If things are a little windy and exposed in your garden, it doesn’t mean you can’t grow your own veg. You just need to choose the right things to grow and remember these 3 top tips…
- Choose plants wisely
Shorter plants are best, but that won’t mean you can’t grow lots of popular and exciting things. Instead of the climbing beans, tall sweetcorn and cordon tomatoes…go for the dwarf bean varieties, the bush tomatoes and baby sweetcorn. Root veg will be ok in windier spots, and leeks and onions. You can still grow plants like broccoli, sprouts and cavolo nero kale as their stalks are fairly strong, but they’ll be much sturdier if you earth them up and stake them. - Get a windbreak sorted
One of the best ways to keep wind under control in the veg patch is (amusingly) to grow a nice row of Jerusalem Artichokes. Seriously, Jerusalem Artichokes grow into lovely tall sunflower-like yellow blooms for the summer and make a fab screen against the wind. You’ll need to give them a little support, but a stake jammed into the ground at each corner of the row with some twine running down the sides of the row, approx 3-4 feet high, will create a good cage-like structure to hold them up. Alternatives would be to plant a bushy hedge (fruit bushes would be ideal as they’ll also supply you with crops) or pop up a windbreak fence. However you do it, windbreak measuring 1m high will provide effective shelter for a 5m area on the sheltered side. - Water well
One thing about a windy site is that the soil dries out that much more quickly, so make sure you water thoroughly during dry spells to give the soil a jolly good soaking!