Landshare

Tips on how to get maximum haul for minimum effort - edible equivalents of self-refilling pints.

It took me a few years to commit to having my own veg patch because I was worried whether I would have the time to look after it. But then I realised that growing your own food can actually help draw what can be otherwise competing interests together – a place to be alone, to spend time with friends and family, and an outdoor gym with a delicious point to it. There’s no getting away from a garden needing your time, but you can make some smart decisions to suit your lifestyle that will save it from becoming too time onerous.

1. Pick plants that will give maximum haul for minimum effort

If you focus on plants which keep pumping out the produce the more you pick them, you can have maximum haul for minimum effort. Runner beans, peas, and French beans are all mini food-factories – keep picking the pods and they’ll keep obliging you by growing more almost immediately. Borlotti beans are (I’d suggest) an essential for every plot – they are hugely productive, stunning to look at, delicious eaten freshly podded in a tomato sauce on toast or made into hummous, but should you not be able to get through their often heavy fresh harvest they are wonderful dried and added to any number of winter stews and soups. And even then you have a final backstop: any left over dried seeds can be used to sow for the following years plants. Perfect.

Leafy greens, annual herbs and lettuces/salad leaves are also ideal for growing with multiple harvests in mind. While you can grow any to harvest at full maturity, you’ll find yourself with the edible equivalent of the self-refilling pint if you adopt a cut-and-come-again approach. Picking off some of the leaves and leaving some for the plant to photosynthesize and produce more enables you to return time and again to the plant for a munch. Some plants will let you be quite greedy - chard especially will quickly grow back leaves from just a two inch stump.

It pays to make friends with the cucurbit family, which includes squash, courgettes and cucumbers. They are almost condemned for their productivity, yet by approaching them thoughtfully you can find yourself with a varied and steady harvest for months on end – the secret is in growing a range of varieties of each (preferably that mature at slightly different times) and only having a plant or two each. For example, go for two plants each of Queensland Blue, Red Kuri and Early Butternut squash and you’ll have gradual harvests and their unique flavours over a fairly long period, especially when you take into account how well they store into the Winter.

2. Start with young seedlings rather than seeds

Starting plants off from the seed packet can be time consuming and, with the threat of late frosts, pests and poor germination, not without risk. It’s one of the parts of a plant’s lifecycle that can take up most of your time, and if you would prefer to spend money instead of time, you should consider buying young seedlings in. There are any number of suppliers who you can order from, getting them delivered to your door within a few days – try www.organicplants.co.uk or www.rocketgardens.co.uk. The quality from most seedling suppliers is excellent.