Vegetable gardening is a labour of love. We must sow our seeds and carefully raise them in spring and throughout the year for continuous crops. We plant them out and hope they don't get eaten by all the hungry slugs. And then we must clear them away as they reach the end of their lives, and start all over again.
But there is a shortcut, and it comes in the form of perennial vegetables. Incorporating a few perennial vegetables into your kitchen garden can cut out some of the work while still producing crops. You may want to set aside an otherwise unproductive area for perennials or include them alongside your other crops.
Perennial vegetables carried me through a difficult spot in my life. A few years ago, I had to leave behind my beautiful garden and didn't take anything with me. I suddenly found myself in the middle of a pandemic, a full-time single mum of two. I had to home-school, set us up in a new home with almost nothing, and mentally pick myself off the floor. My garden helped me do this, but I didn't have the energy, resources or time I usually would put into it.
With the help of a few perennials and some lovely friends, I was able to establish my garden quickly and get some low-input crops. Before long, I was planting up the whole garden with vegetables, but the perennials are what got me started.
That was a few years ago, and now I still incorporate perennials into my garden as they're such an efficient, easy and logical use of space!
Here, we will examine some of the star performers regarding perennial veg!
PERENNIAL KALE
Denne historien er fra February 2024-utgaven av Kitchen Garden.
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Denne historien er fra February 2024-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.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
SEPTEMBER SPECIALS
This month, with sweetcorn, figs and blackberries on the menu, Anna Cairns Pettigrew is not only serving up something sweet and something savoury, but all things scrumptious
FLAVOURSOME FRUIT AUTUMN RASPBERRIES
September - is it late summer or the start of autumn? David Patch ponders the question and says whatever the season, it's time to harvest autumn raspberries
SOW GREEN THIS AUTUMN
Covering the soil with a green manure in winter offers many benefits and this is a good time to sow hardy types, says KG editor Steve Ott
A HISTORICAL HAVEN OF FRUIT AND FLOWERS
KG's Martin Fish takes time out from his own plot to visit a walled garden in Lincolnshire which has been home to the same family for more than 400 years
RESTORING THE BALANCE
The phrase regenerative gardening is often heard in gardening circles, but what is it? Can it help you to grow better veg? Ecologist Becky Searle thinks so, and tells us why
WASTE NOT, WANT NOT
Garden Organic's Anton Rosenfeld shares his expertise on using compost made from green bin collections with handy tips on getting the right consistency and quality
Celebrating Organic September!
In this special section we bring you four great features aimed at improving your crops and allowing nature to thrive
SEEING RED
Do your tomatoes have a habit of remaining stubbornly green? Or perhaps you're lucky to enjoy lots of lovely fruits - just all at once. Either way, Benedict Vanheems is here with some top tips to ripen and process the nation's favourite summer staple
NEW KIDS ON THE BROCCOLI!
Rob Smith is talking broccoli this month with a review of the different types available and suggestions for some exciting new varieties to try
A NEW kitchen garden
Martin Fish is getting down to plenty of picking and planting on the garden veg plot, while Jill is rustling up something pepper-licking good!
