Grow your own

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Posted at 11:02AM, 20 June 2008 by Kate Bradbury - Gardeners' World

There are plenty of reasons to pick up a garden fork and start growing your own: rising food prices, food miles, concern for wildlife and fear of pesticides are just some of them.

But when it comes down to it, which crops should we bother with? Few of us have the time or space to grow a wide range of fruit and veg and some crops are easier to grow than others, taste better and are much more nutritious if grown at home.

In the last five years I've gone from growing sweetcorn on my city centre balcony in Manchester, to being nearly self sufficient on half an acre of allotment, to having just a few pots of herbs on a kitchen window sill. Now I'm content with cramming as much as I possibly can into the garden of my rented house, while waiting the ten years it takes to get an allotment in London.

During this time I've had many success and failures. And while I certainly wouldn't try raising sweetcorn in pots again, there are some crops I couldn't live without growing each year, even if it's just enough for one meal.

Top of my list is the humble broad bean. Grossly under-rated, the broad bean comes into its own when eaten freshly picked (it's all about the sugar-starch ratio - the fresher they are the sweeter they taste). Try them lightly steamed in a salad with tomatoes, halloumi and mint, or simply mixed with boiled new potatoes and a knob of butter. I've never eaten a tinned broad bean and I wouldn't want to. I wait until mine are ready to harvest, making them all the more special. They're sweet, slightly nutty, and incredibly easy to grow.

Peas are another favourite, but snails and mice are quite fond of them, too. Like broad beans (and all members of the legume family), they taste much sweeter when eaten freshly picked. They never reach my plate, however, as when I do beat the snails and mice to them, I eat them raw out of their pods, like sweets.

Next come strawberries. Most supermarkets sell the Elsanta variety, which produces high yields and stores well, but lacks flavour. Commercially grown strawberries are also some of the most pesticide-ridden fruits available. Growing strawberries is a real pleasure. There are hundreds of varieties to try; you can buy the plants from almost anywhere and have fruit within six weeks. Protect ripening fruits from slugs and snails by placing straw under them and water the plants at the roots, to prevent rot.

Do you have any 'grow your own' recommendations or tips to share?

Beetroot is also fantastically easy to grow and well worth it. I love pickling my own (and preferably eating them with my broad bean and tomato salad), but can be persuaded to roast them or grate them to eat raw. The immature leaves are also delicious and look pretty in salads. Which brings me to salads. Baby spinach, rocket, cut-and-come-again leaves, butterhead lettuces and spicy leaf mixes. They're all delicious and can be grown in the ground, in pots, or indoors throughout the year. Wonderful.

Do you have any 'grow your own' recommendations or tips to share?

Comments

emmasophie

22 June 2008, 3:21PM
emmasophie

Another worthwhile crop not over-demanding of space are onions grown from sets. Easy to grow as long as (as with beetroort) they are not exposed to any frost. Here in the North, I avoid frost by not planting out until the 3rd week in May but earlier planting should be possible further south. You must dry off and store your onions where they are exposed to some daylight to avoid the possibility of the mature onions going soft and starting to re-grow.

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James

23 June 2008, 1:32PM
James

Totally agree with the broad beans - like peas they are so amazing out of the pods while you are picking them. But a garden without runner beans on a bamboo wigwam is just not a garden. Like spinach kale is rampant and grows back when picked, and is full of iron. Rocket is far more pungent grown at home than the bland tasting stuff in a supermarket. Wild strawberries - the price of these (if you can find them) are astronomical, but in the garden as long as you stop the runners from spreading too much (more strawberries = less flavour & size) they are one of the best treats for breakfast in the summer garden and they look after themselves pretty much.

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James

23 June 2008, 1:37PM
James

pink fur potatoes - how often do you see those in a supermarket (and only in the premium range price), and they are possibly the finest salad potato, whereas desiree are the best 'old' potato - the finest chips, mash, champ etc you can get and both are very easy to grow, at such a price saving. Amd then there's the humble carrot - what can be better on Christmas Day than pulling the desiree potatoes and carrots (leave the skin and the top of the stems on for extra flavour) and roasting them both in rosemary from the herb garden while you out on your Christmas morning trek up the hills? Yes I did just say the C word.

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joe2091

24 June 2008, 6:29PM
joe2091

Think of the credit crunch. Prices are increasing, so what would be better to grow your own veg because at this current situation. Prices could even increase.

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mazarine

25 June 2008, 12:59PM
mazarine

For early potatoes (or where space is limited) try growing them in ordinary buckets with holes drilled for drainage. The handles make them easy to move around and if you can wait until end of June, you should be cropping up to a kilogram per bucket. I couldnt wait and have been cropping from late May, averaged 600 gm per bucket.

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Val

2 July 2008, 12:09PM
Val

I have for the past three years grown salad leaves (cut and come again) in a grow bag! Just cut out the top leaving a one inch surround and hey presto you have an instant little plot! A packet of seeds will last all summer - about Â£1.49 - sow thinly and re sow every three weeks. You will be amazed at how many leaves you get!

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jane

3 July 2008, 2:13PM
jane

For the first year ever I decided to have ago at growing my own fruit and veg. Fresh strawberries every day that you have grown yourself taste so much better than the ones in the supermarkets. I have cherry, apple and pears trees growing. So much lettuce, i'm giving it away to friends who love it! I have tomatoes, peppers and potatoes all growing in pots on the patio, I didn't realise it was easy.The best thing is my son goes out to the garden everyday to water them all and eats the fruit as he waters!!

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Recipes

5 July 2008, 3:38PM
Recipes

We decided to become more self-sufficient this year and have turned half of the garden over to veggie beds. Looking forward to tatties, onions, asparagus (eventually!), tomatoes, peas, rhubarb and raspberries (and a few strawberries). We also keep 5 urban chicks and get fresh eggs every day - delicious. We have been growing raspberries for a good few years now and always get LOADS - far more than we can eat (even with help from the birds and the squirrels). We always get a fantastic rhubarb crop too, especially as our rhubarb is right next to the compost bins. I make jam with the "extra" fruit. Friends are always delighted with eggs and home-made goodies as gifts, and the barter system is alive and well with friends always willing to swap what they've grown for some of our produce. We also have a worm composter so all fruit/veg trimmings and egg shells get fed to the worms and in return we get lovely rich compost and liquid fertiliser. Complete re-cycling!

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