Gardening Tips

Your monthly gardening tips for indoors and outdoors

VEGETABLES

Growing vegetables can be an extremely labour-intensive undertaking, and before you spend time and effort creating a special area for vegetables, you should carefully consider if this is really necessary or if you will be able to find the time and energy needed for its upkeep in the future.  If only a very small amount of home produce is required or if space in the garden is strictly limited, some crops can be grown quite successfully in containers or in a variety of positions in the garden.   Tomatoes and cucumbers can be grown against a sunny wall, for example, or crops that can be easily picked, cut off at ground level or simply pulled up without causing undue root disturbance to their neighbours can be grown among ornamental plants in existing beds.  Lettuces for example, can be grown between flowers or as edging plants.  If the demands of maintenance allow and a large amount of produce is wanted, an area should be set aside for vegetables alone.  A vegetable plot is best situated in a sunny position at the end of the garden, furthest from the house, where it can be hidden from view, if desired, by screening plants such as rambling or climbing roses supported on pillars.  However, even in a large garden where a great deal of space may be available, it is best to limit the size of the vegetable plot to ensure easy management rather than growing crops in conventional rows, it is better to divide the plot into blocks, separated by hard paths.  This reduces the work involved in tending the plants, and the improved access makes it unnecessary to step on the bed between plants, which can compact the soil and hinder root growth.  The ground must be cleared of all weeds, deeply dug over and improved by the addition of well-rotted, humus-making organic matter, such as good garden compost, well-decayed farmyard manure or spent mushroom compost.  Once the initial cultivation has been carried out, all that is required is the annual application and raking in of additional organic matter to keep the soil rich and in good condition.  As long as the soil is not frequently walked on so that it becomes compacted, no further heavy digging will be required.