling with compost, then planting into them. Cane supports can be bought to keep plants upright.
TRELLIS AND ARCHES
Runner beans and peas are obvious candidates for climbing a trellis, but outdoor mini-cucumbers can work well, too, if they’re in a sheltered, sunny spot. Trained over an arbour, small brightly coloured pumpkins, such as ‘Munchkin’, make a refreshing change to roses, while the unusually shaped ‘Tromboncino’ (a climbing squash) will provide a talking point when hanging down through an arch.