In last month's edition of Kitchen Garden, I talked about how gardens work as an ecosystem. Today, I want to I talk about this in more practical terms. In March 2021, I stepped gleefully out into my new garden with a wheelbarrow of fresh horse manure and a few decking boards. The garden was entirely laid to lawn, save for a small area of decking. My budget was tiny, but my need for a garden was huge.
With the help of a tiny flappy greenhouse, my garden was soon brimming with produce. There were carrots and cabbages, parsnips and lettuce, sweetcorn and cape gooseberries, to name just a few. For a few glorious weeks, it was perfection. But then it all started to unravel. The garden was in the middle of a new build estate bordered on all sides by a road and other similarly empty gardens.
Naturally, when the neighbourhood slugs discovered I was growing lettuce and carrots, they were overjoyed. They arrived in droves, bringing their friends and family. Add to that my contribution to No Mow May, and we had a thriving population. The slugs told the woodlice, who told the flea beetles and cabbage whites, and in no time, my garden was like the horticultural equivalent of an overcrowded refugee camp. And in many ways, this is what it was; a refuge from the sterile monotony of vegetable-free gardens. So, who can blame the little blighters for turning up?
Sadly, the balance of predator and prey species in our gardens can be the difference between us enjoying a gardening season or being pushed to the point of despair.
As for me, I was partly distraught at the destruction of all my efforts and partly smug that my predictions for the garden had come to pass. It was the perfect example of ecology in action, and I had the first tier of my ecosystem in place. Moving on to phase two of my plan, I needed to attract some predators.
THE PREDATORS ARRIVE
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Denne historien er fra August 2023-utgaven av Kitchen Garden.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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A FOOD FOR ALL SEASONS
Another Christmas has passed in a whirl of twinkling lights, naff jumpers and Brussels sprouts. No doubt we smug kitchen gardeners were patting ourselves on the back after another year of home-grown delights on the dinner table. Frost-sweetened parsnips dripping with butter, tender carrots and potatoes grown and roasted by our good selves. Not to mention the swede, turnips, cabbages and other winter treats. If you're reading this while Christmas memories are fresh, you might feel your waistline expanding just thinking about it. For some, it might even be too soon to talk about food full stop!
DIGGING THE DIRT THINGS THAT GO CLUNK IN THE LIGHT
John Holloway finds the mechanical and electrical tools on his allotment site somewhat 'challenging', shall we say. But has he found the perfect solution?
THE BIG (OR LITTLE) PARSNIP GROW-ALONG
Back in December we included a free packet of parsnip seeds with every issue and invited readers to join us in growing the longest root. Here are some top tips to get you started
DIGGING FOR DEVON!
Rhiannon Alcock thought gardening was definitely not for her. So who could have foreseen that one day she would go on to found a thriving community project growing food for food banks?
WINTER WONDERFUL
This month Anna Cairns Pettigrew has prepped a range of delicious and nutritious dishes for us all to try, with mustards, Savoy cabbage and 'Cavolo Nero' kale on the menu
MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR COMPOST
Dr Anton Rosenfeld from Garden Organic shares some great ideas for ways to use your composted waste effectively
A wildlife pond is born
Jane Kelly finally got round to making her own pond in the hope that it would attract a variety of wildlife. And it did!
UNDER COVER
HARVEST WINTER SALADS - Winter salads, whether they have been growing outside, on a windowsill or under cover in the garden, will be starting to grow faster as the day length increases. Regular picking of the outer leaves helps to keep the plants healthy and producing for much longer.
HERB OF THE MONTH: SAGE ADVICE
Sage has been an important culinary and medicinal herb for centuries but it also comes in a range of leaf colours that makes it a real treat for the eyes (and nose) in borders and pots
CREATING A POTAGER GARDEN
Creating vegetable beds in patterns with dividing pathways can be an attractive and practical way to grow. Emma Rawlings offers some tips on making a potager
