The Grow Your Own bug is irresistibly spreading, promising good results in containers as well as the open ground. But the smaller your growing space, the more your crops must pay their way. Site suitably-sized planters well, use good composts, water regularly and protect against pests for maximum harvest.
Only try plants that tolerate restricted growing space: herbs, leaf crops, some roots, peas, beans, tomatoes, cucumbers and courgettes.
But, apart from kale, forget about greedy brassicas. I was clearing away the last of my sprouts the other day and half the bed came up with the roots. What pot could handle that root system? Most soft fruit and a few top fruits on dwarfing rootstocks are also goers.
You should nearly always choose larger pots than catalogues suggest. I tried a dwarf Ruby Beauty raspberry in the recommended 10 litre pot, but after a year took pity on the poor wee thing and transplanted it to a bed where it’s spreading and cropping magnificently. I reckon a 25 litre pot would be the minimum without the help of unspeakable amounts of synthetic fertiliser.
Like us, most fruit and herbs, like rosemary and thyme, want to soak up the sun, so, if possible choose a sunny, well-sheltered place. But this could be too much for leaf crops, large-leaved cucumbers and courgettes. So give them partial shade.
Your compost is pivotal. Although organic composts have a poor track record, I fully recommend Melcourt’s Sylvamix Peat-free, but warn it’s hard to track down. CTS [ctsgardensupplies.co.uk], near Glasgow are stockists and Melcourt [melcourt.co.uk] do mail order. I’ve been given their new product, Peat-Free Planter for Organic Growing and will let you know how I get on. Otherwise try New Horizons Peat-free.
Dumpy bags for large planters are available from: LogsDirect [www.logsdirect.co.uk] and Scotbark [www.scotbark.com]; both with Glasgow outlets. They supply top soil and peat-free composts.
Alternatively, you could make your own mix using: 3 parts organic matter, like FYM: 2 parts sharp sand: 7 parts topsoil. For top dressing, make your own worm compost or a small amount of compost. Another possibility is to combine raw kitchen scraps with last year’s spent compost to make ‘compost in a bag’. [See my website: askorganic.co.uk ]
Whatever you use, keep up nutrient levels with a weekly liquid feed from flowering onwards. Liquid Seaweed is a good pick-me-up; potassium-rich tomato feed is ideal at fruit formation; and ericaceous composts are available for blueberries.
Regular watering is essential, especially as planters and raised beds quickly dry out. Apart from Mediterranean herbs, conserve water by mixing moisture retaining gel with compost. The pellets swell by absorbing liquid, releasing water as the soil dries out.
Although you’ll use plant feet during a wet spell to allow for drainage, replace them with a plant saucer to retain it in dry conditions. And conserve moisture by mulching. As well as proprietary brands and mulches, grass mowings are an excellent free alternative. Don’t let freshly mown grass touch plant stems.
There are lots of different watering systems available and if you’re after the most expensive strawberry in Scotland, the world’s your oyster. But for me nothing beats a hand hose. It’s relaxing, keeps you in touch with your plants and lets you nibble the odd tomato as you pass.
You won’t be the only grazer around. Container soil should be pretty pest-free, but use barriers to ward off invading slugs. I smear a line of Vaseline round a pot. It works.
You’ll also need barriers against carrot rootfly or netting to ward off birds.
Plant of the week
Narcissus ‘St Keverne’. Classic early, yellow daffodil with a particularly neat trumpet. Named for the village of Saint Keverne, The Lizard, part of the Cornish early daff trade.
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