Vegetable Gardening

Vegetable Gardening—Getting started
When you are starting to grow vegetables the area that you want to use might be covered in weeds. The overgrown area Don’t rush this job. You need to clear the area really well.
· Cut down all the tall growth.
· Cover the ground with a mulch. This will keep the light out and so kill the weeds. This could be flattened cardboard kept in place with straw, hay, bricks, grass clippings or black plastic. This will stop the weeds from growing. Pumpkins and other vigorous plants can be planted through the mulch.
· You can then clear small areas of the garden at a time. Clear the weeds using a garden fork. Remove all the roots. Then sow a green manure or cover with a mulch.
· Until the weeds are under control, grow crops in wide rows. This means you can hoe between them easily to remove weeds.

Planning
To get the best from your garden you need to plan. Measure the area of your vegetable garden and draw an outline. Mark in any features that you want to keep, like trees and then plan the rest of the area using the following ideas.

Essential soil improvers
If you have space either in the vegetable garden or elsewhere in the school grounds set up a compost and a leafmould bin:
Compost bins should measure about 1m³. Leafmould bins should measure 1m³ or more. Make a bin by wrapping chicken wire around four posts.

Permanent Crops
· Why not try to grow fruit and other perennial crops, that come back year after year? You will need to plan where these will go.
· Think about how far apart the plants need to be so that you have enough space.
· If you have a fence you can save space by growing redcurrants and gooseberries as espaliers, cordons and fans. (these are different shapes. You will find information on them in vegetable gardening books.)
· Russian comfrey– grow three or more plants if you want to make your own liquid plant food.

Vegetables
· Divide the vegetable area into four plots that are all the same size so that you can rotate the crops.
· Divide up the four plots into small beds about 1 metre wide.
· Remember when planning the crop rotation to include green manures to improve the soil.

Welcoming wildlife
Wildlife can help control pests and diseases. Create a few ‘habitats’ to welcome creatures into your garden.
· Perennials - ground cover, herbaceous plants and small shrubs can provide food and shelter for many creatures, but won’t take up too much space.
· Annuals - these brighten up the vegetable garden and are food for insect eating pests.
· A pond - will attract frogs and other creatures that will help control pests.
Useful techniques
· Plant vegetable seeds and start them off indoors. Plant out when they are bigger. This will help them to stand up to pest and disease attack.
· Protect new plants with plastic bottle cloches. (Plastic bottles with the lid taken off and the bottom cut off)
· Mark out straight drills for sowing by standing on a rake handle or using a draw hoe along a straight edge. Water drill before sowing and cover seeds with dry soil.
· Before moving water plants and the planting holes where they are to grow.
· Cover vulnerable plants (those that are likely to be attacked) with fleece or mesh to protect them from pests.
· Grow pest and disease resistant varieties of vegetables and fruit.
· Label rows and keep a note of what grew where—it will make planning the area next year easier.
· Remember to grow plants that will not need care over the holidays (particularly summer) unless you have a volunteer to go into school and care for the plants.

Seasonal Hints
Late summer/early autumn
· Sow green manures as you harvest crops and clear the land.
· Collect autumn leaves to make leafmould. Simply put them into a container made of wire or an open black plastic bag and leave them for a year to rot down.
· Plant autumn onion sets and garlic.
Autumn/winter
· Buy in strawy manure; cover with plastic and leave to rot.
· Cover bare soil with year old leafmould, particularly the areas where you are going to plant next years carrots and parsnips.
· Dig a trench and fill with kitchen waste over winter. Grow runner beans here next year.
Spring
· Dig in green manures
· Put garden compost or manure on to the parts of the crop rotation that need it, where you are going to grow greedy crops for example potatoes and cabbages.

General hints and tips
· Wooden boards can be laid down between rows to stop the soil getting compacted.
· Make large cloches from four litre plastic bottles. Remove the lid and cut off the base.