Garden And Gossip Forums

I'm not shouting, its the title of a book. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Do-Grow-Books-A...1907974024
I acquired it recently and it "speaks" my language, its small, simple and to the point - bit like me apart from the last bit!!

Basically, the author, Alice Holden, recommends 10 vegetables (or groups of veg) that are easy to grow and give the best return according to the space you have , be it a window box or an allotment. The veg are in order of preference of ease of growth and intensity of flavour when picked fresh.

1. Hardy herbs - sage, rosemary, thyme, margoram
2. Tender herbs - parsley, basil, coriander, chervil. dill.
3. Summer salads - lettuce, endive, chicories
4. Winter salads -  rocket, landcress, red Russian kale, mizuna, mibuna, pakchoi, tatsoi, mustards and a few others
5. Chard & spinach
6. Beetroot
7. Courgettes & cucumbers
8. Tomatoes
9. Beans - French, Runner & Broad
10. Winter greens - Kale & Purple sprouting broccoli. 

I could have written this list myself as its what I grow - because its easy and productive! It also doesn't include all the veg that I struggle with - root crops, onions, cabbages & caulis.

There's a simple growing calendar that covers all of these that I may try to follow. If I have the energy tomorrow, I'll let you know what I should be doing now!!
This could be my New Plan.

Please miss, how are all the old plans doing?

PS, it's what I grow too.

Definately no good for me!  I mainly grow leeks,onions,garlic with a smattering of other stuff interspersed 

The Growing Calendar - includes succession sowings for quick maturing crops - labelled 1st, 2nd etc.
All sowing is done between Feb - Sept apart from broad beans in November. 

February
Early - Sow 1st lettuce, 1st Rocket, under cover
Mid - Sow tomatoes inside (need heat)
Late - Sow 1st Spinach under cover; sow broad beans (every 3 weeks until mid-March)

March
Early - Sow 1st true spinach; 1st beetroot, 1st chard, 1st perpetual spinach, 1st parsley, 1st coriander, 1st chervil, 1st dill, all under cover. Sow basil (needs heat)
Mid - Sow 2nd lettuce & 2nd broad beans, thyme and marjoram, sow 1st French beans
Late - take cuttings of rosemary & sage.

April
Early - Sow 2nd true spinach, under cover
Mid - Sow cucumbers indoors, sow courgettes (need protection from frost)

May
Early - Sow 2nd beetroot
Mid - Sow 2nd French beans

June
Early to Mid - Sow 2nd chard, 2nd perpetual spinach, 2nd parsley, 2nd chervil, 2nd dill & 2nd coriander

July
Early - Sow 3rd beetroot, 3rd lettuce, 1st endives and 1st chicories, purple sprouting broccoli and kale
Mid - Sow 3rd French beans

August
Early - Sow 3rd chard, 3rd perpetual and 3rd true spinach
Early to mid - Sow all 1st winter salad, 3rd dill, parsley, chervil and coriander
Late Sow 4th French beans
All August sowing are best planted out under cover or in a GH

September
Early - Sow 4th lettuce

Not worth sowing any more apart from broad beans in November. Green manures can be sown in September

That mirrors my list, although I have leeks and pumpkins high up on the list too as they feed me through the winter, along with the greens. But you do need the space.
I'm not convinced I'd call tomatoes easy to grow, well easy to get to harvest, anyway, having lost my entire crop to blight last year!!
And one interesting chilli plant in a pot gives should give a great yield of a variety you'll rarely find in most shops.

I would have added mangetout peas to the list as they're easy-peasy to grow.
Also, I won't be sowing endive and chicory as I find them too bitter. Winter lettuces for me.

My list would be quite different and slightly longer:
1. Tomatoes (haven't bought any for years)
2. Potatoes
3. onions & garlic
4. Peas
5. beans
6. beetroot
7. carrots
8. parsnips
9. sweet peppers
10. courgettes & cucumbers
11. squash
12. brassicas
13. sweetcorn

The book is for people who want to grow their own food but don't have the time, the space or even know where to start. Even if you only have a windowbox and 10 minutes a week you can grow something.
Its not really aimed at most of us, who have been gardening for a while. However, I've said elsewhere that struggling to grow decent brassicas and most root crops was taking the fun out of gardening and that I was going to grow the easy stuff, which, coincidentally is also the stuff that tastes best fresh and is the most expensive to buy. Even more coincidentally, most of it is covered by this little book.

That looks like my grow list apart from the beetroot I never have mush success with that.

(28-03-2022, 11:32 PM)Veggie Wrote: [ -> ]I'm not shouting, its the title of a book. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Do-Grow-Books-A...1907974024
I acquired it recently and it "speaks" my language, its small, simple and to the point - bit like me apart from the last bit!!

Basically, the author, Alice Holden, recommends 10 vegetables (or groups of veg) that are easy to grow and give the best return according to the space you have , be it a window box or an allotment. The veg are in order of preference of ease of growth and intensity of flavour when picked fresh.

1. Hardy herbs - sage, rosemary, thyme, margoram
2. Tender herbs - parsley, basil, coriander, chervil. dill.
3. Summer salads - lettuce, endive, chicories
4. Winter salads -  rocket, landcress, red Russian kale, mizuna, mibuna, pakchoi, tatsoi, mustards and a few others
5. Chard & spinach
6. Beetroot
7. Courgettes & cucumbers
8. Tomatoes
9. Beans - French, Runner & Broad
10. Winter greens - Kale & Purple sprouting broccoli. 

I could have written this list myself as its what I grow - because its easy and productive! It also doesn't include all the veg that I struggle with - root crops, onions, cabbages & caulis.

There's a simple growing calendar that covers all of these that I may try to follow. If I have the energy tomorrow, I'll let you know what I should be doing now!!
This could be my New Plan.

Same here- that's pretty much my list but I stopped doing the purple sprouting because the pigeons wereto difficult to keep off. My bamboo cages were collapsing under their weight. Unlike most people I like that they take up space for a long time. I can mulch thickly and leave for weeks without doing anything.