Achievements of 2010

Welcome to my first ever blog about anything! I thought a blog would be a good way of keeping a record of my plans for my tiny kitchen garden. The successes, the failures and no doubt the many frustrations. Hopefully it will give me something to look back on and learn from in future years.

Last year I had my first attempt at growing some vegetables. Well, my first attempt at growing anything actually. I didn't start until July, very late on in the summer growing season. However, I enjoyed some success in growing French Beans (Cobra), Carrots (Early Nantes) and lots of different varieties of lettuce.

I live in a small rented house which has a small back garden and patio. Therefore all of my growing has to be in pots and containers. This limits what I can realistically grow, and the amount I can grow of each thing. Especially as the sun moves around the garden quite quickly in the morning and disappears altogether for the afternoon. This year however I hope to grow lots more than I dared to last year, and also to hopefully have a more continual supply of crops.

Here are some pictures to see what I managed to produce last year ...

French Beans (Cobra) that had grown a little too large on the plant as they were hidden from view and didn't get picked for a while. Also some very small Early Nantes carrots, I was far to eager to taste them, plus I think they were too cramped in their pot to grow to a good size anyway.

A good harvest of french beans (Cobra)

The small area of patio I devoted to veg growing which was the area that got the best amount of sun in the day. At the back are the french beans (cobra) growing in a bean planter which I would definitely recommend for patio growers. To the sides I grew some marigolds to help with pests, in front are two pots of carrots (Early Nantes). To the left of the carrots are two pots of basil and in front of all this are different types of lettuce.

 

Lollo Rossa in patio salad planter.