insideKENT Magazine Issue 72 - March 2018 | Page 98

OUTDOORLIVING
GROW The Right Garden FOR YOU cont.
If you have lots of time...
Fruit and Vegetable Gardens
If you have plenty of time to spend in your
garden then you can really get your hands
dirty and plant a fruit and vegetable patch.
Digging out the space you need and ensuring
that the soil is well turned over is a great start;
then it’s time to plant the seeds or bulbs. There
will be some kind of edible produce that can
be grown almost all year round, so make sure
you know what you plant first. Remember that
when that crop dies away, you’ll need to dig
the earth over again before you plant anything
else too. It can be useful if you have two
patches in your garden where you can plant
veggies because leaving one fallow for a few
months will allow the soil to become much
healthier, and you’ll end up with juicier,
plumper, and generally more tasty results.
It’s less the preparation and planting of a
vegetable patch than the maintenance that
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requires your attention more of the time than
a flower garden would. Vegetables can’t be
neglected in the slightest, or you’ll find you
have much lower yields and the vegetables
you get will be smaller than they should be.
They need to be watered a lot (around two
inches a week), for example. With pot plants
and the like you can wait for the rain to fall
(unless it’s very hot), but that won’t be enough
for your veggies. It’s not only the amount of
water to look out for either – it needs to be
done a little every day as a sudden influx of
fluid could shock the plants and cause splitting
and damage to the vegetables. wind and rain has blown a lot of it away. The
same goes for fertiliser and feed; it all needs
to be added to the mix.
Mulching is another job that will need to be
done. Mulching stops too many weeds from
appearing and it cools the plant roots, as well
as conserving water, so it’s good stuff. But,
you’ll need to top it up when it looks low, and
that can take a little time particularly if the If you enjoy gardening and have the time to
dedicate to it then all of the above will be
joyous; a great excuse to get outside and dig
in, and you’ll feel healthier for it too.
And there’s more… Depending on what you’re
planting you’ll potentially need to stake tall or
climbing plants so that they don’t topple over
and ruin the fruit. Pruning may also be
required to keep things neat and tidy. At some
point, you’ll want to make time for thinning
the seedlings out – it can be hard to sacrifice
these little plants, but it’s for the greater good
since it will allow the ones you leave behind
to flourish.