Selfsufficientish.com

As some of you already know I am planning to get an allotment soon and I thought go forward and make a list of things we like to eat.
So yesterday I sat out and picked from a website things to sow for veggies and plant for soft fruits.
The list seems to be long (although it is going to be 100m2) for just two of us but I am planning to do the square foot gardening thing, meaning, in 100m2 you can have a really good yield.

So I have a nice basic list made up and by no way this is the definitive one, it is just things we like to eat and it would be nice to have them on the allotment........also planning to preserve etc.
Where possible I picked old breeds or special breeds, nothing you would find in supermarkets, to make it FUN too.

veggies: brussels sprouts, tomatoes, carrots, baby salad, beans, chili's (just trying) , broccoli, mini cauliflower, parsnip, spinach, baby pumpkin
fruits: raspberries (still in doubt whether summer or fall ones) tayberries, blueberries

what did YOU do and if someone has advice, would be greatly appreciated. I am trying to spread the crop so harvesting is not all at once and also some for winter crops if possible.
as you see, no potatoes or onions, as for potatoes we don't eat them much (more grains, pasta) and onions, I am the only one who eats them.
we are just with the two of us and I plan to share with some friends and my ex.

thanks and greetings
berti

berti

Berti,

For what it's worth I think you are going about this EXACTLY right.

1) You've chosen stuff you LIKE.
This is always my no 1 tip. You'd be amazed how many people grow stuff'cos they "should"

2) You are growing for fun, too

3) You are starting small (sq foot), and expanding as you go

Seems to me you are an instinctive gardener & therefore will do just fine.

MW

awww.
THANK YOU muddywitch :)
now find someone to help with the digging.......(I am a bit physically challenged, hence the square foot gardening....after digging, you are set and done....)

I will continue then and see what's going to happen.
let's hope the soil and the seeds are gonna cooperate........how about if I send love to them :)

berti

Just a small observation on the raspberry issue, if you are only planning to have one variety then I would recommend the Autumn fruiting ones.
In my experience the summer ones have a fruiting period of about 6 weeks, but the "September" variety that I grow fruits from mid July until the winter weather kills the canes.
In 2007 we picked until early December and last year to mid-November.
Plus if you get the canes planted in the next few weeks you will get a small crop this year ... summer ones you will have to wait till next year.

ah thanks tony, I will keep that in mind and go for fall raspberries!
berti

I agree with MuddyWitch there - I spent ages looking in books and wondering what I was going to do with all that cabbage and stuff before I thought again and just started with a list of foodwe'll actually eat and then worked out a plan from that. Feeling much happier now.

Based on my own (amateurish) veggie patch ramblings, I would say :

Plant a few clumps of French Marigolds around the place - they encourage the beasties (like Ladybirds) that eat greenfly.
I did this on my patch last year and it seemed to work. They're easy to grown too, and the seeds were only cheapo ones from B&Q (99p a pack I think). Mine flowered right from April, through to November when they were killed off by the frost, but you have to pluck the dead flowerheads off.
My veggies stayed remarkably greenfly free this year, which hasn't happened before. It can't be a co-incidence!

I think sunflowers work in a similar way too (and look nice and you can eat the seeds.)

Also, check which sort of blueberry you're buying. Some aren't self polinating and you need a couple of bushes.
From bitter experience, I'd say you need to put a net over the fruit bushes : birds love fruit and they stripped my redcurrant bush in a day (the day just before they were ripe!).

See if you can swipe a bit of a Rhubarb plant too - they're easy to grow if you like that sort of thing.

I very much agree with Sage about the marigolds and the netting over the fruit
good luck with the plot, fingers crossed for a good growing year!