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

Sprouting Seeds

Posted on 05. Mar, 2009 by Justin.

I love bean sprouts but not many people realise how easy they are to grow. All you need is a plastic box or a jar and a packet of mung bean seed. I happen to have a seed sprouter I bought from the garden centre. I've written a dumbies guide below to show you how easy it is to get a great tasting and healthy vegetable that can be grown all year round.

 

Step 1 - Wash and then soak your mung bean seed over night in water.I soaked mine in a plastic jug.

 

Step 2 - Place your seeds in your sprouter. I'm lucky to have a two tier seed sprouter but if you don't just use a jam jar or plastic container with some wet kitchen towel in the bottom. Once they are in the desired growing container place them in a warm dark place. This could be an airing cuboard as it is both dark and warm. Please remember to give your seeds water as they dry out! The seed sprouter you can see in the picture has a porus base so I don't put any kitchen towel in the bottom but rince the seed twice a day. Any water collecting in the base is thrown away after each watering.

Step 3 - Once you seeds have been in a dark place for about 48 hours you should see the first signs of life. The whole process will take about 5-9 days so you really don't have long to wait until this tasty veg is ready to eat.

 

Step 4 -After 4-5 days you should have some substansial sprouts starting to apear so you know there is not long to go.

Step 5 - Tuck in! After a week or so your sprouts should be ready to eat. They are great in salads, stir fry and as a filling in sandwiches. Yum!

Continue Reading

Getting an Early Crop

Posted on 06. Feb, 2009 by Justin.

So you've got some space put aside for your garden and if like me you look out the window to see a currently lifeless space. It may seem like you are million miles away from getting your first crop and the wait is killing you. I would suggest going for an early crop of veg but your going to have to accept losses while the weather is still cold. The risk of frost sometimes won't pass until April so you could face disappointment but there are way to avoid / reduce the damage. 

You might want to consider investing in some movable plastic cloches as they are about £10 each.  Mine came from B&Q and have found them an invaluable addition to the garden equipment arsenal. I have two and it allows me to get this all important early crop in the ground. I've not got a very big space so the cloches are ideal, but if you have a big garden you could look at a polytunnel which will repay you massively over the years to come. You can see in the photo I already have one of my cloches out in an attempt to warm the ground before my broadbeans go in. 

So what early crops can you get in the ground?

• Broadbeans can go in now! Sowing under a cloche is advisable but you still may succeed without this piece of equipment. Broadbeans are very hardy and fast growing meaning a harvest in May is possible. 
• Find a hardy variety of lettuce and bring some seedling on inside the house before getting them in the ground before the end of February. Lettuce will be ready in just 14 weeks if there is a mild spring but will need protection for frosty nights. Remember to harden off the seedling before putting them in the ground as the shock will kill them. 
• Use one of the cloches to get a very early crop of spinach in the ground. If your feeling lucky try putting a cloche on the ground now for the next two weeks which will warm the soil. You can then try sowing your seeds in the middle of February. No guarantees! 

There are some ideas to get you going but try to experiment as you never know what will work!

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

Chitting Your Seed Potatoes

Posted on 29. Jan, 2009 by Justin.

 Now is the time of year to start thinking about potatoes and you have to do something very important before they go in the ground. This is a process called Chitting.  When you buy your seed potatoes you need to set them out in trays or egg boxes end uppermost. Place the trays in the light but not direct sunlight and in about 6 weeks small sprouts will appear. These will be ready for the ground in late March for the early varieties and you can take a bit more time with second early / maincrop potatoes as they need to go in the ground for mid April. 

As I've only just started chitting my potatoes I've borrowed a picture from the RHS website to show you what they should look like. 

Photo from RHS Website

Continue Reading