Garden update: what’s worked and what’s not!!
Hello friends! It’s October and our garden is looking a little… tired. We are currently in the process of pulling out the annuals, harvesting the last of the crops and cutting back the perennials… they are the ones that come back next year right?!
As we come to the end of our first year of gardening, I’m starting to compile a list of what what we will grow next year and what we will leave. The things I like to grow tend to be:
- Easy
- prolific
- Fast growing
- Pest / disease resistant
- fun
with that in mind, I thought I would do a run down of some of the things we grow this summer and what I would grow again! Let’s chat!
courgettes
courgettes are great! They are prolific, easy to grow from seed and super fun! I had LOADS of courgette plants and I plan on doing loads next year too! A few things you need to be aware of:
-easy to grow from seed
-when watering, avoid the leaves and direct water to the roots and around the roots
-pest and disease resistant
-feed regularly
-go for the classic green variety. I found the yellow ones and summer balls took a lot longer to grow and they were a bit boring.
radishes
I loved growing radishes! A year ago I didn’t think I liked radishes, but I grew them because I heard they were easy and fast and they were! So much fun! Plus fresh radishes are really lovely! Here’s some things you should know:
-easy to grow from seed
-pest and disease resistant (although watch out for catapillar attacks!)
-ready to harvest in about 4-6 weeks
-you can cook the spinach leaves like you would spinach, or eat raw as salad leaves
-you can also roast and pickle radishes which is great!
– pick them when they are small to eat raw, pickle or roast the larger ones for a better flavour
-I found my radishes did better in spring and late summer. They really kept me interested in the garden whilst everything else was growing
peas & beans
most peas and beans need support, but this is as simple as making a few cans into a wigwam and letting the plants ‘find’ them. Deffo would grow these again! here’s a few things you should know:
-easy to grow from seed
-fun to watch them climb up a frame or homemade wig wam
-they add nice height to your vegetable patch and because they grow up, they don’t take much space
-runner beans taste better when you pick them small and I quite like eating them raw
-dwarf French beans don’t need support
-pest and disease resistant
garlic
whilst people say you have to buy seedling garlic, I made the error of buying it from the supermarket… and guess what! It worked great!!!! It takes a long time to grow as you plant it in the winter, but you can either harvest full bulbs in the summer or pick out in spring as spring garlic, which is a lot like a spring onion. here’s a few things you should know:
– easy to grow
-takes a fair few months to grow but because it’s in the winter it doesn’t matter as most of your raised beds will be empty at this stage
-try to rotate where you have your garlic each season
pumpkins & butternut squash
I grew pumpkins and butternut squash this year because I thought it would be fun to give them both a try. Whilst they are seemingly quite different, they are very similar to grow. Here’s what you need to know
-east to grow from seed
-takes a LOT of space
-exciting when you see them grow
-pest and disease resistant
-feed often
-super fun, especially if you are gardening with a child
-you can grow in pots, especially whilst they are developing, but they work best in the ground as they sprout mini roots as they grow. Pot grown ones tend to produce less and smaller crops
herbs; basil, mint, coriander
Not all Herbs are equal, some of mine didn’t spout a single shoot, others were prolific! Personally I found basil, corriander and mint fantastic, but struggled with chives and parsley. Here’s what you need to know:
-they don’t have long roots, so plant in a planting bowl rather than a deep pot
-personally I grew mint from a small bush rather than seed and let it really go wild in a big pot. Mint is fun for children as it smells great
-basil is easy to grow from seed but likes warmth so it doesn’t really get going until the weather warms up
-Coriander was easy and fun to grow from seed
beetroot
I found beetroot a bit disappointing if I’m honest. They took wayyyyyy longer than I expected to grow and some of it never really got going. I might do a few next year but I wouldn’t dedicate much space to it personally. I’d rather use that space for radishes, peas & beans and courgettes.
carrots
I would recommend going for big standard orange carrots. I stupidly picked weird ghost carrots and they came out funny shaped, small and took forever to grow. It’s fun pulling them out but it’s orange carrots for me next year!
-look out for carrot fly
-easy to grow from seed
-fun to pull up!
Spring onions
all mine failed. No notes!
strawberries
major disappointment! They spread SO much and take up so much room! Not many were produced and the ones that did grow were hidden under leaves and I didn’t manage to get many before the bugs got to them. That being said, apparently next year will be better. Grow on seedlings which cost around £3.
-grow in pots to avoid them taking up too much space
-growing in pots also makes it easy to spot fruit
-come back year after year and yield gets better once they are established
plums
we planted Victoria plum trees, but we won’t get any plums for a couple of years. Our trees cost £15 each which is a steal!
apples
This year was a bad year for apples. But apples are brilliant! Especially bramleys. Fun for children and make great crumbles! Expect to pay around £25 for an apple tree and they might take a few years before you
-easy to grow
-good yield (most tend have alternate good and bad years)
-fun to give away as apples or crumbles
-years of food! Every garden should have an apple tree if there’s space!
blackcurrants
I bought a couple of blackcurrant bushes and made the currants into a coulis to have with ice cream. Omg! So good!!! Expect to pay around £10 for a blackcurrant bush.
-easy to grow
-come back every year
-makes great coulis
-they ripen at the same time so you can harvest in one go!
curry plant
I bought this from the garden centre as a little plant. I think it was £3.99 and it grew pretty slowly but it was super fun for Mary to smell! Would recommend if you have children.
Tomatoes
I have mixed feelings about the tomatoes. Some did well.. others did not! I would avoid fancy varieties and just go for standard ones like gardeners delight or cherry Toms.
-pinch out side stems so they don’t go wild with folliage
-feed regularly, some say once they start fruiting others say after the second batch of toms.
-wash and freeze to put into cooking if you have too many or make them into chutney. Especially if they don’t have much flavour.
Cucumbers
cucumbers are SO fun to grow! I had both regular cucumbers and snack ones. Both were pretty cool! They are fun to grow, especially if you have children
-easy to grow from seed or seedling
-pest and disease resistant
-fun for children
-can also be pickled
♥
phew! That was a LOT! I hope it was helpful!
Garden update: what’s worked and what’s not!!
Hello friends! It’s October and our garden is looking a little… tired. We are currently in the process of pulling out the annuals, harvesting the last of the crops and cutting back the perennials… they are the ones that come back next year right?!
As we come to the end of our first year of gardening, I’m starting to compile a list of what what we will grow next year and what we will leave. The things I like to grow tend to be:
- Easy
- prolific
- Fast growing
- Pest / disease resistant
- fun
with that in mind, I thought I would do a run down of some of the things we grow this summer and what I would grow again! Let’s chat!
courgettes
courgettes are great! They are prolific, easy to grow from seed and super fun! I had LOADS of courgette plants and I plan on doing loads next year too! A few things you need to be aware of:
-easy to grow from seed
-when watering, avoid the leaves and direct water to the roots and around the roots
-pest and disease resistant
-feed regularly
-go for the classic green variety. I found the yellow ones and summer balls took a lot longer to grow and they were a bit boring.
radishes
I loved growing radishes! A year ago I didn’t think I liked radishes, but I grew them because I heard they were easy and fast and they were! So much fun! Plus fresh radishes are really lovely! Here’s some things you should know:
-easy to grow from seed
-pest and disease resistant (although watch out for catapillar attacks!)
-ready to harvest in about 4-6 weeks
-you can cook the spinach leaves like you would spinach, or eat raw as salad leaves
-you can also roast and pickle radishes which is great!
– pick them when they are small to eat raw, pickle or roast the larger ones for a better flavour
-I found my radishes did better in spring and late summer. They really kept me interested in the garden whilst everything else was growing
peas & beans
most peas and beans need support, but this is as simple as making a few cans into a wigwam and letting the plants ‘find’ them. Deffo would grow these again! here’s a few things you should know:
-easy to grow from seed
-fun to watch them climb up a frame or homemade wig wam
-they add nice height to your vegetable patch and because they grow up, they don’t take much space
-runner beans taste better when you pick them small and I quite like eating them raw
-dwarf French beans don’t need support
-pest and disease resistant
garlic
whilst people say you have to buy seedling garlic, I made the error of buying it from the supermarket… and guess what! It worked great!!!! It takes a long time to grow as you plant it in the winter, but you can either harvest full bulbs in the summer or pick out in spring as spring garlic, which is a lot like a spring onion. here’s a few things you should know:
– easy to grow
-takes a fair few months to grow but because it’s in the winter it doesn’t matter as most of your raised beds will be empty at this stage
-try to rotate where you have your garlic each season
pumpkins & butternut squash
I grew pumpkins and butternut squash this year because I thought it would be fun to give them both a try. Whilst they are seemingly quite different, they are very similar to grow. Here’s what you need to know
-east to grow from seed
-takes a LOT of space
-exciting when you see them grow
-pest and disease resistant
-feed often
-super fun, especially if you are gardening with a child
-you can grow in pots, especially whilst they are developing, but they work best in the ground as they sprout mini roots as they grow. Pot grown ones tend to produce less and smaller crops
herbs; basil, mint, coriander
Not all Herbs are equal, some of mine didn’t spout a single shoot, others were prolific! Personally I found basil, corriander and mint fantastic, but struggled with chives and parsley. Here’s what you need to know:
-they don’t have long roots, so plant in a planting bowl rather than a deep pot
-personally I grew mint from a small bush rather than seed and let it really go wild in a big pot. Mint is fun for children as it smells great
-basil is easy to grow from seed but likes warmth so it doesn’t really get going until the weather warms up
-Coriander was easy and fun to grow from seed
beetroot
I found beetroot a bit disappointing if I’m honest. They took wayyyyyy longer than I expected to grow and some of it never really got going. I might do a few next year but I wouldn’t dedicate much space to it personally. I’d rather use that space for radishes, peas & beans and courgettes.
carrots
I would recommend going for big standard orange carrots. I stupidly picked weird ghost carrots and they came out funny shaped, small and took forever to grow. It’s fun pulling them out but it’s orange carrots for me next year!
-look out for carrot fly
-easy to grow from seed
-fun to pull up!
Spring onions
all mine failed. No notes!
strawberries
major disappointment! They spread SO much and take up so much room! Not many were produced and the ones that did grow were hidden under leaves and I didn’t manage to get many before the bugs got to them. That being said, apparently next year will be better. Grow on seedlings which cost around £3.
-grow in pots to avoid them taking up too much space
-growing in pots also makes it easy to spot fruit
-come back year after year and yield gets better once they are established
plums
we planted Victoria plum trees, but we won’t get any plums for a couple of years. Our trees cost £15 each which is a steal!
apples
This year was a bad year for apples. But apples are brilliant! Especially bramleys. Fun for children and make great crumbles! Expect to pay around £25 for an apple tree and they might take a few years before you
-easy to grow
-good yield (most tend have alternate good and bad years)
-fun to give away as apples or crumbles
-years of food! Every garden should have an apple tree if there’s space!
blackcurrants
I bought a couple of blackcurrant bushes and made the currants into a coulis to have with ice cream. Omg! So good!!! Expect to pay around £10 for a blackcurrant bush.
-easy to grow
-come back every year
-makes great coulis
-they ripen at the same time so you can harvest in one go!
curry plant
I bought this from the garden centre as a little plant. I think it was £3.99 and it grew pretty slowly but it was super fun for Mary to smell! Would recommend if you have children.
Tomatoes
I have mixed feelings about the tomatoes. Some did well.. others did not! I would avoid fancy varieties and just go for standard ones like gardeners delight or cherry Toms.
-pinch out side stems so they don’t go wild with folliage
-feed regularly, some say once they start fruiting others say after the second batch of toms.
-wash and freeze to put into cooking if you have too many or make them into chutney. Especially if they don’t have much flavour.
Cucumbers
cucumbers are SO fun to grow! I had both regular cucumbers and snack ones. Both were pretty cool! They are fun to grow, especially if you have children
-easy to grow from seed or seedling
-pest and disease resistant
-fun for children
-can also be pickled
♥
phew! That was a LOT! I hope it was helpful!
