This week I’m shifting the focus and giving you a rundown of what’s going on with our fruit and veg at home. I’ve talked about this before but not for a good while so an update is necessary I think! We don’t have the luxury of acres of space, as you know, but we try to cram in what we can into our humble garden. Even if we end up with only small crops of what we do grow, its all worthwhile for the taste you get from homegrown.
This year I’m giving tomatoes a really good effort after not growing them particularly successfully in my pre-Instagram days. One variety I’m particularly excited about is ‘Garden Pearl’.
On the outside this looks like any other small cherry tomato, but this variety is bred with the idea that it can be grown as a tumbling tom. A tumbling tom is a tomato that can be grown in a hanging basket, perfect for small spaces including balconies and small gardens. This is now variety number 7 or 8 that we’ll have this year, so bring on the salad
Elsewhere our blueberry bush has put on a tremendous amount of growth, and it looks as though we might finally have fruits this year. Blueberries can sometimes take a number of years to get going and give a crop and this is its second year in our garden, so I’ve got all fingers crossed.
This variety is one called Hortblue Petite, and if I’m lucky I’ll get two crops a year from it eventually – one in July and another around September. This is the perfect example of me not really knowing what I’m doing because I bought this last year expecting a crop but let’s hope this year is the year!
Ever since we’ve had our own gardens, we’ve always had herbs. Sometimes just a small pot or two, and other times it’s been more substantial. This year I’ve built a planter especially for our herb collection, from an old wooden pallet.
Wooden pallets are perfect for all sorts of garden DIY projects, some of which I’ll be sharing with you over the coming year, so keep your eyes peeled. I’ve lost count of how many varieties of herbs we’re growing but I know it’s a lot!
I’d love to know about which you’re growing and what you do with all of yours?
And finally, over to the potatoes! In an effort to grow a swathe of tomatoes this year I’ve shrunk down the potatoes just to the one bag this year. I’m growing some first earlies called Arran Pilot, which should give me a crop in a few months’ time.
Potatoes, for me, are the absolute best thing to try when giving grow your own a go and nothing tastes better than a home-grown spud. Hot or cold, and slathered in butter and a sprinkle of salt – bliss!
And in podcast news, this week’s conversation is with gardener, content creator and author, Patrick Vernuccio. Or, as you might know him better as The Frenchie Gardener.
Patrick grows a wide range of fruit, veg and flowers on his balcony terrace in Berlin (not France!) and he tells us un detail, just how that’s possible!
Click here to listen now!
See you again next week
Disclaimer: This post is part of a paid partnership with Farmer Gracy. Links are to tulips I have bought myself but the post is paid content, which still reflects my actual garden experience. Link are not affiliate links. I use Farmer Gracy both as a consumer myself.
View From The Potting Bench 