The weather is turning here, and you can feel summer is just around the corner!
With the warmer weather and longer days comes the desire for most of us to get out into the garden and make something of our time off, but what will you choose to do?
While relaxing in the garden is a perfectly acceptable pastime, you could spend time learning a new skill like growing vegetables, herbs, and fruits, ready for use in your kitchen throughout the rest of the year!
Get Into Raised Beds
If you’re convinced that being a kitchen gardener is on your to-do list, then you need to begin thinking about raised beds for your garden.
Raised beds not only look nice and neat, but they’re an effective form of planting that is well suited to most vegetables too.
Raised beds will also help you to plan out your crop rotation cycle properly to ensure that the soil recovers properly every year and that your next year’s plants grow back stronger and healthier than this year’s plants.
It’s not all about the veg in the beds, though; you can grow most herbs in pots and troughs, making them the perfect lining material for garden decoration.
Top tip: always plant mint in a pot; don’t plant mint directly in the ground as it will take over everything.
Pest-Proof Your Garden
Vegetable gardens do attract quite a few pests, but this can be prevented by installing tap insulation or fly screens.
You can deter rats and mice by using specific fencing, and keeping all food sources under rat-proof lock and key. Also making sure you keep your compost bin well away from the house.
Choose Your Seeds Wisely
Seed selection is a vegetable gardener’s delight! Every year gardeners across the country will sit down with a brew and pour over seed catalogues from their favourite sellers and growers.
Some seeds you can retain through the year ready for planting in the spring and summer, but only do this if the plant they came from was strong and healthy; never replant the seeds of a weak plant.
Invest In Irrigation
One area that newbie kitchen gardeners don’t give enough thought to is irrigation.
Sure, it’s nice to think that it will be relaxing standing there with a watering can every evening, but, in truth, this will get very old, very quickly if you have a large garden.
Fix up a hosepipe to your rainwater collection system and get your beds irrigated properly from day one.
Plan For Your Harvest
Last but not least, plan for what you’re going to do with your harvest.
Whether it’s blanching and freezing, drying, preserving, cooking, eating, or even selling it – what will you do with your abundance?
Enjoy!
Last Updated on June 26, 2023 by Lucy Clarke
