2009 was a patchy year on the plot. The beans and onions went wild, but the tomatoes were slow to ripen and the carrots were a wash-out. We’ve been through a few years now of growing our own, though, so we expect some annual variation, but for anyone just starting out, it could be enough to make them give up.
That’s why we got in touch with Gardening Direct, whose all year vegetable collections cuts out at least one step in the grow your own process: planting seeds. For beginners, drilling a trench of the correct depth and watering their seedlings just enough and not too much is the trickiest part. As soon as they get established, your plants are far easier to look after, and to a degree they can look after themselves.
Enter plug plants, which the company will dispatch throughout the year, keeping you stocked up with small, established seedlings that you only need transfer into your plot. We asked them how it worked.
Blagger: Gardening can be quite seasonable. Should customers expect a glut of plug plants and then nothing else for months?
Gardening Direct: Plug plants for the vegetable collections are delivered to your door at the right time to plant throughout the year, ensuring you have crops all season – no complicated planning or great expertise is needed. It’s the easiest way to grow your own.
When you order the Vegetable Collection, you will be provided with a ‘Vegetable Planner’ detailing the delivery times and harvest periods of your plants.
Blagger: How small is the smallest plot you would recommend someone uses?
Gardening Direct: The All Year Vegetable Collection – Small Plot is designed for gardeners who are pushed for space or are new to growing vegetables. This collection contains nine different varieties to fill an area measuring 10 x 10ft. Full growing and care instructions are included with each plant. The guides also provide information on suitability for container and patio growing. It includes lettuce, beans, tomatoes, cauliflower, spring onions and courgettes, among others.
Blagger: The plug plants are established in Jersey, which is quite a lot further south than many UK gardeners (particularly those in Yorkshire, Lancashire, Northumberland and so on). Do they need to do anything to acclimatise their plants in these colder regions?
Gardening Direct: All the plants are grown under greenhouse conditions to the highest standard by skilled horticultural experts. The temperature controlled greenhouses ensure that the plants are acclimatised to whatever conditions will meet them once they leave the nursery.
Blagger: What expertise and kit should a first-timer equip themselves with before setting out on vegetable growing?
Gardening Direct: Starting a vegetable patch from scratch can seem like a daunting task at first, but the effort pays dividends in the long run. There are five essential items that are needed when creating a new vegetable patch; string – to mark out the plot, garden fork – to clear the space, mulch – to give your patch a good start, a rake and a watering can
Full growing and care instructions will be included with each plant, and we also have an extensive range of growing guides on our website for each vegetable and fruit to provide you with instant know-how. Each guide provides the basics – step by step instructions to guide beginners through propagation, planting out and harvesting – as well as giving handy tips and plant facts to help more experienced gardeners get the best out of their plants. The guides also provide information on suitability for container and patio growing.
We also have an on-line blog that shares tips and information from three gardeners of varying ability. The gardener in the North is an experienced gardener but has used a polytunnel for the first time this year, a gardener in the West who is a very experienced gardener and has plenty of helpful tips to help any new gardener. Finally, the gardener in the Home Counties is very keen but relatively new to gardening. They journal their successes (and failures) of using our plug plants.
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