Ready when you are

WE gardeners are used to taking every measure available to us when sowing seeds. We study the back of seed packets, listen to the weather forecast, check a phone app, stare at the sky; tea leaves may even be read in the search for optimal sowing.

- Mark Diacono

 

Although we dedicate ourselves to the start of our plants’ lives, we are not always so mindful about their end when we make our plans. I’m not the only person to have sown at the right time and then found himself wheeling a barrowful of runner beans to the house, the feeling of triumph mixed with that sinking sensation when I contemplate the amount of chutney that I (and everyone I know) will be eating over the coming year. Of course, there are times—such as when I’m making cider or raspberry jam—when I want a large haul, but, for the most part, a steady supply is what I’m looking for.

There is no aspect of gardening that I am emailed about more commonly than this; it is perhaps what we consider the most vital indicator of kitchen-garden success. Happily, successional harvesting is entirely achievable, with a little forethought.