A Kitchen Gardener's Year

By Jim Pearce, Copford, Colchester, Essex

I have just two mouths to satisfy and a small kitchen garden of about a hundred square yards. A garden set on a raised light Essex soil with an average rainfall of 21 1/ 2 inches (53 cm) a year.

From this I am able to supply virtually all the kitchen requirements give or take the odd blip needing a trip to the local Womens' Institute market or perhaps Mrs. Sainsbury's store. That said, apart from earlies, potatoes are not included. Maincrop potatoes grown at home offer but little advantage over the farm grown ones. Space is also a consideration, but room has to be found for a few earlies - which always seem so much better from one's own patch.

There is of course no such thing as a gardener's year and so the problem arises of where to begin. I have opted for the calendar year as it is the easiest to portray.

January

Brussels sprouts alternate with leeks and from time to time, there are parsnips. Some carrots may still be around and likewise the tail end of the onions.

February

A complete repetition of the January diet with the vegetables always culled fresh from the patch. There are some twenty sprout plants spaced at 30 inches (75 cm) each way. One row of 'Peer Gynt' and the other of the later maturing 'Citadel' or 'Rampart'.

March

The same pattern continues using the later and hardier 'Lyon' cultivar of leek after the remarkable 'King Richard' which gives such a large blanch without banking up. Towards the end of the month a first cut of spinach beet is made from under the cloches. These are the glass growers, type and are indispensable for vegetable production. In a favourable season the first cut of 'Spring Hero' cabbage is made in the closing days, again from under cloches, cutting off the head and leaving the root which subsequently provides one more, or in some cases two more, heads. Treating them thus I am saving the need for other cabbages during the summer.

In the cold frame carrot 'Sytan' and 'Detroit' globe beet are sown direct into the finely prepared seed bed, mostly made from old potting compost. 'Hurst Greenshaft' peas are sown five or so to a 1 litre pot for planting out later under cloches. The early potato 'Charlotte' is set up to sprout but not planted until the end of April to avoid frost damage. At the month's end the first direct outdoor sowings are made, always providing the soil is in suitable condition. Leeks, 'King Richard' and 'Lyon' along with the Brussels sprouts 'Peer Gynt' and either 'Citadel' or 'Rampart' are sown now, chosen to cover the season. If the season is delayed the cloches are brought to bear and helping the sowings to catch up.

April

Spinach beet and spring cabbage dominate in the kitchen. The beet being cut hard to soil level with a carving knife which encourages it to produce young succulent leafage. Asparagus also puts in an appearance on the table this month, yielding sufficient about every three days from the first week of the month until June. Two 'Alicante' tomato plants are bought in and set in 8 1/2

inch (22Va cm) pots. The pots of peas sown last month are carefully lined out at about 1 8 inches (45 cm) apart, taking care not to disturb the root ball. They are cloched immediately with cloches removed from the spring cabbage. A double row of broad beans is sown, usually The Sutton', a very prolific bearer, though the changes are rung (with some apprehension, sometimes). Towards the end of the month more 'Hurst Greenshaft' peas are set and covered with the cloches removed from the earlier planting. The earlier planting is then staked with brushwood, this usually taking the form of buddleia and fuchsia prunings along with prunings from any other hardwood subject that has been winter pruned.

In the greenhouse three or so dwarf French beans of the cultivar Tendergreen' are sown in 4 inch (10cm) pots and singled to one after germination. These will be set out under cloches once the last frosts are past in mid May.

May

In the first few days sowings are made of parsnips, 'Hollow Crown' or 'Avonresister', along with indoor sowings of melon 'Little Sweetheart', cucumber Telegraph Improved' and 'Green Bush' marrow. Towards the middle of the month a further row of 'Hurst Greenshaft' peas go in and at the month's end runner beans, 'Streamline' or 'Achievement', are set two seeds to a cane, later singled to one. On the table asparagus predominates, together with cabbage and spinach beet.

June

The year's first pullings of beet and carrots from the frame come at the beginning of the month, with early potatoes, peas and autumn sown broad beans following them up. Spinach beet is still around, although largely crowded out by the flush of other crops. The melons are planted out under cloches, at about 4 feet (1 20 cm) apart and the glass on the south side is whitened to prevent scorching. Carrots and beet are sown in the open ground to yield after those in the frame have finished. This way carrot fly is never a problem. Cucumbers go to the Dutch frame - and the marrows to any odd spot!

July

The vegetable quota in the kitchen is further enhanced by the arrival of the first dwarf French beans, usually about the second week. Spinach beet is sown and thinned to one plant every 1 0 inches (25 cm). This will provide a pre winter crop around October when it will be cloched for the winter to provide an early spring cut.

August

The main holiday month and one of little activity other than harvesting and routine tasks. The autumn planted Japanese onions from sets are usually well ripened for lifting by the first week. As the month draws to an end the spring cabbage 'Spring Hero', a round headed F1 hybrid, is sown for planting out in September or October. The first runner beans will normally turn in towards the month's end.

September

Runner beans day after day after day - with carrots and beet as required! The melons usually provide on average four good fruits to a plant and are taken into the kitchen when they show signs of splitting. Or, better still, when they attract the nose when walking down the path - a sure sign of true ripeness. From the frame there are cucumbers, tomatoes are ripe in the greenhouse and hopefully the odd marrow to alleviate the beans. Winter hardy onion sets are planted 9 inches (22 1/ 2 cm) apart in the open garden.

October

Spinach beet and spring cabbage are cloched for winter protection and in a quiet corner a small row of the early pea 'Foremost' is sown out of doors on the off chance that it will survive the winter.

November

The broad bean 'Aquadulce' is sown by the third day. The first leeks and Brussels sprouts, along with parsnips, make their way to the kitchen and continue to do so for the entire winter. As a change this year I have, for the first time in many years, added five plants of purple sprouting broccoli to my over wintering crops.

December

The garden and I rest!

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