The conversation over the fence this week was about the essentials for a new allotment. We were watching the new tenant applying the scorched earth approach to taking on a rather neglected plot and thinking about the plants which bring early positives to help maintain the enthusiasm. My list included:
- Herbs – a collection of perennial herbs either grouped in a decorative form or scattered around the plot to provide form and function as well as useful cropping. I like to scatter mine to make it easier to control spread and weeding. Couldn’t do without:
- Marjoram and Greek Oregano. I grew these from seed and then used cuttings to create low hedges along the boundaries of beds. They flower prolifically, keeping the bees well fed and ensuring other crops get good pollination. Both are cut to the ground in late autumn after I have harvested the stems for drying. A mainstay of the kitchen cupboard.
- Mint. Albeit controlled in pots, common peppermint, pineapple mint and greek mint provide lots of options for Middle Eastern dishes and a mean mojito.
- Rosemary. No rosemary, no lamb. Another freebie cutting pinched from a neighbour’s hedge and grown on to make a marker bush. Evergreen so it’s useful when all else has failed.
- Sorrel. Easy to grow and adds a lemony hit to new potatoes – but also good mixed in with spinach or chard.
- Thyme. A bit fickle here in the North, so I replant every couple of years. a mix of common and lemon thyme grows nicely under fruit trees.
- Chives – common and garlic. They edge plots nicely and look attractive when in flower.
- Borage. Attractive blue flowers for salads and summer drinks. They also draw up minerals rather like comfrey and get the Chelsea crop to feed the compost heap before coming back green and fresh.
- Basil – common, lemon, small-leaved. Can’t grow enough of the stuff – but under glass as it doesn’t tolerate the cold coastal winds.
2. Fruit – Start with a few purchased plants rather than cuttings from someone else’s stock and you’ll reduce the risk of disease.
- Plums – personally, I don’t think there is much nicer than a warm, ripe plum or damson straight from the tree. Look for plants on dwarfing stock for your allotment and you will still get pounds of fruit. I prefer damsons for jam and damson gin, although my Victoria tree yields great amounts of tasty fruit.
- Raspberry – a mix of summer and autumn fruited types.
- Gooseberry – unfashionable but hardy, reliable and source of crumbles, fools, jams and chutneys. Very versatile, easy to cultivate and propagate and I think they look great in spring.
- Strawberry – again choose a mix of early, middle and late varieties and avoid the names familiar from the supermarket which look good but taste like turnip. More work than the others as the bed needs careful tending, netting etc.. But little beats the first warm fruit. Occasionally, we manage to bring some home to eat with cream.
- Rhubarb. Just scrounge some healthy roots from a neighbour. Mulch well and step back to avoid being hit by the stems. I force a couple of plants each year to get the earliest stems.
3. Vegetables
- Nothing beats potatoes to clear weeds. On my ground, red varieties suffer less from slugs and Pink Fir Apple sits in the ridges through the winter for the best Christmas roasts. So many varieties to choose from – just avoid the Sarpo cultivars if you can. True they are blight resistant, but the flavour is dull.
- Beans. So much choice, good for your soil and attractive to grow. What’s not to like? Broad beans start the year (steam, remove the outer skin, puree with some tahini, lemon and garlic and you have a dip to beat hommous). Runners, french and climbers fill the basket through the summer and then the borlottis provide a store cupboard treat. There is no comparison between fresh picked seasonal beans and the pallid options flown in from Kenya or Chile. Look around for yellow, purple, speckled varieties to brighten up the plate.
- Leeks. With a little planning you can crop from September to March and they have so many uses (not just soup). Safer option than onions.
- Broccolis. From early sprouting to late main crop, you get a reliable tasty vegetable which doesn’t suffer much from pests – provided that you net against the pigeons.
- Chard. a mixture of colours, annual and perennial chard give you an attractive row of useful plants. So much easier than spinach and good in any recipe calling for spinach.
- Cabbage. With a bit of planning you can crop from January to December. But think before to plant, have you seen those long rows of over-mature cabbages? It’s easy to plant more than you will use. Mixing seasonal types and sequential planting makes best use. A little lime in with the seedling helps fight off club root.
- Lettuces. So easy to fill a bed with plants destined to bolt unused. I plant into a cold frame a little at a time. The choice is endless, the results good and little work involved. Cook them with mint and peas if you get a glut. Why do pigeons in our area strip the kale but leave the lettuces?
- Courgettes and summer squashes. Easy, productive and useful, provided that you can start them indoors. Look for unusual varieties as the shops fill with the boring straight green jobs. Try courgettes raw in ribbons in a salad.
- Roots. Beetroot, turnips and parsnips are productive as long as you keep the bed clear. But carrots do best in raised beds or tubs off the ground – carrot fly gets everything grown on the ground.
Things to avoid – in my opinion
- Odd shaped roots: Salsify, schorzonera, skirret etc. they became unfashionable for a reason. As for Jerusalem artichokes, even the thought makes me want to open the windows.
- Peas: mice, pigeons, pea weevil, weeds, damp conditions, wind all queue up to make them impossible on my ground. You might be luckier.
- Sweetcorn: Shame, really, as the crop is lovely, but the rats finish off the corn after they have feasted on my neighbour’s chicken feed. Not a creature I want to share anything with.
- Onions and garlic: so much weeding, so much chance of white rot.
I could go on. My wife adds that I often do. What do you think I have missed?
growingandreflecting 