Do you fancy having a go at growing some veg this summer? Getting out-of-doors makes us feel so much better and with ‘food miles’ and plastic packaging on everyone’s minds, what better project than growing some of your own produce this year. It might be good to get some basics in but they don’t cost […]
Welcome to ‘Beginner’s Veg! I want to say right at the start that this series of blogs is not for all the clever-clogs out there, who’ve been growing veg for years and know all the neat tricks and dazzling science of the art. If you’re new to The3Growbags, we are three sisters (Laura, Caroline and […]
Right, the first vegetable in our ‘Beginner’s Veg’ series. One of the easiest things for a beginner, I think, is potatoes. It’s sort of magical when you dig into the soil and unearth fat new tatties. And you know your spuds haven’t been sprayed with chemicals, and they are going to taste FANTASTIC…. 1.Choosing Varieties First of […]
I’m going to be talking about one of my favourite of all vegetables today – broad beans. One of the joys of growing your own broad beans is that they are SO seasonal – one of the few things that you’ll only buy fresh in supermarkets or get in veg boxes at certain times of […]
We’re now going to talk about growing the most versatile vegetable of them all – ONIONS! Not usually difficult, unless you live in a swamp, and lovely to have on hand at almost any time in the kitchen. So let’s get started………. 1. Seeds and sets, onions and shallots You can grow onions from seed, […]
Now let’s get busy on some marvellous veg that you can grow outside, or in pots big and small, or (in the case of pea-shoots) just in an old butter-container on your kitchen window! Getting Hold of Seeds It is a very common rookie mistake to sow too many seeds at once. You DO NOT […]
Today, I’m talking about tomatoes, those stalwarts of any self-respecting veg drawer. I think I’m slightly addicted to the sharp luscious smell of tomato leaves and of a just-picked tomato. Those of you who’ll be growing them for the first time are in for a treat! They are fabulous for growing in pots, as well […]
You can grow a marvellous range of salad plants with very little difficulty. They’re the perfect thing to grow as a ‘cut-and-come-again’ crop – the idea is that you sow a few seeds every few days or so, you snip off leaves as you want them when they’re young, small and fresh, and you keep […]
Courgettes and squashes are really good fun to grow if you have more than a shoebox of space. Apart from anything else, I love getting so much PLANT from one seed! They are generally easy – even my horticulturally challenged little sister Caroline had roaring success with butternut squash last year! And just a couple […]
Let’s fast forward now to next winter; warming vegetable soups, vitamin-packed green leaf smoothies, crunchy homemade coleslaw and parmesan encrusted roast parsnips with your Sunday lunch. It may seem a world away but actually right now is the time to get cracking on the winter veg front. Having covered all the sexy summer salad-y stuff […]
Let’s turn now to some lovely leafy veg! Swiss chard, kale and spinach leaves are delicious and full of vitamins, whether cooked/steamed for stir-fries and the like, or eaten in salads when very young and fresh. You can sow seeds of kale and chard throughout the spring and summer, and with a bit of protection, […]
So we’ve got our salad crops on the go and plans in place for that warming winter veg, all we need now is some home-grown fruit for delicious summer puds, jams and jellies, with some left over to stock up the freezer. There’s such a range of varieties now to suit any size of garden, […]
We really hope we’ve talked you into growing some vegetables this summer, and Laura has expounded on the subject of fruit. This is the last episode of our Beginner’s Veg course but if you enjoyed it, please think about buying our pocket-sized book that accompanies the course – the link is at the end. Let’s […]
We really hope you’ve enjoyed the DigYourOwnaForCorona journey we’ve been on, over the last fortnight! From digging a veg bed to melons and herbs, it feels like we’ve cantered through a great many topics in a short space of time. Today, I want to talk about a few more general topics that can help growing-your-own […]