On Gardeners World, Monty Don suggested that when planting things in your garden or allotment, plant stuff you are going to use and eat.
Well, it will be two years in April since we have had our LG and I plant things that I quite fancy or want to experiment with, for instance Artichokes, Asparagus and sweet corn.
The artichokes got black fly and the whole lot of plants just died, and then in the autumn seem to have new growth and may be OK for next year.
The asparagus - well that is an experiment. It takes 3-4 years to establish the plants and its growth, before asparagus can be harvested.
The sweetcorn grew well and we had quite a few cobs and then suddenly most of them were eaten, we reckon by mice... Will try growing them again, but I will have to cover the plants with nets.
The strawberry bed this year was covered with strawberry plants, but we did not get any strawberries. Lots of flowers produced strawberries but none to to be harvested. All were eaten, by who knows what ? Another bed will have to have a secure netting.
Over the last two years I planted about 4-5 plants of pumpkins. Although great to see them grow to the size they become from a small seed, they take over all given space. We end up giving them away as they grow to be so large - up to 20kg - and are far too much for two people to consume.
So, next year I will maybe just grow one plant and just have a couple of pumpkins.
The squash planted this year did well and I enjoyed cooking them and sharing them with friends and family. The taste was just amazing.
The courgettes did not do well this year at all. It could it be that I planted, pumpkin, squash, and courgettes in the same bed and the whole lot just grew like the triffids and the plants got mingled with each other and grew over each other.
Last year we had a real glut of courgettes from just5 plants. Every visit to the LG during harvest time we came home with several kilos of courgettes and gave away so much too.
Next Year 2018
For next year, I have purchased lots of seeds from Kings catalogue that specialises in seeds for allotments.I think I chose stuff that I know I would like and will eat and share with friends and family.
Here is an example of the seeds I purchased. Certain stuff I have I not planted before, turnips, a variety of beans, chilli peppers, beetroot, fennel, caraway and bergamot.
Looking forward to spring next year to get the seeds planted.
