Summer Vegetables From Your Own Garden

Author: Mark Bartley

Author: Mark Bartley

If you want to grow your own vegetables all year round then summer crops will be important to you. Your options include herbs, squashes, sweetcorn and lettuce amongst other salad varieties.

If you are a keen cook, what better than being able to pick fresh herbs right outside your back door? Using a container with a diameter of at least 30cm (12"), or a trough, fill with a mixture of 80 per cent compost to 20 per cent grit to ensure free draining. Next, plant up. Parsley, mint (which needs to be confined as it will spread to fill any area it is allowed to. Just pot the plant in its own small plastic pot, and plant in the container with the pot rim proud of the compost), thyme, chives, marjoram, coriander, and dill are just a few of the herbs you can attempt to grow.

Squashes grow very quickly and in order to sustain that growth, they need plenty of food and nutrients. To grow, tip a bucket of manure or compost into a spacious hole, then top up using the previously dug out soil. This will leave a small mound. Plant the seed in the middle of the mound and water generously. Butternut squash, courgettes, small scallopini/pattypan, and pumpkin are all good options.

French beans, runner beans and peas are types of legume, and as such enjoy positions with plenty of sun and a very rich soil. Dig a long trench and add manure or compost lining the bottom. Refill with soil, leave for a couple of weeks to settle. While you are waiting, you can construct the support for the plants. As beans climb by twining, use bamboo or man-made canes and garden twine to construct a framework that they can climb up. Peas climb differently using tendrils, so they will need netting supported by stakes, peasticks (woody twigs, usually hazel or birch prunings), or canes and string to grow up.

The beginning of summer is the best time to plant sweetcorn. This is a great suggestion as the taste of cooked sweetcorn which has been home grown is simply a delight. To ensure successful pollination, plant in a block e.g 20 plants, 5 plants to a row, 4 rows with the plants 18 inches apart. Sow 2 seeds per hole, and remove the weaker plant later. The cobs will be ready when the tassles turn brown and the kernals are yellow and no longer white. An interesting way to plant sweetcorn is using the "three sisters" method, whereby it is grown along with squash to provide a living mulch, and beans which are given supported by the corn.

Home lettuce is simple to grow and there are plenty of types to choose from. Simply plant the seeds of your chosen variety, or mix several different kinds together. Sow in a row, adding further rows every 2-4 weeks until September to provide a repeating supply. Ensure the seeds receive adequate water, and once the plants are sufficiently large, cut as much as you require using scissors. The cut plant will regrow and can be cut several times. Good varities include little gem, salad bowl and lollo rossa.About the Author:

Almost anyone can grow vegetables at home. All you need is a patch of ground or space for a few containers, some simple tools and some sound advice. Give it a try and taste better vegetables.

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