The Food Club

Share Your Garden Success

Posted on 22. May, 2009 by Justin.

I'm interested in hearing from some fellow gardeners about what they are doing in their garden. In particular if you could send some photos I would love to write a post to inspire others.

What can you send?

• Gardeners growing in containers
• Window Sill Gardening
• Big Projects
• Small Project
• Established Gardens

I hope to get the photos published in a post in about 2 weeks time so get sending those photos.

Continue Reading

First Signs of Life

Posted on 24. Feb, 2009 by Justin.

I wrote a post at the start of February about forcing my rhubarb and I'm please to tell you the first signs of life are now apparent. I took off the pot I've used to keep the plant in the dark over the past few weeks to discover despite the snow it's started to grow. In the photo you can see the bright shoots of the rhubarb starting to appear. I'm hoping within the next month I should be able to eat my first crop.

Continue Reading

Establishing a Fruit Garden

Posted on 10. Feb, 2009 by Justin.

As you can see from the photos in the My Garden page you will see I don't have the biggest garden. I wanted to establish a fruit garden but was unsure what I could do with the limited space.

What I decided to do was convert the back border of the garden into a mini fruit garden despite the limited space. I'm pushing the boundaries of what is possible in the space and put the plants very close together. This is very much an experiment but I'm hoping to get some fruit by the end of July. 

You can just make out the plants I put in last November which include: raspberry canes, strawberries, a kiwi fruit, a blackcurrant and gooseberry bush. I'm fairly confident about the blackcurrant and gooseberry but I think the lack of sun may make the raspberries and strawberries difficult to become productive. The soil is fairly poor so not sure how the plants will react but as I'm just learning about gardening so this seems like a good experiment. The kiwi fruit might cause further challenges  as I live in the North East and the lack of warmth may put a stop to any potential fruit. 

In March I'll be putting in some support for the raspberry canes so I'll do another post about this then.

Continue Reading

Forcing Rhubarb

Posted on 04. Feb, 2009 by Justin.

This weekend I decided it was the time to start forcing my rhubarb. The gardening books say you can start in January but as I live in the North decided to wait until the first week in February. 

Step 1 - I covered the rhubarb crown with well rotted manure to help give it the best start this season. This is especially important if you are going to force the plant as you are effectively starving it of light. It will need all the nutrients it can get especially after a cold winter. 

Step 2 - Cover the crown with a bucket or in my case I've used a large plant pot I grew my tomatoes with last year. If your plant is under 3 years old it is a bad idea to force the crown as it needs a few years to get established. It is then worth letting the crown recover for a year or two before forcing it again. It should produce some lovely sweet sticks of rhubarb within 6 to 8 weeks.

Continue Reading

What Varieties Should I Buy?

Posted on 31. Jan, 2009 by Justin.

Choosing varieties of fruit and vegetables can be difficult but follow a few simple rules and you can't go too wrong. Just because you can buy the seed in the garden centre it doesn't mean it will be suitable for your garden. Each fruit and vegetable can be graded into a difficulty level so it's worth  doing a little research. Don't worry if you make a bad choice, you can put it down to experience and try a different approach next year. 

So what should I do to pick the right varieties?

1. Find out what fruit and vegetables the family like to eat and most importantly don't grow something no one in the family likes. 
2. If your unsure about a type a fruit or vegetable variety then grow one or two plants to see if they are for you.
3. If your new to growing your own choose varieties which are disease resistant, especially if your going organic. Once you are more experienced you can become more adventurous. Don't forget there are ways to control pests and disease using approved organic methods. e.g. organic slug pellets. 
4. When picking out of a catalogue or from a website see what the description says about flavour. If like me you like you like a good taste the variety can be very important. 
5. If you are in the North East of England you might struggle to grow some crops outside so if you don't have a greenhouse avoid these. 
6. Make a note of the varieties you like so you can grow them the next year. 
7. Do some research and try to find out a little about your soil type. Some plants are fussy about where they grow so a little knowledge goes along way. Soil testing kits are available from most well stocked garden centres. 

Continue Reading

Rhubarb, do Something with that Problem Corner of the Garden

Posted on 27. Jan, 2009 by Justin.

If like me you have a little corner of the garden which doesn't get much light and the soil isn't that great! So what can you do? I would suggest planting a rhubarb crown as it will provide lush green foliage and provide one of the earliest new season foods from your garden. 

Rhubarb isn't fussy about the soil it grows in as long as it's not going to be waterlogged in winter. The gardening books will tell you that you need an open site which is not shaded but my spot is anything but ideal. It might be an idea for you to let the plant to get established in the first year so you might have to leave it alone even if it has tempting stalks of rhubarb ready to pick. 

Once your rhubarb is established after 3 years you can start a process called forcing. This means you cover the plant with a plant pot or bucket in January and you will enjoy an early crop of rhubarb 6-8 weeks later. 

How do you care for the rhubarb each year?

1. Keep it well watered during dry spells
2. Put some well rotted manure over the crowns in January 
3. Feed the plant during the summer

The cost of a rhubarb crown is about £10 for 3 or £4 for one. If you have to buy two or three in a packet maybe get a friend to take one or two spares. 

Here is a photo of my difficult spot in the garden where I planted my Rhubarb two years ago. You can see where it is planted by the dark patch where I've put some well rotted manure over the crown.

Continue Reading