Creating Your Garden Fram

© CICO Books

CB355_Garden Farm 2nd proofs

Published in 2010 by CICO Booksan imprint of Ryland Peters & Small Ltd519 Broadway, 5th Floor, New York NY 10012

www.cicobooks.com

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Text copyright © Nicki Trench 2010Design, illustration, and photography copyright © CICO Books 2010

The author’s moral rights have been asserted.All rights reserved. No part of this publicationmay be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by anymeans, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,or otherwise, without the prior permission ofthe publisher.

A CIP catalog record for this book is availablefrom the Library of Congress.

ISBN: 978-1-907030-11-6

Printed in China

Project editor: Gillian HaslamText editor: Jo RichardsonDesigner: Christine WoodPhotographer: David Merewether (photographs on page 71, 75, 76, 79, 87, 108,111 and 133, step 6 by Caroline Hughes) Illustrator: Michael Hill

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CONTENTSIntroduction 6

Chapter 1 Starting Off 12Planning your kitchen garden 14Soil 20Composting 24Wormeries 28Growing in raised beds 30Equipment 32

Chapter 2 Sowing and Growing 36Growing under cover 38Sowing and planting 42Growing in containers 51Watering 54Pests and diseases 58

Chapter 3 The Kitchen Garden 62Root vegetables 64Brassicas 72Legumes 82Onion family 90Cucurbits 98Leaves 104Stem and perennial vegetables 110Growing fruit 122Growing herbs 134Wild food 140Storing produce 144

Chapter 4 Keeping Animals 148Hen keeping 150Beekeeping 170Keeping goats 178Keeping pigs 180

Useful addresses and websites 182

Index 187

Author’s acknowledgments 192

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6 introduction

The enthusiasm for growing your own produce and cooking fresh and localextends much further than simply reducing costs. People are feeling tricked;we no longer recognize the true shapes, colors, and textures of the plastic-wrapped and overpackaged produce that appears on the shelves of oursupermarkets. We’re presented with a world removed from reality. Headless,footless, and fatless chickens encased in cellophane; apples, carrots, andtomatoes all uniform in shape and color; broccoli trimmed and wrapped soperfectly that no one knows what the real plant looks like. When you growyour own produce, you see the plant for how it is—the beautiful deep-redveins that run through beet leaves, strangely shaped carrots unlike thestraight, uniform specimens you see in the stores, or the majestic thistlelikeflower of the artichoke.

Embracing the oddballPeople now reject odd-shaped vegetables because they probably thinkthey’re from outer space. With all this perfection around in the kitchen, maybewe apply the same weird standards to people, rejecting the apparently oddfrom our lives. The world of advertising has a lot to answer for. And howmany children can name the various vegetables when they see them, let alonerecognize the plant, or know where cuts of meat come from?

Making a change for the betterWith the growing awareness of the impact that food miles has on theenvironment and the advantages of eating nonsprayed, local, and organicfood, people are once more opting to grow their own. In the U.S., the sales ofvegetable seeds have now overtaken those of flowers and hen husbandry isoutstripping the keeping of rabbits and guinea pigs as pets. Of course, this allmakes sense. Domestic pets have their uses: cats are great mouse and ratcatchers, and dogs will keep unwelcome cats off the fresh soil in yourvegetable patch. But nothing is as good and tasty as a bright yellow eggproduced by your own free-range, happy hens.

Using your time and space wiselyThe space you have will determine just how far you go in being a gardenfarmer. If you have a small backyard, with room for only a few pots, thisshouldn’t put you off. You can grow a wide variety of vegetables and fruits ina small space and many varieties will enthusiastically grow wonderfulproduce. If you have a larger space, plan carefully and you’ll be able to haveenough beds to rotate your crops, helping to maintain their health and that of

Introduction

OPPOSITE: Ripe, crunchy

apples waiting to be picked

and eaten straight from

the tree.

BELOW: Fresh eggs with

bright yellow yolks laid

daily from your own hens.


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14 starting off

PLANNING YOUR KITCHEN GARDENFood for thoughtWhen spring comes, it’s easy to get overexcited by the array of

seed packages on the shelves of your local garden center or in

mail-order catalogs. Vegetables are anything but ugly, and a

well-planted vegetable garden is a beautiful sight. The different

sizes, shapes, colors, and textures of the leaves and crop give

your garden a rich, abundant, and welcoming atmosphere.

SpacePlant according to your space, as well as soil typeand local climate. Some vegetables such asartichokes and cabbages require a lot of space andare slow growing, which means they’ll take upvaluable room all season. If you have a smallbackyard or a patio, make use of planting in potsand containers (see pages 51–52), grow plenty ofthe vegetables you know you’ll eat, and avoidtying up valuable space with just one plant thatwill take months to grow and that you may not eat.

When a space appears in your vegetable plot,be ready to fill it with another crop. Choose high-yielding varieties and fast-growing crops; saladleaves, for example, are perfect for filling in gaps.If you sow replacement crops in small pots, theywill be ready to transplant into the vegetable patchas soon as the space becomes available.

Use trellises, stakes, or cages made from woodor garden twine to support vining crops such as

What to plantThe joy of simply growing vegetables can result invegetable beds full of plants that you and yourfamily don’t eat. Prepare a list of vegetables youwant to grow and arrange the crops in the gardenaccording to the amounts you wish to grow, datesto be planted, and the available space. Plant tallcrops on the north side of the garden so that theydon’t shade low-growing crops. Careful planningwill ensure that you have a continuous crop ofvegetables all year round. Keep a record in either agarden notebook or on your computer of whatvarieties and how many you have planted, howwell they have grown, and when and what you’veharvested. This will come in very useful whenplanning next season’s planting.

Talk to local farmers or gardening societiesabout what crops they grow and when they plantand harvest them. Ask about your local first andlast frost dates, and schedule your sowing andplanting accordingly.

Plot positionVegetable beds are best sited on level ground andI’ve always tried to position them as near aspossible to the house. Beds that are out of sight areoften more neglected, and if visible from indoors,it’s much easier to spot when an escaped chicken

is raiding your lovingly grown spinach or othertender crops. I once had a vegetable bed aroundthe corner and out of eyeshot of the house. On myusual rounds during the evening I found a wholerow of young leaves pecked to the ground by a fatchicken escapee who’d been happily nibbling outof sight all day.


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CB355_Garden Farm 2nd proofsoofs

tomato, squash, cucumber, and pole beans thatuse up a great deal of space when allowed to growalong the ground, thus minimizing the use ofground space and increasing garden productivity.

Early-maturing, quick-growing crops such asbeans, radishes, onions, spinach, aurugula, orsalad leaves can be planted between the rows oflate-maturing crops like tomatoes, bell peppers,cabbage, or corn to increase production in a smallarea, the former being harvested before the othersbecome large and block out the sun.

WaterIn the summer months when watering is a dailyritual, having access to an outside faucet or hosewill save a lot of heaving of watering cans to andfrom the house. Make sure that you have a hoselong enough to reach your beds and greenhouseor cold frame. Plan your vegetable garden away

from waterlogged areas and aim for a position where the soil is well drained.

If possible, make a separate area for your bedsaway from tree roots and shady shrubs that willcompete with the vegetables for the moistureavailable in the soil.

WeatherAvoid growing your crops in windy spots. Windwill slow down growth and can damage some ofthe taller, more fragile plants such as fava beansand corn. If unavoidable, consider planting smallhedges or fences around your vegetable area, butthey must be far enough away and low enoughnot to create too much shade. Your crops willgrow best in as much sun as possible, althoughsome plants will prefer a little shade in the hottermonths. Vegetables need at least six hours ofsunlight each day for optimum growth. Bear inmind that the angle of the sun is lower in thespring and fall, and may affect how the garden isshaded by nearby trees.

BELOW: Planting salad leaves makes good use of space

between rows of other vegetables.


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24 starting off

COMPOSTINGPutting something back

There is a very good reason for composting. Every

household produces waste that can be turned into a

completely free and renewable source of nutrients to

improve your soil and provide your plants with an excellent

boost. It’s an energy-efficient method of using up your

vegetable matter and an excellent way to recycle.

How it worksComposting is the end product of thedecomposition of organic matter. To makecompost, you simply combine a mixture of kitchenscraps such as peelings and raw vegetable matter,garden waste, manure, leaves, grass clippings,cardboard, and straw. This will all naturallydecompose and, if properly managed, will providea rich organic matter that will be perfect for yourgarden. In a healthy compost pile you’ll find fine molds, bacteria, fungi, earthworms, mites, andbeetles. These are not garden pests and won’toverrun your garden.

To make compost, simply create a pile in thecorner of your backyard, or contain theingredients within a wooden container (see pages26–27) or a bought plastic bin. Compost bins areeasy and cheap to buy, sometimes subsidized byyour local authority in a bid to encourage allhouseholds to compost and reduce landfill sites.

Composting needs alternate layers of wet anddry material. Wet material is high in nitrogen and lowin carbon, and helps to break down dry material,which is low in nitrogen and high in carbon.

RIGHT: When made from recycled railroad ties or wood,

compost bins look attractive and hold the compost in well.

Creating your own compostFind an area in your garden that is flat and putyour compost bin directly onto the soil so that anyliquid waste can simply drain away. It’s alsoessential that worms can get up into the compostthrough the soil underneath.

Grass cuttings are a common compostingredient, so depending how large your lawn is,it’s sometimes useful to make a separate sectionfor the clippings to keep them in one place readyto add to the compost in layers.


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starting off 25

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recipe for successThink of making compost like a recipe and the secret of success is to

create the right mixture. To achieve this, first divide your ingredients, or composting material, into two categories:

GREENS Quick to rot, these releasemoisture and nitrogen. They includefruit waste, tea bags, uncooked

vegetable scraps, plant prunings,nettles, and grass cuttings.

✘

BROWNS Slower to rot and alsoallow air pockets to form in themixture. They include cardboard,fallen leaves, paper egg cartons,eggshells, and scrunched-up paper.

KEEP OUT Some items should never be put on thecompost including meat, dairy products, cookedvegetables, diseased plants, pet feces or baby’s diapers.These can attract unwanted pests such as rats and alsocreate a nasty smell.

There are also some weeds that you don’t want toadd, such as thistles, dandelions, or anything withseed heads.

Don’t add plastic bottles, metal, cans, orglass—these should all be put in their respectiverecycling facilities.

The greens and the browns should be perfectlybalanced in layers. If the compost is looking wet,you need to add some more browns; if thecompost looks too dry, you need to add moregreens. It’s a good idea to keep a check on themoisture level and water the compost with awatering can if it gets too dry.


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58 sowing and growing

PESTS AND DISEASESWinning the battle

Most gardeners will have to tackle pests and diseases in the

kitchen garden, some being easier than others to manage. The

trick is to make the garden function as biodynamically as possible

as a natural way of combating the problems that can affect your veg.

Don’t expect total elimination of pests and diseases—their occurrence is a

natural part of plant life. Aim for low plant losses rather than no losses at all.

Natural defensesWithout resorting to chemicals, rotating the cropsin your vegetables beds (see page 16) will keepthe soil healthy and attract beneficial wildlife intoyour garden. If you use chemical solutions to treatpests, remember that the chemicals will kill all theliving things on your plants, not just theunwelcome ones.

Where possible, buy disease-resistant plantvarieties. All plants, however, have their ownmechanisms for coping with pests and diseases.By keeping yours well watered and nourished tomake them strong and healthy, they will be betterable to defend themselves against attacks than ifundernourished or weak.

Make your garden environment as hostile asyou can for the pests by removing weeds and anyother potential hiding areas and creating barriersusing netting, mesh, and fleece. Also, trycompanion planting as another natural form ofdefense (see pages 17–19).

To make your own beer trap

1 Fill a shallow pan or plastic food containerwith 1–2 inches of cheap beer (there isreputedly more yeast in draft beer than bottledbeer, but any sort will do).

2 Bury the container so that the lip is at aboutground level, enabling the slugs and snails tocrawl into the trap with ease.

3 Suspend a cover over the trap that protects thebeer but allows slugs and snails to enter.

Pest control measuresSlugs and snails These are probably yourworst enemies in the kitchen garden, devouringyoung plants if given half the chance. Slug pelletsare available, but most are not organic. There areorganic deterrents, such as the naturally occurring

fertilizer iron (ferric) phosphate. Other organicmethods include the following:

Beer traps Slugs and snails are attracted to thesmell of yeast and beer traps are designed toattract the slugs to the beer instead of the plants,but they’re not always effective at gathering up allthe slugs in the garden and you’re bound to losesome of your crops. The traps will need to beemptied and refilled every two or three days.Don’t put slugs and snails into the compost or theywill rot and make the compost smell bad.


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Broken eggshells/sharp grit Difficult for slugs andsnails to cross, so place a layer around each plant.

Manual removal Picking snails, slugs, and cater-pillars off by hand can feel like a thankless task,but it’s effective and they can be dispatched quicklyand efficiently by putting them in a jar of brine.

Rabbits These creatures will happily nibbleaway all day and night at your vegetables. The bestdefense is to install a boundary fence.

Squirrels and mice Fruit is very attractive tosquirrels and mice, and as soon as a strawberry isjust at its ripest, they will home in on it. Try puttingnetting around the most vulnerable plants, butsquirrels are good at breaking in. Achieving aneffective deterrent will be a matter of trial and error.

Moles Humane mole traps are available as a wayof catching these creatures, which will burrowtheir way through the veg patch and create havoc.

Hens I have a particularly rebellious hen whoconstantly escapes and makes Houdini look likean amateur. She seems to know when I’ve plantedout especially tasty spinach or salad leaves andwill eat the whole row before I’ve got to her,though she always takes the green shoots andleaves the red ones. During the growing season,try to contain hens if you can and don’t let themrange freely over your vegetables.

Cats Excellent at keeping away unwantedrodents, but also partial to using a bit of loose soilas a bathroom, causing damage by digging upseedbeds and the soil in containers. Cats also huntuseful predators such as small birds, frogs, andtoads. Even if you do not have a cat, chances arethat you’ll be visited by a neighbor’s cat. Keeping a

dog will deter them, or there is an electronicdevice that uses infrared to detect movement andemits a sound outside the range of human hearingyet intolerable to a cat. It does them no harm, andthey learn to avoid the area. For your own cat,there is no solution other than perhaps using awater pistol and keeping a round-the-clock watch.Sprinkling pepper dust around the plants is also apossible deterrent.

Dogs Dogs are more trainable than cats and youcan usually teach them not to step over the line ofthe vegetable area (except when they’re chasingthe cats).

Children It’s a real pleasure to introduce childrento the garden farm, but make sure they don’ttrample on or pull up your vegetables. If you teachthem a healthy respect of the garden and involvethem in planting, watering, and nurturing, they willtake as much care of the garden as you do.

RIGHT: Hens will always be on the lookout for tasty young

leaves to nibble on.


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STORING PRODUCEVegetables and fruits are mostly best left on the plant or tree until

they are ripe, and then picked and eaten straightaway. But

sometimes a plant might crop all at once, giving you too much

produce. Zucchini typically produce a “glut” in this way, and if

you leave them on the plant, they grow into huge fruits that can be

large enough to feed a family of twenty. In any case, this vegetable

is much tastier when small and young, so if you have lots of zucchini,

make them into chutneys, which you can store, or cook them up in risottos

and even cakes.

Many vegetables will keep for some time in the refrigerator in a plastic bag, and

some can be successfully frozen, but freezing isn’t suitable for all crops. I have

given specific storage tips for each type of vegetable (see pages 64–121), but the

following are some general guidelines on storing different kinds of produce.


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Bulbs and chiliesOnions and garlic store very well if either braidedtogether or strung and hung in a dry place (seepages 92–93). Chilies can either be strung togetherusing a strong thread or string, called a rista ofchillies, and then hung up to dry, or dried out andthen kept in airtight jars for use all through thewinter months.

Root vegetablesPotatoes store well in burlap or paper sacks, but ifexposed to light when stored, they will turn greenand poisonous. Partially green potatoes are safe touse if you cut off the green parts entirely. If storingin paper sacks, leave the sack slightly open toallow the moisture to escape. Make sure you storepotatoes somewhere cool, but they shouldn’t befrozen or kept in plastic bags.

If you have a well-drained soil, carrots andparsnips can be left in it over winter to harvest ondemand. They benefit from some protection withcloches or fleece when the weather is very cold.Leaving them in the ground increases the risk ofinsect damage and digging them up when theground is frozen is a little tricky.

Root veg can be stored in layers of sand in boxes.Cut off the foliage of parsnips and carrots and tearthe foliage of beets to 1⁄2 inch above the top of theroot. Brush off any excess soil before layeringthem with the dry sand in the boxes, making surethey’re not touching one another.

Tip When storing vegetables and fruit in theshort term, show off your produce. Collectpretty baskets, wooden boxes, and attractivecontainers, and enjoy displaying your harveston shelves and tabletops in your kitchen.

OPPOSITE AND RIGHT: Display produce in baskets and in your

kitchen. It may encourage others to share in your passion.


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HEN KEEPINGPets that deliver

Keeping hens is positively the most satisfying aspect

of having a garden farm. Once you’ve made the

necessary preparations and taken the plunge to bring home

your hens, you’ll never look back and you’ll be hooked on hen keeping for a

very long time. For little cost, hens will provide you with fresh, organic eggs,

a lot of fun, and a great deal of companionship around the garden.

The nature of chickensIt’s rumored that hen keeping is now the fastest-growing hobby in the U.S. While nobody reallyknows how many households keep domesticpoultry, with estimates varying wildly between 1million and 2.5 million households, theirpopularity is beyond dispute and it’s notsurprising, since hens have tremendous charactersand are busy and productive creatures.

Domesticated chickens can trace their ancestryback to the red jungle fowl of South-East Asia, andretain much of their ancestors’ natural behavior.Given the opportunity, some will still fly and all

will scratch, dust bathe, and demonstrate not onlysensitive and social behavior but remarkableintelligence as well. Despite their “chicken brain”reputation, hens have proved that their thinkingpower is actually quite sophisticated. Perhaps themost fascinating example of this is the chicken’sability to understand that an object, having beentaken away and hidden from them, neverthelesscontinues to exist. This is apparently beyond thecapacity of small children.

BELOW: Hens live as a flock and have a sophisticated

pecking order.


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keeping animals 151

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Getting startedHens are a 365-days-a-year commitment and relytotally on their owners for their well-being andsafety. They’ll need a safe, well-structured houseand letting out and shutting in every day, and theyshould be supplied with adequate feed and fresh,clean water. Therefore, consider very carefullybefore committing to keeping hens who is goingto help you out if you have to go away.

Always buy more than one hen. They exist instable, social groups, recognizing each other byfacial features. Studies show that they have twenty-four distinct cries that communicate an abundanceof information to one another, including separate

alarm calls depending on whether a predator istraveling by land or water.

Keeping hens in the backyard isn’t usually aproblem, but some areas may have a poultryrestriction order on them, so always check withyour local authority before buying them. Forinstance, there may be a covenant in the propertydeeds prohibiting the keeping of livestock, and insome towns there are restrictions on the number ofhens you can keep. In any case, your localauthority will have grounds for complaint if youkeep a noisy rooster in an urban area or if you failto keep the chicken feed in an appropriate mannerand that results in attracting rats.

Why keep hens?

Soil improvement Hens’ droppings will fertilize your soil and activate and enrich your compost heap.

Garden tidying Hens will eat weeds, leftover vegetable crops, and windfall fruits.

Pest control Hens are excellent controllers of garden pests and will happily keep down thepopulations of slugs and snails in the garden.

Waste recycling Hens are great household waste recyclers. You can use old newspapers to line thefloor of their house and shredded paper for bedding, and they can feed on garden waste andkitchen scraps.

Food production More than any other pet, hens are productive. They provide you with the delightof collecting eggs from their nest and then cooking and eating a fresh egg every day, which isgood for the body and soul.

Health enhancement Hens are great for your health. Even in the depths of winter, you’ll be forcedto go outside in the fresh air to check on the hens and collect the eggs every day.

Companionship Most of all, hens are wonderful companions and become much-loved members of the family. When you’ve built up trust with your hens, they will willingly chat and cluck atyou, and many hens are quite happy to sit and perch on your arm. My hens are so keen to bepart of the family that one day I found my ex-battery hen perching on the back of my couchin the living room!


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