THE PRACTICALITIES
Get the right tools, add nutrients and don’t forget to make it beautiful
ROTATION
Many gardeners grow similar plants together, most often dividing their patch into four beds, each dedicated to a family – legumes; brassicas; roots and onions; and potatoes in that rotating order – with the rest (courgettes, salads and such) taking up spaces in each. It’s easy to plan and implies a cross of paths for access. You don’t have to do this: the only truly strict law is to not grow an annual plant in the same place as any of its family in successive years to prevent pests and diseases accumulating, and exhausting the soil of the particular profile of nutrients drawn up by that family.
SOIL PREP
Start with a weed-free patch. If you intend to follow a dig (rather than no dig) method, take a fork to the soil and turn it over, breaking it into as fine a crumb as you can, removing and incinerating any perennial weeds (such as ground elder, bindweed and creeping thistle).
Any annual weeds can be composted. The sooner you do this, the longer the winter has to break down the clods into something approaching a tilth
(or fine crumb).
If no dig appeals, cover the ground with thick cardboard and add a 15cm layer of compost: you can sow or plant straight into it. The card kills off the weeds and in time dissolves to create a deep layer of growing medium.
You can assess your soil type (roll a ball of it in your hands) and its pH (with a cheap garden centre kit) but it will all lead to the same remedy: whether it is acidic clay or alkaline chalk, or anywhere in between, the answer is always to add compost frequently.
ADD NUTRIENTS
The cycle of growing needs one main thing from you: to replenish the nutrients. Compost is the easiest and most perfect vehicle for this. Start a three-bin system if you have space or buy a turnable bin if you’re space-poor. Feed your heap/ bin with greens – grass cuttings, veg peelings – and browns – torn-up newspaper, leaves (see gardenorganic.co.uk for tips). Never add meat or eggs. The more combined greens and browns are, the more efficiently they will decompose. Traditionally, many gardeners spread compost over winter to allow the weather and worms to draw it into the soil, but you can do this any time of year that suits you. For containers, slow-release feeds and liquid feeds are essential (pelleted chicken manure).
INCLUDE NATURE
Gardening is harder work the more you try to keep it from where nature wants it to be. A sea of bare earth will have you removing all the weeds that germinate and replacing water that evaporates.
If you fail to encourage predators and pollinators to inhabit your patch, don’t be surprised if pests proliferate and fruiting is limited. I plant closely, sowing in swathes rather than rows, shaving a little off recommended planting distances to cover the soil; it maximises productivity, retains water and minimises space for weeds to germinate.
Flowering plants – herbs such as thyme, or green manures like buckwheat and clover – are crucial to attracting beneficial insects.
USE GREEN MANURES
These plants do one or more of the following: protect the soil from erosion or compaction, boost soil nitrogen, add organic matter, attract beneficial insects. Sow them whenever there is bare soil for any length of time, especially over winter. Phacelia and buckwheat are good for warmer months, field beans and tares are excellent for winter.
SAVE WATER
When your plants are at their thirstiest, rain may be in short supply. Capture what you can from a guttering system in a water butt, and have a tap for back-up if required. If you are growing in containers, use saucers beneath to prevent water running through, and consider a drip system: they are surprisingly cheap and easy to set up.
TOOLS
You’ll need a hand fork and a trowel for sure: the first is essential for loosening soil when planting and weeding, the second for creating planting holes. A fork and a spade may suit you too. If you intend to grow in rows, use a string line with an anchor at either end (two sticks will do). I always have a dibber, a pen knife and secateurs. Oh, labels: don’t join that band of delusionals who are certain they’ll remember what’s sown in that tray or this row.
MAKE IT BEAUTIFUL
If your veg patch is somewhere you want to be even when you aren’t working on it, it will be more likely to endure. Grow flowers, create a fire pit, or whatever you like to make it a place to relax. Have a choice of seats; you’ll want a break and you might even fancy being sociable.
GROW FOUR OF EVERYTHING
You’ll like some varieties better than others, some will thrive better in your conditions, and you can replace your two least favourites every year to keep your patch a place of flavour discovery.