The most important part of Growing the Green Life blog is, without doubt, the garden. The space to grow not only fruit and veggies but also a place to encourage nature and to enjoy the outside area too.
For the past 12 months, the garden has pretty much stayed exactly the same but I’ve added a lot of shrubs and the perennials are getting bigger. As are all the fruit trees.
Last year I planted runner beans, peas, potatoes, garlic, leeks, sweetcorn, carrots, tomatoes, herbs, courgettes, lettuce, radishes and cucumbers. Most of it did well but there were also a few disasters as there often are when growing food. The garlic withered, the cucumbers shrank, and the carrots pulled from the soil looked rather like monsters of the horror variety. There was no canning last year but plenty of freezing. Beans, peas and raspberries were abundant. And of course, like every year I learnt loads.
Now in 2021 I’m looking at re-designing the vegetable patch in its entirety. I’m not happy it’s current layout. It’s a long patch, rather than wide and all the beds and the polytunnel are facing across rather than down taking up more space (and in the case of the poly – sunlight) than I think they should be. The look had been bothering me for some time but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.
Then in a flash of inspiration, I found one of my favourite books on a shelf – “21st Century Smallholder” by Paul Waddington. I wrote about my enthusiasm for this book way back in 2010 on an old post – Books and 21st Century Smallholder It inspired me to plan my last garden in a way that allowed for maximum growing potential while at the same time be a place for nature to enjoy. And ultimately I ended up with a very productive garden and one I was proud of too. What if the same book could help me again? Turns out, I think it can. The garden layouts in the book are great for looking towards my own space and what I can do in it to grow even more fruit and veg.
So over the last couple of weeks I’ve been using graph paper to plot out a new…well plot! Longer beds (raised higher this time I think), an area for growing fruit bushes such as blackcurrants and redcurrants. Move the raspberries into lines towards the end of the garden. Have two compost bins. Move the poly to the very far corner which means it’ll be sheltered and won’t cast a shadow on other beds.
Use space more wisely.
Although I am lucky to have a south-facing garden there are two major restrictions to that. One is that the end of the garden backs onto another garden and they have lined their garden boundary with trees – lots of them, a willow, cherry’s and even a horse chestnut has sprung up. That means they cast a shadow around the early and late months every year. They also have roots which take vital nutrients from the ground my side of the boundary. But with every negative, there are also positives. The trees bring a lot of birds into the garden which I’d hate to be without. They also bring colour and fallen leaves which mean I have no bother collecting leaf mould every year.
The other major restriction is that on the west side of my boundary is a lovely open plan green that the sheep sometimes graze on but which is soon to be built on. While the plans online suggest the houses (townhouses no less) won’t interfere with the direction of sunlight coming into the garden I highly expect they will. Which will then mean two sides of the garden getting a lack of light. And light is so important for growing. However, when the houses are up they may bring a bit of protection to the garden. At the moment the wind furiously builds up speeds across a wide-open area before it slams into the garden moving west to east. Also, the building work won’t start until the land is sold which may be quick or slow. Either way, waiting around going to do me or the garden any good.
So, on with the plans. 72 feet by 29 feet is not to be sniffed at. And leaving a good few feet at the end for the boundary trees to cast their shadows allows space which can be more of a defined wildlife area. It still leaves me more than enough space to get in all the other bits for growing. At least it will when I’m happy with the plan. So far I’ve drawn out 6 plans and it’s still not quite right yet. Why is it so much easier to draw straight lines than curves?
The ideals I have around the planning is to ensure it’s as sustainable as possible and at the same time is creating habitats for wildlife which will hopefully keep pests and diseases at bay around my growing area. It needs to be functional and pretty to look at. I want myself and others to sit amongst the runner beans and fruit trees while being able to listen to birds singing and the croak of a frog. Lastly, it needs to produce a substantial amount of food over a year – not just over the summer months.
If I can crack the planning then it’ll be a huge step towards a new Growing the Green Life garden.
I think it might just be a busy time in the garden this year and I’m looking forward to getting started. Just as soon as that rain calms down a bit.
Image by 🎄Merry Christmas 🎄 from Pixabay
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