Ooh, I am so honoured to be invited back to blog about my veg patch shenanigans! I don’t think I’ve ever been requested ‘by popular demand’ before 😉 and it is lovely to be referred to as a ‘seasoned grower’!
For those that haven’t come across my other posts here on Rocket Gardens before, I used to blog under the title “Diary of a Rocket Gardener.” Back when I first started, almost ten years ago I think, I was pretty new to gardening and veg growing, and was very much learning on the job. Nowadays, I’ve got a fair bit of knowledge, so I am back as a ‘Seasoned Grower’ to bring a few snippets of garden wisdom (or something similar at least) to you all.
This week, this is what my veg garden looks like. Bare.
Shock horror, I hear you all exclaim! (And, I’ll be honest, I do sometimes cast an eye over into my neighbour’s plot and get that FOMO panic that I’m somehow behind.) But, here’s the thing…. Many of my plants from Rocket Gardens are currently sitting in an old roasting pan in my kitchen, with a little water and a little sunlight, waiting to be planted out.
I haven’t felt like it’s the right time yet.
Three nights ago, I went to bed with a hot water bottle, it was that cold. And I sleep hot. So for me to disappear at night with a hot water bottle is pretty unusual at this time of year. If it’s that cold, then it’s too cold for my precious beans, and cucumbers and tomatoes, and squashes – and sweetcorn. I’d be devastated to lose them to the cold, and one or two weeks isn’t going to make a huge difference in the grand scheme of things. I’ll plant them in a few days, when the nights are warmer, and I know that they’ll still crop on time etc etc.
Thinking about it, if I had a smaller plot, I probably would plant out, but with the knowledge that I could quickly cover a few crops if it looked like it was going to be a particularly cold night, but with a garden my size, and just me to tend to it here and there in between work and everything else, it’s simply easier to plant out a bit later.
The good thing is that it is giving me time to get on top of things – I’ve dug up a lot of bindweed roots and tangles of nettle roots, which will make a big difference later in the summer, and I’ve been able to fully weed out the herb garden areas and have laid down some fresh woodchip on the pathways too. It’s been really lovely spending the warmer part of the day out in the garden, and then just being able to quickly down tools without worrying about watering etc.
My moral of the story is that if your garden looks as bare as mine and you’ve got that FOMO feel going on, don’t panic. You have time. Your plants might even thank you for not rushing them. In fact, you could happily plant up in June and still enjoy a wonderful summer of growing. July might be pushing it, although you could definitely fill a garden with salads and carrots and beetroot and brassicas then too.