Vegetable Container Gardening

Growing your own fresh, organic vegetables is so easy to do and freshly harvested vegetables taste fabulous. Anyone can grow them and there is no need to have a large garden. Even if you only have a window box you can grow cut and come again salad leaves, radishes, salad onions and if you have room for a hanging basket then tumbling tomatoes to go with your salad!

If you are growing vegetables on your patio then any container or pot will do as long as it is at least 25cms or 10 inches in diameter and approximately 12 inches deep. Plastic pots are better than terracotta as the compost doesn’t dry out as fast but all pots and containers must have drainage holes.

There is no need to buy new pots – recycle where you can – potatoes can be grown in buckets, simply plant one seed potato per bucket. You will tip out a great harvest of lovely, clean potatoes!

Fill your containers with a good sterile compost which can be mixed with top soil to aid water retention but not garden soil as this can contain diseases. Putting a good layer of well rotted manure in the bottom of the containers not only acts as an organic fertilizer but also helps with water retention. If you have really deep containers you can place a thick layer of polystyrene in the bottom first. This will mean that you don’t use as much compost filling the containers up. Put copper tape around the top of the pots to stop slugs and snails which gives them an electric shock or use bird friendly slug pellets.

Remember that container grown vegetables will need watering properly and once every two weeks feed with a good organic general purpose fertilizer. Try to give them a sunny spot with a south or south west facing position.

The list of vegetables that you can successfully grow in containers is endless. I said earlier tomatoes can be grown in hanging baskets, one plant per basket, try Tumbling Tom or Balconi Yellow. Grow standard tomato plants in pots or grow bags – Bloody Butcher is an excellent tasting, heirloom tomato. One plant per pot or two plants in a grow bag with a cane stick for support.

Dwarf runner beans Hestia, dwarf french beans Purple Teepee and Kenyan Safari are great in pots and need no support. You could grow a climbing french bean, Blue Lake is good and use either cane sticks or an obelisk to support the plants. The more you pick the beans, the more they grow!

Courgettes and squashes can be grown and left to scramble across the patio or try Tromboncino courgettes and Festival squash which will both climb. These would look stunning growing up an obelisk. Defender is a good courgette variety that never fails to deliver tasty courgettes.

There are carrot varieties especially bred for growing in containers. Parmex is a round carrot and Little Finger is a small baby carrot. Give Pak Choi and beetroot a try. These are both easy to grow and the beetroot leaves can be cooked like spinach. One thing that you mustn’t forget is cut and come again salad leaves and salad onions. Buy a mixed selection of salad leaf seeds so you are guaranteed a colourful and tasty side salad.

Remember to water and feed the vegetables, enjoy growing them but most of all enjoy eating your own grown, organic vegetables!!

Unusual Tomatoes

There are so many tomato varieties available for the home gardener to grow but many of the more unusual varieties are becoming harder to find. The more unusual varieties are often different to the average tomatoes available in supermarkets and for sale by many of the major seed companies. You can grow yellow, purple, green, white and even black tomatoes with no extra effort.

These unusual varieties are often called “Ugly Tomatoes” but they really are not, they are how tomatoes used to be before people began breeding tomatoes to create the “perfect” tomato that everyone grows and loves.

The look and flavour of many of these tomatoes is fantastic. One excellent variety is a black tomato called Black Cherry which is very unusual and another fabulous tasting variety with a great name is called Bloody Butcher which produces an excellent crop of good sized tomatoes.

Many of the more unusual tomato varieties taste so much better than the average varieties that people like to grow. I am sure that once you have grown these unusual tomato varieties that you will never go back to the regular commercial varieties again.

Unusual varieties generally are heirloom varieties meaning that they are old open pollinating varieties. Many of these heirloom varieties are becoming very rare, in-fact some of the best varieties are no longer available as the seeds are so scarce.

Unusual tomato varieties are always fascinating to grow and you really should try to grow a few of these varieties every year.

Top 10 Tomato Varieties

If you don’t know your tomatoes then its time to learn. Check out some of our favourites from the list below.

• First In The Field is a heirloom variety from the early 20th century. It is a determinate (bush) tomato variety and is extremely good for growing outdoors, with a vigorous habit, producing a good harvest of very well flavoured red fruits.
• Bloody Butcher is another heirloom variety and although best grown under glass will grow outdoors in warm areas. Bloody Butcher is a very early and very productive indeterminate (cordon) variety producing excellent flavoured fruits.
• Pink Brandywine dates from the 1880′s. It is a indeterminate (cordon), potato leaf variety which can be grown outdoors. It produces late season pink beefsteak type tomatoes with slightly green shoulders. These can easily grow to over one pound in weight, meaty, with a superb rich flavour and are excellent thickly sliced and fried.
• Inca F1 is a determinate (bush) plum variety. It grows outdoors and produces a heavy crop of firm, meaty, plum tomatoes with an excellent flavour. A good variety for roasting and making sauces with.
• Ferline F1 This is an indeterminate (cordon) variety that is a recent introduction. It is tomato blight resistant and also resistant to both fusarium wilt and verticillium wilt. Ferline can be grown outdoors and produces heavy crops of fabulous, tasty tomatoes right up to the first frosts.
• Costoluto Fiorentino An open pollinated Italian tomato variety producing a large crop of huge, ribbed, delicious tasting tomatoes that can be used in cooking and sliced fresh. Awarded the RHS Award Of Garden Merit (AGM).
• Black Cherry is the only truly black tomato available. The flavour of these tomatoes is quite complex, sweet yet rich and they certainly add a bit of colour to your meals.
• Tiny Tim is a small bush variety that is ideal for planning in containers, window boxes or in hanging baskets. The small cherry tomatoes are bright red, almost seedless and taste great!
• Golden Sunrise is a golden yellow variety which is well known for it distinct taste. It is the greatest yellow tomato ever!!
• Green Zebra is yet another fantastic tomato to grow, they are sweet yet with a sweet sing taste. These plants can become quite large but they will be filled with golf ball sized tomatoes perfect for summer salads.

Tomato Soup Recipe

This recipe makes a tasty tomato soup that the whole family will love and enjoy. Even non vegetable eaters love it, try it out because you might be surprised at just how good this one tastes.

Ingredients

• 700 g (one and a half pound) fresh, ripe tomatoes
• 275 ml (10 fl oz) stock
• One and a half tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium potato diced small
• 1 medium onion diced small
• 1 crushed garlic clove
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• Salt and black pepper

How To Make It

• Saute the potato and onion gently in the olive oil for about 12 minutes until softened but not brown.
• Quarter the tomatoes leaving the skins on and add them to the pan along with the garlic and the basil.
• Add the stock and season with salt and black pepper.
• Cover the pan and simmer for 25 minutes.
• Next pass the soup through a sieve to remove the skins and seeds. This can take a while but is worth it.
• Check the seasoning, reheat and serve with crusty bread.

Tomato Seed Saving

Saving tomato seeds is a fairly simple process. Every tomato seed is covered in a gelatinous sack which contains chemicals that inhibit seed germination. This prevents the seeds from sprouting whilst inside the tomato fruit. In nature the fruit drops from the plant and slowly rots away on the ground. This is the natural fermentation process and it is during this that the gelatinous sacks are destroyed. To save tomato seeds yourself you need to duplicate the fermentation process. This will not only remove the gelatinous sack but also kills any seed borne tomato diseases.

Firstly cut the tomato fruits across the middle and then squeeze the tomato seeds and the gel into a container, making sure that you label the container with the tomato variety. The container of tomato seeds then needs to be put to one side to ferment for about three days. During this time the container of seeds will smell horrible and will go mouldy. When the mould has covered the top of the container add water and stir the mixture. The good seeds will sink to the bottom of the container and the mould and hollow seeds can then be poured off. Add more water and continue the progress until only clean seeds remain. You can also put the mould and seeds into a sieve and wash under running water until just the clean seeds remain.

Next spread out the seeds on a glass or ceramic plate to dry, which can take about 12 days, making sure that you label the plate with the tomato variety. The dried seeds can then be put into a labelled envelope. Saved seeds should store for 5 – 10 years if kept in the right conditions.

Top 10 Asparagus Varieties

This article covers the major asparagus seed varieties giving you an essential breakdown on the pros and cons of each. From the Connovers Colossal (an AGM award winner) right through to the Thielim F1, you’ll become familiar, and gain an understanding of them all. Each seed has different benefits and matching them to weather and soil type becomes an important factor when picking your seed.

Connovers Colossal

This variety has received the RHS Award of Garden Merit (AGM) as it is an outstanding variety. It is open pollinated, with both male and female plants, slightly bigger purple tipped spears and produces a huge yield for a non hybrid variety.

Pacific Purple F1

A variety from New Zealand producing heavy yields of purple spears which are high in antioxidants, tender, sweet and delicious eaten raw.

Gijnlim F1

This male dominant F1 hybrid produces heavy crops on sandy or clay soils early to mid season. High resistance to rust. Awarded the RHS Award Of Garden Merit (AGM).

Jersey Giant F1

An American male dominant F1 hybrid variety. It has superb flavour with thick straight spears.

Eros F1

This variety originates from Italy and is an F1 hybrid producing large green purple tipped spears. This will grow well in heavier clay soil aswell as sandy soils.

Jersey Knight F1

All male hybrid variety produces thick, tender, tasty spears. Slightly later than Jersey Giant so extends the season. Highly tolerant to Fusarium, Crown and Root Rot.

Martha Washington

An old American favourite. An open pollinated variety, strong growing and producing long thick spears. Resistant to rust.

Guelph Millennium F1

This all male variety from Canada has superb winter / cold tolerance. It is well suited to growing in Northern parts of the UK and is good even in poorer soils.

Backlim F1

All male F1 hybrid. Produces good yields of thick spears with well closed tips mid to late season. High resistance to rust. Awarded the RHS Award Of Garden Merit (AGM).

Thielim F1

This all male hybrid is a recent introduction. It is early to crop with a good yield and is less susceptible to Botrytis.

Asparagus & Red Onion Quiche Recipe

Asparagus quiche makes a lovely lunch dish and is delicious served hot or cold. Give it a try and let us know how you get on.

Ingredients

• Short crust pastry made with 6oz flour and 3oz butter
• 100g (4oz) Fresh blanched asparagus
• 225g (8oz) English Cheddar cheese grated
• 4 medium Red onions sliced
• Butter
• 5 Eggs
• 100ml (3 and a half fl oz) milk
• 200ml (7fl oz) Double cream
• Salt and Freshly ground black pepper
• Grated Nutmeg

Method

• Line a well buttered 22cm (8 and a half inch) flan dish with the short crust pastry and baked blind for 25 minutes at 190c / 375F / Gas 5
• Reduce temperature to 160c /325F / Gas 3
• Blanche the asparagus in boiling water for 4 minutes and refresh in cold water, then drain
• Saute the red onions in butter until soften for about 10 minutes. Place in a sieve and allow the fat to drain off
• Sprinkle the grated cheddar cheese over the pastry base and cover with the sauted red onions.
• Beat together the eggs, milk, cream and season well with salt, black pepper and a little grated nutmeg.
• Pour the egg mixture over the onions and cheese.
• Arrange the asparagus on the top of the egg mixture pushing it down slightly.
• Bake for 30 – 40 minutes until set.

Asparagus Seed Saving

The asparagus plant is dioecious meaning that it produces both male and female flowers on separate plants. Each flower has two sets of sexual organs with one set aborting as the flower matures. This leaves either all male or all female flowers on a plant. Asparagus relies on insects for pollination.

If you are going to save asparagus seeds you will need two miles separating different varieties as they easily cross pollinate. Day caging is a method for growing outbreeding varieties that normally cross pollinate when grown close together. This works for different varieties grown in the same garden or on the same allotment site. When the asparagus starts flowering place a cage over each variety. In the mornings remove one cage to allow insect pollination, replacing the cage at night. Repeat this process in rotation between all the cages and the varieties until the flowering ends.

When growing asparagus for seeds choose the best looking female plants with at least one male plant close by. The male flowers are bell shaped and greenish with the female flowers much smaller. The female flowers produce reddish berries which contain six seeds. You will need to protect the berries from the birds who find them tasty.

The ripe berries need to be collected from the plants before they fall to the ground. The berries then need to be rubbed over a screen to release the six seeds, which then need to be washed in several changes of water. Leave the seeds to dry completely for several days and store the dry seeds in a marked envelope for up to five years.

Growing Turnips

Turnips are not the large woody vegetable people suggest they are, home-grown turnips are actually a really tasty vegetable that is easy to grow.

The secret not to having ‘woody’ turnips is to harvest and eat them while they are still small. Leaving turnips to grow too large is the main reason that they become tasteless and woody.

Soil Preparation

Turnips should be grown in fertile soil that has been dug well the previous autumn. They prefer being grown in an area where the soil is firm yet free draining.

The spot should be in a sunny location away from high winds and frosts. These are the ideal conditions for turnips however, it is still possible to get a reasonable crop if these ideal requirements are not met.

Sowing and Planting

You can sow turnips right from March – August. Early varieties should ideally be planted from March up until June with maincrop turnips being sown in July and August.

Sow the small seeds thinly in rows that are ten inches apart, if you decide to grow one of the larger varieties you may wish to leave a larger space between rows.

Looking After the Plants

Thin the seeds once they are large enough to handle. Maincrop varieties should be thinned to eight inches apart while the smaller early varieties are thinned to five inches apart.

General maintenance is required, weed the rows regularly using a hoe or by hand, the plants should be kept well watered throughout the season and you should protect the plants from pests. Cabbage root fly is the one that most gardeners have problems with.

Harvesting

Early varieties should be harvested from May, the turnips should be between golf ball and tennis ball size. If you leave these too long the roots will become woody and tasteless.

Main crop varieties are harvested later in the season, usually in October or early November. You can begin harvesting these while they are still small because flavour is key, not size! While early varieties can be pulled from the ground by hand main crop varieties tend to have a long root, lift these larger turnips with a garden fork.

Growing Spinach

Let’s be honest, most people consider spinach as a vegetable that is unattractive and tasteless, something that only Popeye would dare to eat. Home grown spinach actually tastes incredibly tasty and is really healthy to eat. So let’s get rid of the Popeye image that everyone suggests and concentrate on how amazing this vegetable really is.

Soil Preparation

The soil and location are one of the most important things to get right when growing spinach, it’s going to be vital to your success growing this crop.

Spinach plants tend to run to seed easily therefore it is always best to sow them in between tall growing plants to provide shade against the summer sun. The soil where you intend to grow the spinach plants should be well dug, you can also add a general purpose fertilizer to the soil just before planting to give them that extra boost.

Sowing and Planting

Spinach seeds are grown like most others, sow the seeds outdoors in rows that are twelve inches apart. The seeds should be sown very thinly and covered with soil. These seeds can be thinned out again once they begin growing. With summer and winter varieties it is possible to harvest spinach all year long.

Looking After the Plants

The plants won’t grow extremely large so you should initially thin the seedlings to be 3 inches apart, once the plants are large enough to handle and cook each alternate plant should be removed and eaten.

Keep the plants weed free at all time, this is best done by hoeing around the plants weekly. It’s best to keep on top of this before the weeds get established and become a pain to get rid of.

Harvesting

Picking first begins when you are thinning and continues right until the plants are mature. Once the plants are mature they will be at their prime stage for eating. However in my opinion the key is to keep harvesting as required to avoid a glut at the end of the season.

You should be careful when picking individually not to disturb the plants next to the one you are harvesting.