Rekindled

2009 has been a mixed bag for me in terms of gardening, but I think I have made a lot of progress. There have been several failures and one or two disasters, but lots of lessons learned, and handful of big successes.  To be honest I have enjoyed myself either way.  There is something about being out in the sunshine with your hands in the soil that you just can’t beat!

For me, the biggest success is that my garden looks much tidier and is much easier to work with than it was at the beginning of the year. I drafted in my husband to help and together we cleared all the existing beds and dug up a new one.  I am finally free from planting in pots!  I also pulled up some of the patio so now we even more space for growing vegetables. My first batch of homemade compost was ready and I have been spreading it over the beds (I am letting the weather and the worms do the hard work!) so hopefully the soil is gradually improving. I also installed a waterbutt and a second compost bin.

There were a few other highlights worth mentioning. The most surprising (I jumped out of my skin!) was finding a toad hiding in my potato planters!  We have no idea where he came from, but he hung around for a couple of days and then disappeared again.  In August, I was given an apple tree for my birthday, complete with 2 apples growing on it, which has now been planted in its new home. I also had fantastic crops of tomatoes, garlic and potatoes. I had grown tomatoes and potatoes last year, but it was my first time growing garlic this year and I was surprised how easy it was.

I have been busy experimenting as well. I got a mini-growhouse so I could start sowing seeds earlier in the year, which was fantastic. What was not so fantastic was when it blew over on a windy day and all the seedlings were scattered across the garden, so now I have a large bucket of stones on the bottom shelf acting as an anchor. Also after about mid-May it started to get too hot, and many seedlings just shrivelled up and died, so next year I will remember to take the cover off once the weather gets warmer. I also tried using lemonade bottles (with the bottoms cut off) as mini-cloches for seedlings that I had planted out. This helped to protect them from the weather as well as my cats and the army of slugs that live in my garden, and worked really well. I also found that loo rolls, cut in half across the middle, make great seedling pots.

There were also quite a lot of plants that completely failed. I won’t list them all (it’s a looong list!) but the main reasons were: being blown over in the mini-growhouse; being eaten by slugs; being dug up by my cats; and getting too hot in the mini-growhouse. I have dealt with 1 and 4 from the list now, and for number 2 I have found Slug Stop (white, non-toxic granules) works really well. Apart from the lemonade bottle cloches, I haven’t yet come up with a plan to protect plants from the cats, so this will be an aim for next year.

And finally, as I try and decide what seeds to order for this season, this is what I am planning/looking forward to (among other things) in 2010:

• My first rhubarb harvest – planted this year, so a long wait!
• Trying different varieties of tomatoes, especially plum and cherry varieties.
• Apples from my apple tree.
• Working out how to stop my cats digging everything up!
• Being self-sufficient in garlic, having planted some of the bulbs from this summer’s harvest.

I’m afraid to say, summer is well and truly gone.  My tomato plants have given up the ghost and the strawberries and peppers are soon to join the compost pile.  Does this mean that I am turning my back on the garden for the winter?  No way!  This year I am going to try and grow some form of edible plant all year round.

So what can you grow when it gets cold and rainy?  If in doubt head down to your local garden centre and see what vegetable seedlings they have for sale.  If they are selling it now, it is safe to assume that you can plant it now!  This is fantastic if you are a bit disorganised like me and didn’t think to start planting these seeds in the summer.  These are some of the types of seedlings you are likely to find at the moment:

• Broccoli
• Spinach
• Cabbage
• Cauliflower
• Kale and chard (a bit like spinach)
• Leeks
• Winter salad

I have planted some purple sprouting broccoli which I will leave over the winter and harvest in the spring, and while the plants are still tiny I have interplanted with spinach which can be harvested in as little as 4 – 8 weeks.  I am also going to plant some of the garlic that I grew last year which is currently hanging in the shed, but that probably won’t go in the ground until November at the earliest.

Purple Sprouting Broccoli

Autumn is also a great time to start preparing for next year.  The easiest way to do this is by applying a mulch like compost or well-rotted manure – just spread a nice thick layer over the soil and let the worms and the rain do their thing.  You can put mulch around trees and perennial plants, or just put it all over any empty beds you’ve been using for annual plants.  I’m using my first batch of homemade compost this year – it looks compost-y so I think it’s ready to use!  You will also need to keep on top of the weeds unless you want to be faced with a jungle next spring.

So don’t despair, autumn’s arrival does not mean months of wistfully staring out of the window at an empty garden!  There is still plenty to keep you busy.