Using Your Garden to Grow Food
Attempting to grow your own vegetables can be very overwhelming. If the slugs and snails don’t get everything, then something else will. There are, however, some really easy edible plants which don’t take endless time and energy to grow,
Perhaps the easiest category of edible – or more precisely culinary – plants is herbs. Many of the more common herbs which we use in Ireland are native to the Mediterannean region, so it goes without saying that they like well-drained soil and as much sun as possible. Many of these plants are ideal in containers, and some of them, such as Mint and Oregano, are better in containers than elsewhere. Once established, most herbs require little water. Some, such as Rosemary, Bay and Sage, benefit from annual clipping, and can grow into fairly large plants. Others, such as Fennel, can become something of a nuisance as they set seed around the garden. And others, such as Basil, require a greenhouse or a sunny windowsill in order to last more than a couple of weks. Parsley, which comes in several varieties, is a tempramental plant with a shorter life-span than most herbs. Lemon Verbena, a small shrub, has deliciously scented leaves for use in herbal tea, while scented Geranium, good for garnishes and flavouring milk, also thrives in a sunny and dry environment.
One of the best ways to clear a patch of your garden is to plant potatoes.Choose an early or ‘First Early’ variety, and one which has good blight resisitance. Doing this means you can avoid the difficult task of checking for and controlling blight. Even if the soil is weedy, the method involved in the growing of them, combined with their large and healthy leaves, means that by harvest the plot has been dug over a couple of times. Nothing beats the taste of a freshly-harvested, home-grown potato. It’s a good idea, once the potatoes have been dug, to cover the area with black plastic or paper until you know what you will plant there.
Some vegetables and fruit require very little care, and look after themselves from year to year. One of the best of these is the Globe artichoke. It is a vigorous plant with beautiful grey-green leaves, and produces a good crop of very tasty artichokes each year. A similarly easy plant to grow, and also on the ornamental side, is rhubarb. Once established, the shoots just come out of the ground each year.
Soft fruit such as Raspberries, Gooseberries and Currants are also very easy to grow, The one down side is that the birds love them as much as we do, and scarecrows are totally ineffectual. If you do grow these plants, they will need to be protected from birds for the time they are in fruit with a plastic netting. For anyone with acid soil, and particularly those with peaty or boggy soil, blueberries and cranberries are very tasty and relatively easy. The blueberries which you purchase for growing in this way are very different from the wild billberries of the mountains, with much larger and much sweeter berries.
If you have the space, fruit trees are extremely easy and can provide for large chunks of your seasonal needs. Tradiitional varieties of Apple are worth planting for flavour, tradition and suitability to our climate, and fruit trees marketed by Coronet are grafted onto dwarf root-stock, which means they will never grow big, and will stay at ‘patio-size’.(Check out our fruit tree selection) Many trees with edible fruit are just as valuable as ‘ornamental’ plants. Mespilus (Amelanchier), the Strawberry Tree (Arbutus), Hazel and Almond are all attractive trees with edible fruit or nuts.
For anyone with a soft-spot for the unusual, one of the most delicious berries is the Ugni fruit, from the evergreen shrub Myrtus ugni. This plant, which is available from time to time in good garden centres, has a small but very tasty black berry - reputedly Queen Victoria’s favourite fruit.
Perhaps the easiest category of edible – or more precisely culinary – plants is herbs. Many of the more common herbs which we use in Ireland are native to the Mediterannean region, so it goes without saying that they like well-drained soil and as much sun as possible. Many of these plants are ideal in containers, and some of them, such as Mint and Oregano, are better in containers than elsewhere. Once established, most herbs require little water. Some, such as Rosemary, Bay and Sage, benefit from annual clipping, and can grow into fairly large plants. Others, such as Fennel, can become something of a nuisance as they set seed around the garden. And others, such as Basil, require a greenhouse or a sunny windowsill in order to last more than a couple of weks. Parsley, which comes in several varieties, is a tempramental plant with a shorter life-span than most herbs. Lemon Verbena, a small shrub, has deliciously scented leaves for use in herbal tea, while scented Geranium, good for garnishes and flavouring milk, also thrives in a sunny and dry environment.
One of the best ways to clear a patch of your garden is to plant potatoes.Choose an early or ‘First Early’ variety, and one which has good blight resisitance. Doing this means you can avoid the difficult task of checking for and controlling blight. Even if the soil is weedy, the method involved in the growing of them, combined with their large and healthy leaves, means that by harvest the plot has been dug over a couple of times. Nothing beats the taste of a freshly-harvested, home-grown potato. It’s a good idea, once the potatoes have been dug, to cover the area with black plastic or paper until you know what you will plant there.
Some vegetables and fruit require very little care, and look after themselves from year to year. One of the best of these is the Globe artichoke. It is a vigorous plant with beautiful grey-green leaves, and produces a good crop of very tasty artichokes each year. A similarly easy plant to grow, and also on the ornamental side, is rhubarb. Once established, the shoots just come out of the ground each year.
Soft fruit such as Raspberries, Gooseberries and Currants are also very easy to grow, The one down side is that the birds love them as much as we do, and scarecrows are totally ineffectual. If you do grow these plants, they will need to be protected from birds for the time they are in fruit with a plastic netting. For anyone with acid soil, and particularly those with peaty or boggy soil, blueberries and cranberries are very tasty and relatively easy. The blueberries which you purchase for growing in this way are very different from the wild billberries of the mountains, with much larger and much sweeter berries.
If you have the space, fruit trees are extremely easy and can provide for large chunks of your seasonal needs. Tradiitional varieties of Apple are worth planting for flavour, tradition and suitability to our climate, and fruit trees marketed by Coronet are grafted onto dwarf root-stock, which means they will never grow big, and will stay at ‘patio-size’.(Check out our fruit tree selection) Many trees with edible fruit are just as valuable as ‘ornamental’ plants. Mespilus (Amelanchier), the Strawberry Tree (Arbutus), Hazel and Almond are all attractive trees with edible fruit or nuts.
For anyone with a soft-spot for the unusual, one of the most delicious berries is the Ugni fruit, from the evergreen shrub Myrtus ugni. This plant, which is available from time to time in good garden centres, has a small but very tasty black berry - reputedly Queen Victoria’s favourite fruit.