Planning What to Grow on a Small Vegetable Plot
Once you have decided where to position your vegetable plot and prepared the site it's time to decide what you want to grow.
It is so easy to get carried away by the range and variety of vegetables available in seed catalogues and garden centres, but before you do there are few things you might want to consider, especially if your plot is only small.
On a small plot try to avoid anything that takes up too much space such as asparagus, or vegetables like cabbage which is slow to grow and will take up space for most of the year.
You might like to consider growing dwarf varieties of some crops which will take up less space.
Make the most of walls or fences for growing climbing beans or peas.
Think about how your plot will look.
It doesn't have to be purely functional so make it more attractive by growing more ornamental vegetables and herbs.
If you are new to growing vegetables it is a good idea to start with those vegetables you really like.
Some vegetables like potatoes, carrots and onions are cheap to buy and store easily for long periods and so are probably best bought rather than grown.
However, some varieties such as early potatoes, particularly salad varieties are delicious eaten when freshly picked, as are baby carrots, tomatoes and lettuce leaves.
Once you have made a list of the vegetables you like you will need to decide how much you want to grow.
Growing too little is probably better than growing too much as having to waste vegetables you have spent time and energy growing can be heart breaking.
However if you do end up with more than you need most vegetables store well when frozen or can be given away to friends and family.
You will also need to consider how much time you will have or want to spend tending to your plot.
If you only have a few hours a week then it might be best to pick vegetables that don't need much attention like potatoes or runner beans.
Lastly, make sure you plan crops that will provide you with something to eat all year-round.
A good all year-round list for a first year might include broad beans, spring cabbages and early carrots for spring harvesting; peas, dwarf and climbing French beans, runner beans, beetroot, salad potatoes and salad crops, tomatoes and courgettes for summer harvesting; and kale, leeks, and broccoli for harvesting throughout the winter.
Buying seeds and plants The question of whether to grow from seed or buy plants really depends on how much time you have and whether you have access to a greenhouse.
You can grow seeds successfully in propagators indoors but I find that this does not provide you with the space you need for growing a good variety of vegetables and successfully growing on young seedlings.
The decision will also depend on the type of vegetable you want to grow.
For example, I tend to buy young tomato plants rather than grow them from seed.
I usually use a grow bag and only have room for around three or four plants.
Growing from seed can produce hundreds of seedlings which would then go to waste.
Other vegetables are easy to grow from seed placed straight into the ground such as runner beans.
An advantage to growing from seed is that it tends to be cheaper and seeds you don't use one year will happily keep until the next if stored in the right conditions.
If you do decide on buying plants make sure you source them from a reputable supplier.
Check the label to make sure you are buying the correct variety.
Make sure the young plant is healthy.
Avoid anything that looks weedy or pale in colour, and also avoid container plants that have weeds growing amongst them.
Seedlings bought in trays tend to be cheaper than those bought in individual pots but they can tend to be a bit root-bound and weedy as a result.
A good idea is to pot them on into individual garden planters to recover and strengthen up before you plant them out into the ground.
There are no hard and fast rules as to what you should grow in your first year.
But in my book, if you start with a modest, easy to grow selection the first year you will not only reap rewards in produce, but you will give yourself time to get used to your plot, the work and time it involves and the varieties you prefer to grow and eat.
Next year will be the time to start challenging yourself a bit by experimenting and maybe growing more exotic and demanding varieties.
It is so easy to get carried away by the range and variety of vegetables available in seed catalogues and garden centres, but before you do there are few things you might want to consider, especially if your plot is only small.
On a small plot try to avoid anything that takes up too much space such as asparagus, or vegetables like cabbage which is slow to grow and will take up space for most of the year.
You might like to consider growing dwarf varieties of some crops which will take up less space.
Make the most of walls or fences for growing climbing beans or peas.
Think about how your plot will look.
It doesn't have to be purely functional so make it more attractive by growing more ornamental vegetables and herbs.
If you are new to growing vegetables it is a good idea to start with those vegetables you really like.
Some vegetables like potatoes, carrots and onions are cheap to buy and store easily for long periods and so are probably best bought rather than grown.
However, some varieties such as early potatoes, particularly salad varieties are delicious eaten when freshly picked, as are baby carrots, tomatoes and lettuce leaves.
Once you have made a list of the vegetables you like you will need to decide how much you want to grow.
Growing too little is probably better than growing too much as having to waste vegetables you have spent time and energy growing can be heart breaking.
However if you do end up with more than you need most vegetables store well when frozen or can be given away to friends and family.
You will also need to consider how much time you will have or want to spend tending to your plot.
If you only have a few hours a week then it might be best to pick vegetables that don't need much attention like potatoes or runner beans.
Lastly, make sure you plan crops that will provide you with something to eat all year-round.
A good all year-round list for a first year might include broad beans, spring cabbages and early carrots for spring harvesting; peas, dwarf and climbing French beans, runner beans, beetroot, salad potatoes and salad crops, tomatoes and courgettes for summer harvesting; and kale, leeks, and broccoli for harvesting throughout the winter.
Buying seeds and plants The question of whether to grow from seed or buy plants really depends on how much time you have and whether you have access to a greenhouse.
You can grow seeds successfully in propagators indoors but I find that this does not provide you with the space you need for growing a good variety of vegetables and successfully growing on young seedlings.
The decision will also depend on the type of vegetable you want to grow.
For example, I tend to buy young tomato plants rather than grow them from seed.
I usually use a grow bag and only have room for around three or four plants.
Growing from seed can produce hundreds of seedlings which would then go to waste.
Other vegetables are easy to grow from seed placed straight into the ground such as runner beans.
An advantage to growing from seed is that it tends to be cheaper and seeds you don't use one year will happily keep until the next if stored in the right conditions.
If you do decide on buying plants make sure you source them from a reputable supplier.
Check the label to make sure you are buying the correct variety.
Make sure the young plant is healthy.
Avoid anything that looks weedy or pale in colour, and also avoid container plants that have weeds growing amongst them.
Seedlings bought in trays tend to be cheaper than those bought in individual pots but they can tend to be a bit root-bound and weedy as a result.
A good idea is to pot them on into individual garden planters to recover and strengthen up before you plant them out into the ground.
There are no hard and fast rules as to what you should grow in your first year.
But in my book, if you start with a modest, easy to grow selection the first year you will not only reap rewards in produce, but you will give yourself time to get used to your plot, the work and time it involves and the varieties you prefer to grow and eat.
Next year will be the time to start challenging yourself a bit by experimenting and maybe growing more exotic and demanding varieties.
