1. choose site
2. decide what crops to grow
3. plan rotation
4. design site to fit rotation - make strips & walkways
5. prepare soil
� remove weeds
� dig soil
� add compost, sand etc to improve soil structure
� add FYM & compost to enrich soil

nb.� do not walk on soil - it will compact it, break down structure & reduce drainage (work from walkways)

CHEATS
1. use polytunnels to control moisture levels, increase warmth & keep out pests
2. use netting (wondermesh) to keep out pests ( birds, carrot fly, greenfly, cabbage whites etc)

There are 3 stages to planning your patch.
1. PLAN YOUR REQUIREMENTS
2. Fit the crops required� into a rotation.�
3.Then develop a cropping plan.

To plan your requirements, list all the veg you (& the rest of the family) would like. Then make a chart to show how many of each veg you require each month (like a shopping list.)� This will ensure that you don’t have to eat onions for the whole of one month & remind you to have a balanced collection of veg.

The chart below shows how to start the exercise:

Store onions

1. when the stem of the onion bends over to touch the ground, the onions are ready to harvest

2. on a dry day, pull the onions out of the ground and leave them to dry for a day or two

3. lift the onions off the ground, and place them in a dry, airy, sunny place under cover.

4. after a few weeks, when the onions seem quite dry and the skins are shiny and ripe, tie,or plait the onions in groups of six.

5. hang the onions in a cool, even temperature, out of sunlight, where they will keep for the winter

Jerusalem artchokes make great soup

• The poor man’s artichoke has a great flavour
• Jerusalem artichokes resemble potatoes by having tubers
• The tubers are gnarly and uneven, vaguely resembling ginger root, with a crisp texture when raw
• grow vigorously
• very tall, 4 or 5 feet
• good bird cover, pheasants like to hide in the greenery & eat the tubers
  grow them on the edge of the patch or in the far corner of the garden, as they look very untidy
• can stay on the same patch for several years, do not need rotating
  the larger tubers can be lifted, but a few smaller ones are always left behind to produce the next year
• The freshest roots are plumpish and vibrant in appearance. If left too long in the open, they become wrinkled and soft and can develop a bitter taste. So, Grow your own!!

To grow cress on the window sill

• find an old flannel or piece of towel

• soak the cloth in water and wring it out

• place the wet cloth on a plate

• put the cress seeds on top of the cloth in a single layer, so that the cloth is almost completely covered and the seeds are not quite touching

• place the plate on a warm window sill, and keep the cloth damp at all times.

Compost:

• improves the soil
• enriches the soil with nutrients
• makes heavy soil lighter.�

Cover the soil with a layer of compost about 2 inches thick.� Then gently fold it in to the soil using a garden fork.

The compost can be old decomposed grass clippings; old, decomposed leaves; well-rotted farm yard manure; well-rotted horse manure; well rotted straw.

Earthworms keep the vegetable garden healthy and in good heart.�

Earthworms are good for the garden.� The more you have the better it will be.�

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• Worms pull the small bits of rubbish (like dead leaves) down into the soil.�
• They eat them up and convert them into humus, which is full of nutrients and available to help the vegetable plants grow.�
• Worms open the soil up as they wiggle through it, bringing air into the soil, which is essential for the roots to grow and produce healthy veg.

Broad beans are good vegetables for children to grow.�

The seeds are large, so their little hands� can control them.

The shoots are plump and vigorous, satisfying the junior gardener.

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Biological control involves the release of organisms that attack pests. The aim of biological control is to shift the balance of competition between the pest and the crop in favour of the crop and against the pest.

The biological control agent, guinea fowl & lacewings in our case, may not necessarily kill all the pests but should, at least, reduce their vigour and competitive ability. From a practical point of view the organism or agent should prevent the pest reproducing.

Free range Guinea fowl constantly roam the vegetable garden looking for insects.

 They keep the pests down to an acceptable level, & don’t seem to eat the vegetables.

The Guinea fowl are a problem at sowing time as they like to have dust baths in dry soil. To get over this we cover the seed rows with various cloches

The lacewings prey on aphids and other soft bodied insects. We have a lacewing breeding box in the veg garden, filled with straw, which will encourage them to breed.

They will be perfectly sited to take all the soft insects off the vegetables. How they will manage with the guinea fowl remains to be seen

Broccoli� is full of fiber and nutrients, especially vitamins A and C,� iron and calcium.

As with other vegetables, broccoli begins to lose valuable nutrients as it ages. Freshness is especially critical to the flavor of broccoli, which turns sharp and bitter if it sits around too long. These are just more reasons why it’s best to grow your own whenever you can.