crop of potatoes can be grown in a large pot, a tub or a special potato bag. Start with about 20 cm (8 in) of good potting compost in the bottom. Plant the potatoes and keep well watered. As they grow, top up the compost in stages, no more than 7.5 cm (3 in) at a time. At harvest time, just tip out the whole pot and separate the potatoes from the compost. Remember that potato roots must grow in the dark or they become green, so don’t try using clear plastic drums.
Growing fruit in small spaces
Growing fruit in a small space is even more challenging but not impossible. Really most fruits need to grow in the open ground, although some can be grown in large pots. Most fruits prefer a sunny location. If you have some space against a wall, trained fruit trees, such as cordon apples, fan-trained plums or espalier pears, can be grown. These are regularly pruned so kept within a restricted space. Do always make sure with any of the top fruits (see Types of fruit, here) such as apple, pear, plum or cherry that you purchase young trees that have been grafted on a dwarf rootstock. The dwarf nectarine ‘Nectarella’ is suitable for pot culture and produces full-sized, sweet juicy fruits.
One possibility for small gardens is the concept of a ‘family’ apple tree. Three or more varieties are grafted onto the same rootstock, grow and produce three types of fruit. It is essential with such a tree that the different varieties will pollinate each other and that they will grow at a similar rate to each other to keep the tree in balance. You can also get pears grafted as family trees.
Redcurrants, white currants and gooseberries can all be grown as upright cordons and take up very little space. Blackcurrants grow in a different manner and are rather too spreading for a confined space. Raspberries also grow vertically and three or five canes can be planted around a central post. Strawberries are easily grown in growbags, pots or even in hanging baskets. Growing strawberries in above ground containers keeps the fruit off the soil and away from slugs.
Tools and equipment
A bad workman blames his tools was the phrase my father always used if I got something wrong! Whether or not it’s true, a good gardener needs a combination of skills and the right tools to do the job. The essentials for all gardening are a spade, fork, rake, hoe, trowel, secateurs and a wheelbarrow. Handle the spades on display until you are comfortable with one. A fork is probably the second most useful tool and is used for a myriad jobs. There are smaller-sized spades and forks available which are lighter and may be more suitable for those with less strength. The most useful rake is a standard steel-headed rake that can be used to break down soil, level and create a tilth.
Hoes come in many different styles. The Dutch hoe is the most useful for simple weeding and it is used with a pushing action, whilst walking backwards. For vegetable growing, a draw hoe will be needed, partly for taking out drills for seeds and also for earthing up potatoes. Hoes with short handles, called onion hoes, are very useful for close work, such as thinning seedlings. A wheelbarrow is probably an essential for fruit and vegetable production. If transporting materials is an issue, there are also barrows with large wheels like balloons and also ones with two wheels, sometimes called garden carts.
A trowel is a small tool but choose it carefully, selecting one that has a smooth handle that fits comfortably in the palm of your hand. A garden line will be needed for sowing seeds and positioning plants in straight rows, or you can use a length of wood. If you need to apply pesticides, you will need a sprayer. Secateurs, possibly long-armed loppers and a small pruning saw will be needed to prune fruit trees. A watering can is always useful and plastic ones will be the lightest and longest lasting. When buying a hosepipe, do buy a good-quality reinforced hose that will not kink and a reel to wind it on.
You should always have a stout pair of gardening gloves to protect your hands when doing tough jobs. There is nothing clever about grubbing about in the soil with bare hands as some TV personalities do. Soil can easily contain pathogens, which cause infections and there is always the risk of broken glass or rusty metal. Having spent a lifetime with dry, chapped gardening hands, I am also a fervent user of disposable vinyl gloves for all garden jobs. Use a good skin cream on your hands before and after a gardening session.
Harvesting and storage
Fresh fruit and vegetables are undoubtedly the tastiest and most nutritious but however hard you try to plan a succession of crops there will inevitably be some gluts. Some vegetables such as peas and sweetcorn all ripen at the same time, as do many fruits. Going on holiday or failing to harvest for a few days will also yield a bumper harvest. On a short-term basis most vegetables and fruit will store well in a cool pantry or refrigerator.
Most methods of long-term storage are kitchen techniques but some are horticultural procedures. Potatoes and onions will store well over winter in a cool, dry frost-free shed. Potatoes are best stored in thick paper sacks, not polythene. Onions are best tied together in a long string and hung from a shed roof. Apples and pears can be stored in open trays stacked up in a cool, frost free store. Ideally they should be wrapped individually in waxed paper to reduce moisture loss. Root crops such as potatoes, carrots, parsnips, and swedes can also be stored outdoors in a structure called a clamp. All stored fruit and vegetables should be checked regularly and any rotting specimens removed.
Moving to the kitchen, there are various other possibilities. Freezing is undoubtedly the easiest and most successful technique for a wide variety of both fruit and vegetables. Check a freezing guide for details on preparation and blanching times. Most fruits can be made into jams and the traditional technique of bottling is quite successful with fleshy fruits such as pears and plums. Some vegetables such as onions, red cabbage and gherkins are suitable for pickling and others for making chutney. In particular, green tomatoes at the end of the season can be used to make a flavoursome winter pickle. Some beans can be allowed to fully ripen for drying in airtight jars. And, of course, most fruits, and indeed some vegetables such as parsnips, can be used to produce very acceptable country wines.
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