Growing your own Fruit and Veg

Growing your own fruit and vegetables is so satisfying and a great cost saving if you can do it.  We fully understand that it can be overwhelming knowing how and where to start. We’ve put together a few hints and tips to help you feel inspired and confident to grow your own!

If you are planning to start your first veg patch in your garden, then you may find a few of these pointers are helpful:

Don’t Panic!

It can often be a little overwhelming to start a brand new veg patch completely from scratch, but it needn’t be. If you approach it step-by-step it can be surprisingly easy, and incredibly rewarding. Use the cold, wet time of year to read around a bit and decide how big a plot you want to start with. We would really recommend looking into no-dig growing as a starting point, as this is very simple and straightforward. And we would also recommend starting out with just a couple of small raised beds (or equivalent) and adding to your plot as time goes on.

Decide where to situate your new veg patch:

You want to choose the part of your garden that gets the most sunshine hours, preferably in a nice sheltered spot out of the wind. A south-facing garden is ideal, but don’t worry if you don’t have this luxury. Just choose the part that gets the most sun and then choose plants to suit your plot – partial shade can offer great growing conditions for lettuces and salad leaves, for example.

Decide what you will be growing in – pots/beds/traditional plot:

This will largely be dictated by your garden – if you have a patio then pots make sense, or you could go for a wooden planter and treat it as a raised bed. If you have space for a raised bed (or several!) then this is ideal, or you could simply have a traditional single square(ish) patch of soil that you fill with rows and rows of veg, leaving just enough space for you to walk in between rows to be able to harvest crops.

Measure out your space & layout the garden:

If you’re going to build raised beds or dig a bed into the ground, you want to measure out your space first. As a general rule of thumb, 4 foot is the ideal width for a bed as you can access it from both sides and still reach the middle.

Try to leave enough space along walkways between beds so that you can easily wheel a wheelbarrow.

It’s quite helpful to use string to mark out your beds/walkways or draw it out on a piece of graph paper.

Build your beds:

If you’re going for raised beds, then these next few winter weekends are the perfect time to build them. Again, we would really recommend reading around the no dig growing as this is a very simple way to get started.

Make your pathways:

We highly recommend lining pathways with cardboard and covering them with compost or wood chips. But you might prefer a grass path or stepping stones. It’s up to you. 

Fill your beds:

Whether you’re growing in pots or beds you want to get plenty of good quality compost or well-rotted manure in there and dig it over really well. You can always line the base of raised beds with cardboard before filling them to keep weeds at bay.

It’s always a good idea to grow what you like to eat and cook with but it is also important to start with an easy crop that requires low maintenance and you can harvest in a short time. Not to mention, what you have space for. These space saver tips will help you make the most of your space, no matter how small it is.

Choose smaller plants that can be planted close together:

Wild Rocket, lettuces, spring onions, beetroots and carrots can be planted nice and close, so you’ll be able to fit far more into your plot.

Choose plants that provide a longer crop:

Cut & Come again leaves and fruiting vegetables like beans, peas and tomatoes that you can harvest from regularly for many weeks will give you more to eat from a single plant.

Look for dwarf and bush varieties:

dwarf bean varieties take up far less space than climbers. Likewise, bush tomatoes that can be grown in hanging baskets or pots without taking up too much space.

Grow vertically:

Make the most of walls with hanging planters – these are great for herbs and salads. Or you could put up a trellis to enable you to train courgettes and squashes up the wall.

Use suitable pots and containers:

You can grow almost anything in pots and containers, but make sure that they are the right size (particularly depth) for the plants that you are growing – some plants have shallower roots than others etc.

There are plenty of delicious fruits and vegetables that are easy to grow yourself. Here are a few of the best fruit, veg and salad crops for beginner:

Salad leaves:

You don’t even need a garden to grow your own salad leaves. Simply sow salad leaf seeds into a tray of moist compost, place it on a sunny windowsill, and enjoy a fresh crunchy crop in as little as three weeks. For an outdoor crop, sow your seeds into patio containers, window boxes, raised beds or the ground from late spring. If you sow more seeds every two-three weeks, harvesting individual leaves as you need them, you’ll prolong your cropping season.

Radishes:

Radishes are super quick and easy to grow from seed - you’ll be able to enjoy your own crunchy peppery roots just four weeks after sowing. They’re best sown outdoors in containers or beds around late spring (after the last frost). When they’re ready, use in salads, stir-fries and ramen, or add a thinly-sliced layer to a piece of toast and drizzle with salt and lemon juice.

Potatoes:

The easiest way to grow your own spuds is by planting seed potatoes in large tubs or bags on the patio. As long as you protect them from frost, you can plant your tubers in plenty of organic matter or compost from March onwards. Just remember to water them well and ‘earth up’ your potato shoots as they grow. Harvesting is extra easy - simply tip the container out onto a sheet of plastic and hunt through.

Peas:

Peas are the perfect crop if you live in a cool and damp area, and you can choose from a wide range of shelling peas, crunchy mangetout and sugar snap pods. Sow your pea seeds directly in the ground between March and June, remembering to support these climbing plants with canes and chicken wire. They’ll be ready to pick about two to three months later, between June and August. The best part? The more you pick, the more your pea plants produce! 

Spring Onions:

Spring onions produce a quick crop just eight weeks after sowing. Sow your seeds between March and July, and if you want to make next year's crop even easier, leave a couple of spring onions to flower and they'll happily self seed! These compact but tasty vegetables can be grown in patio containers, window boxes or the ground. Top tip - grow your spring onions next to mint to deter onion fly. 

Broad Beans:

Broad beans are the perfect crop for cold weather. Ideal for successional sowings in spring, you can also start your hardy broad bean seeds any time between November and March for extra early crops. Just make sure the ground isn’t frozen. Keep your plants well watered and provide support if they start to flop, using posts and string. 

Runner Beans:

Sow your runner bean seeds between April and July after the last frost date in your area. Runner beans are rampant growers, so give them a sturdy support and plenty of water as they grow. A single row of beans will reward you with a near constant supply of pods in summer provided you pick them regularly to encourage the plants to keep producing. Harvest the pods when they’re about 15cm long and still tender.

Onions and Garlic:

Onions and garlic are virtually maintenance-free vegetables! You can start onions off from seed between February and April ready to transplant outside in May. Alternatively, you can buy onion and garlic sets that are ready to be planted straight outside in spring. Either way, choose a sunny spot. Onions and garlic are ready to harvest when their foliage starts to yellow and flop at the very end of summer. Make sure they’re completely dry before you bring them inside to store.

Tomatoes:

The easiest way to grow your own tomatoes is by planting grafted and garden-ready tomato plants straight into tomato grow bags. If you choose a low-maintenance bush variety, it won’t require a support cane or the removal of side shoots as it grows. Young tomato plants do need plenty of water, and you should apply a high potash feed every couple of weeks.

Beetroot:

For a super-easy root vegetable, choose beetroot. Often grated raw into salads, and equally tasty roasted, made into soup, or pickled, it’s a delicious, versatile and colourful crop. Beetroot seeds can be sown directly into moist ground from March to July. As your seedlings grow, simply thin them to about 5cm apart. They should be ready to harvest between May and September once they’ve reached the size of a golf ball.

Strawberries:

Nothing beats the sweet, juicy flavour of sun-warmed strawberries picked straight from your own strawberry plants. Versatile fruits that thrive in patio containers, hanging baskets, window boxes, or the ground - just make sure you plant them in a sunny position and in well-drained soil.

Raspberries:

Raspberry plants are vigorous growers that are happy in raised beds, containers or the ground as long as the soil has good drainage and they get plenty of sun. Choose from summer or autumn-fruiting varieties, or plant a combination of both for an extra long harvest season. Just make sure to prune your canes at the right time every year.

Blueberries:

Blueberry plants are ideal for growing in containers and they look fantastic on the patio where their scented spring flowers and colourful autumn foliage bring seasonal interest. They need moist, acidic soil to thrive, so fill your containers with ericaceous compost and water them with collected rainwater. (Tap water contains lime and reduces the soil acidity over time.)

Figs:

Fig trees love sunshine and warmth, so plant them against a hot, sunny south/west facing wall. Because they crop best when their roots are restricted, fig trees make an excellent choice for containers. Protect your figs from deep frost and enjoy the taste of freshly picked, sun-warmed fruits at the end of summer.

Gooseberries:

Gooseberries are one of the easiest berries to grow as they need very little maintenance beyond occasional watering during fruiting. If you have a shady and unproductive corner of your garden, fill it with gooseberries to make good use of the space. Delicious in cakes, crumbles, jams and cordials - gooseberries can also be eaten straight from the bush.

Apples:

Apple trees produce fruit from mid-summer to late autumn. Plant them in fertile, well-drained soil that sees plenty of sunlight and give your trees a prune during the winter to keep them healthy. Dessert apple varieties are sweet enough to eat straight from the tree, whereas cooking types are great for baking into pies and sauces. Even if you don’t have space for a full-sized tree, you can grow compact dwarf varieties in patio containers.

Blackberries:

Blackberries are delicious fruits that grow in sun or shade, and don't need much attention to produce a bountiful crop of dark, glossy fruits. The sweet berries can be harvested between June and September and are delicious eaten fresh or baked into desserts.

Honeyberries:

Honeyberries are an unusual fruit that are high in nutrients and very sweet. Easy to grow, they’re tough and incredibly hardy plants that need very little attention. For the best yields, grow honeyberries in pairs to increase the potential for pollination. The blueberry-like berries make a delicious treat, straight from the bush.

Goji berries:

Goji berries are the perfect choice for a windy, coastal garden being fairly hardy and tolerant of salt. Grow your goji berry bush against a south-facing wall, or in a sheltered sunny spot, to give the fruit the best conditions for ripening in August. The ‘superfood’ berries contain vitamin C and protein, tasting sweet and liquorice-like, ideal for adding to smoothies and juices for a delicious start to the day.

Currents:

Currant plants are the perfect soft fruits for decorating desserts, making jams and jellies, or adding to sauces. They freeze well too, so you can savour the taste of summer during the winter months. Expect to see a crop from your bushes in June, July and August. Currant plants are fairly cold tolerant, so they make a great choice for growing in Northern gardens.

Being surrounded by plants can subconsciously make us feel calm and relaxed, providing benefits to our mood and health. This can increase productivity and improve air quality, especially nowadays where working from home became a normality. The importance of having plants, beside decorating your space and making the environment more welcoming, it helps absorbing pollution from the environment.

No matter what space is available, the pleasure in growing them will make home the quietest place in the world. Here at Salters HQ, we love to grow a lot of our produce and you’ll find a lot of recipes have been designed to use the very best of the season.