How to live the good life – my veggie patch journey

Being conscious about where our food comes from is very topical right now, isn’t it? I think there’s a little part of all of us that would like to know how to live the good life.

Just yesterday I was watching ‘The Great Cookbook Challenge’ (have you seen it yet? If not, give it a try, I really enjoyed it). One of the contestants was pitching her sustainable cooking cookbook…a former vegetarian encouraging us to understand where our meat comes from and alternatives that can be used.

And this struck a chord with me. Not only because I like to understand the journey my food has been through. But because I’m about to embark on planting my own fruit and veggie patch. And I thought I’d share my journey with you!

Living the good life?

Now I’m not about to go all out like Tom and Barbara in The Good Life, but I do want to learn how to grow vegetables and to teach the kids about it too.

Preparation

As this is a new project for us at Wide Welly HQ, we must do lots of preparation. The area is currently a bit of a weedy, rubbly mess so it needs raking and weeding before we do anything. So wellies at the ready we’ll get out there and make sure the ground in well prepared.

Then I’ll need to map out where I want to plant the different types of fruits and veggies.

What to grow?

I’ve grown plants before, but never really dabbled in vegetables! I’m planning on potatoes, as they’re supposed to be quite easy (according to Jeremy Clarkson who managed to grow bazillions of them on his farm…I know, I know, I need to get outdoors in my wide calf wellies more and stop watching so much telly!)

I’m then thinking that leeks, tomatoes, herbs and strawberries would make a great start this year.

But what to plant when?

The tomato seeds can be sown anytime between now and April, but these will need to be kept indoors until the last frost has gone in May.

Once I’ve potted up the tomato seeds, I plan to turn my attention to leeks which can be sown in March and April. I plan to harvest these in the Autumn, perfect for warming soups in the cooler months.

For the potatoes, I can plant them in early April and they should be ready by July. They can grow in compost (which I have a big heap of) and I have some potato sacks and seeded potatoes, so these should be easy, shouldn’t they? I’ve been reading up about chitting them first.

The strawberries can also be planted in April ready for them to be harvested in June and July (they’re speedy little growers, aren’t they?!)

I’ve already made a start on the herbs in my kitchen. But I’ll need to sow seeds in the ground every fortnight to have fresh leaves through the summer months. I also like the idea of perennial herbs that I can harvest as I need them.

Will growing my own food be rewarding?

So there you have it. My fruit and vegetable patch plan.

I’ll keep you updated throughout the seasons. I hope you continue to follow me throughout the journey.

Wish me luck – I can’t wait to see what I manage to grow!

Verity.