I Never Promised You a Herb Garden-How Easy is it To Grow Your Own Fruit and Vegetables
Home Grown
It is now become fashionable again to grow your own fruit and veg,maybe it is because of the recession or we don't trust much of the food we buy from supermarkets.
As I survey my small Autumn vegetable plot of sprouts, cabbage,broccoli and Spanish onions all is looking green and grand, but what will it bring us in late Winter and Spring.Is it really so easy to grow your own fruit and vegetables?
Easy to Grow?-Red Tomatoes and Green Peppers
Well I don't think it easy to grow your own fruit and vegetables. We start with our seed packets that shows lovely large vegetables and blooming bumper crops.
I grew ripe red tomatoes , crispy green peppers and cucumber,tasty salad fayre-everyone agreed, but such a small crop!
These vegetables took a lot of care and attention to grow, watering twice daily, spraying to keep pests away and cutting away.The paltry end produce was not enough to feed us all.
My tip would be only grow these veg if you have a proper greenhouse and plenty of time, do not grow outside, your efforts will not mirror the beautiful bumper crop scene on the seed packets.
So How Many Will Your Home Grown Veg Feed
Back to my autumn vegetable patch, where I am growing my winter produce of cabbage, onions,sprouts and broccoli.These are not yet fully grown and I only have half the crops I expected as I have already fed slugs,snails caterpillars and many other creatures I don't know the names of.
This is nature of course, and I have found that a bug repellent spray for vegetables does keep them at bay.I would recommend spending a little more on a decent brand as using a lesser brand I have found entire plants devoured by the dreaded pests.
Looking after your crop regularly, you will find winter/spring cabbages grow to a fair size, peas and beans are plentiful and you get an abundance from salad produce from lettuce spring onions and radishes.
The Weather
It's mother nature again and we are at it's mercy. Not enough sun, too much rain can render efforts useless.An early frost last winter put paid to my brussel sprouts that had not grown large enough.
Herbs
An ideal starting point to grow your own produce. is your own herb garden. Rosemary, parsley and thyme are great herbs that grow all year round and you will always have plenty of mint and chives.
I don't think it is plain sailing when you grow your own, and you certainly don't get all that is promised when you start your vegetable patch, in fact you can end up with virtually nothing.But as I have found the good old herbs never let you down.
No Expert
I am no expert on growing you own vegetables and hope you can let me know of your own tips and advice.Oh and by the way,good luck!
