Hi everyone!
Here is an update from the garden today. I am trying to get as much growing as possible as who knows when shops may run out of food. In these days so much is unknown it seems to be better safe than sorry.
If you are just starting a veggie garden of your own some easy to grow and fast return crops are a great way to start. Peas grow fast and you can pick the early first pea shoots as a crop as well as leaving some to grow to full size to produce peas.
These in the photo below are just a few weeks old and will be ready to pick very soon now.
Radish are also a very quick crop, being ready to harvest after about three weeks and a superfood bursting with goodness. I plant a few new rows every week to be sure of never running out. You can let a row go to flower and then to seed - after the flowers fade they form pods which when dry on the plant are very easy to collect to provide you with seeds for the next sowings.
Here is a great tip. Below is a red onion from last season that I just left in place. As you can see, with no help from me it has gone on to produce six new onions in place. These can be picked and used like spring onions for salads or left to form into bigger onions. Six new from one grown it seems like a good return for no work whatsoever.
Chard is a great crop that comes back year after year. These plants were given to me a a gift from a friend two years ago and they are producing lots of food. Pick a bunch of leaves and they just grow more , over and over so another good plant choice that gives a lot and requires little attention and no re planting.
These baby lettuce below are all volunteer plants that have popped up from seeds that must have previously dropped into the bed from a parent plant that went to seed. I just move such volunteers sometimes to make the most of space but don't even bother moving unless really necessary.
The celery is doing well and this plant is also from last year, now growing at speed again after sitting quietly over the winter colder months.
Some onions are starting to set flower buds. These produce hundreds of seeds and I just leave them go full term until the seeds start to fall from the drying flowers. There are so many seeds in each flower head there are enough to collect for sowing and the ones that naturally fall grow big areas of new onions without any help from me.
Potatoes are very rewarding to grow. I never buy seed potatoes but if I ever have a potato in the kitchen that starts to sprout I just slice the sprout off and plant it out so there is a constant production of potatoes. Rather than pull up whole potato plants I often just dig carefully to find a few potatoes and leave the rest of the plant in place to grow more.
Leeks are a wonderful vegetable. You only need to plant them one time. Once they are grown do NOT pull up but leave in place and cut the leeks as you need them by slicing off at ground level leaving the roots untouched below. A new leek will grow back from the root without any help which is so clever and such a gift for us gardeners!
Gardening is such a great thing to do. The quality and nutrient levels are so much better when you pick fresh from your own garden. The flavours are non comparable to anything you buy in the shops! It is such a fun and satisfying hobby to take up too! Working in the garden lowers stress and anxiety levels noticeably. With only a patio or balcony it is easy to start raised beds or container boxes of vegetables so no excuse not to get into a little garden on your terrace even if you don't have a full on back garden!
I hope you enjoyed my update. Drop some comments and let me know if you are a new or experienced gardener. Gardeners love to talk about all things garden related! lol
Good health and happiness to you all xxx