I had what I liked to call a ‘secret garden’. It was actually a neighbour’s walled garden, which they didn’t use. It was entered through a locked gate like a tale from Beatrix Potter. I grew fruit and veg there for a few years. I was nowhere near self-sufficient but I did grow some tasty produce that came straight from the plot to plate.
I even won prizes for beans, herbs and dahlias in the local Hackney flower and produce show. It’s not the greatest accolade – but evidence that my growing skills were improving.
I want to share what I learned as a veg plot beginner. I doubled my efforts after a disastrous first growing season which I describe in ‘Borrowing my neighbour’s garden – my first allotment’. In November and the following spring I watered in slug-eating nematodes from The Green Gardener. Then I improved the soil with a fine horse manure from Thompsons of Crews Hill. Finally I got hold of a cold frame to protect seedlings. The winter prep paid-off and I recommend that anyone interested in growing does the same. Come spring, you’ll be ready to go with rich, fertile soil. Watering
Inner city London summers can be as hot as hell. The secret garden didn’t have a water supply and I relied on collecting rainwater in a butt. When the storage tank ran out I had to carry water from my house 200 yards away. I came up with a process of rotating water rations so that each crop got a soaking every few days. Watering deeply and less often encouraged the plants to grow deeper roots and this in turn made them stronger.
Growing Salad
Salad leaves need plenty of water to be sweet and tender. I grew mixed leaves as a cut-and-come-again crop in the cold frame. I used large polystyrene containers, salvaged from the fishmongers. Keep them in a little shade to prevent them going to seed too soon. I like Japanese mizuna leaves which are a bit like rocket but, for me at least, less prone to bolt.
Self-seeded spinach and chard were already growing all over the plot and I picked young tender leaves to toss into mixed salads. Older, thicker leaves are delicious wilted in pasta sauces and my favourite filo parcel recipe. Bumper crops of French beans also made their way into salads, lightly steamed and still crunchy. The same goes for baby courgettes which are delicious ribboned.
Growing Fruit
Fruit bushes in the local garden centre were expensive so I bought blueberry and gooseberry bushes from Columbia Road flower market instead. They took a little time to establish but fruited well in their second season.
I had summer and autumn fruiting raspberries growing as well as a loganberry. The garden also contained a feeble blackcurrant bush, a clump of rhubarb and some strawberries. These plants began to flourish after a few feeds with homemade comfrey fertiliser (see below). Soft fruits need harvesting as soon as they ripen to beat the birds and insects. When there’s a glut pick and freeze or compote – any delay and you’ll lose them.
Tomatoes
Without anywhere to propagate seeds I bought Sungold, Gardener’s Delight, Tumbling Tom and Shirley as plug-plants. My friend donated Flamingo and Rosella seedlings. James Wong’s book, ‘Grow for Flavour’, recommends keeping tomato plants small and feeding with molasses. He also suggests giving them an aspirin spritz. Not sure if he was to thank but that year the red, yellow, orange and pink tomatoes were plentiful and delicious.
By early September the remaining green tomatoes started to show signs of blight. I picked them before they turned brown to make green tomato chutney. When you’ve enjoyed home grown tomatoes all summer it’s hard to shop at the supermarket again. 
Growing Veg
French beans, which I bought as plug-plants, cropped for a good three months. I should, however, have given each plant it’s own sturdy bean pole. I made the mistake of crowding two plants to a triangular bamboo frame. The poles couldn’t take the weight of the growing beans and began to collapse. You live and learn. We enjoyed them steamed, stir-fried, hot and cold. If you don’t harvest them young the flesh becomes thick and tough. At this stage pop the sweet beans from their shell and cook them instead.
An unexpected treat was a small and tasty crop of new potatoes. They grew from a few potatoes accidentally left in the ground last year. They were the best potatoes we ate all summer.
The other veg success was courgettes. I bought small plants, and grew them on in the cold frame until they were well established. The previous year I planted them out when they were too tender and the slugs got to them. The real joy of courgettes are the edible flowers which you can stuff and fry for a dinner party triumph.
Growing alongside the veg were mint, oregano, thyme, tarragon, comfrey, sage, flat leaf parsley, rosemary, basil and Thai basil. It’s lovely to have handfuls of fresh herbs to add to your cooking. Comfrey FeedRather than buy chemical feeds it’s easy to make your own organic fertiliser from comfrey leaves. Steep the leaves in a covered bucket for 3–4 weeks until the liquid is brown and smelly. Dilute with 1 part to 10 parts water and hey-presto you have free liquid feed!
Gardening isn’t everyone’s cup of tea and it almost certainly results in split and grubby fingernails. But for some of us it’s therapy, pure and simple. I love it and as I grow older the more I enjoy growing my own food, cooking, eating and sharing it. In a mad, bad world it helps me close the circle of life.
Avril x
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