Growing Vegetables in Small Spaces by Geoff Hawkins

Geoff Hawkins spoke to the Gardening Club about Growing Vegetables in Small Spaces on 17th February 2021.

Containers can be anything, eg bag for life, wine boxes.

Grow colourful veg, eg beet and chard to look attractive in the garden.

Container should be narrow at the base than at the top so that you can easily get stuff out.

Wall/fence containers, eg guttering – slope the gutter so that water can run the whole length.  Good for spinach and strawberries.

Raised beds can be made from pallets.

Planters, eg allotment ladder.

Where to grow?  Sunny, though runner beans like a bit shadier.

Be aware of micro pockets int he garden which may be hot and dry or cold and wet and where is sunny and where shady.

Wheelbarrows – a builders rather than a gardeners as they are designed to fit through doorways and gardening ones don’t always.

Digging – if there is compacted soil (pan) it needs digging.  Digging will also help removed roots of perennial weeds and stones.

No dig method – improves oil from top down.  You put compost matter on top of soil and worms take it down. It improves the structure of the soil.

Green manures such as cilantro, mustard, clovers, lupins, alfalfa and fenugreek.  They are grown and dug in.

Rotovators as a no-no as they destroy worms and soils structure.

Green manure – sow immediately after pulling previous plants out.  It protects the soil and stops weeds growing.

Lime – does my soil need lime?  It’s worth looking at.

Containers grow in rotation – change crop in containers each year.

Veg – what is NOT worth growing:

– peas – frozen are very good so not worth growing, but mange tout are good to grow

Grow what you enjoy eating.

Quantities: sow according to what you need, not a whole packet.

Continuity and successional sowing.