"Double Your Crops"
  Rotation:When one crop comes out of the ground, quickly turn the earth and plant something else straight away. This could be late summer lettuce or over wintering varieties. Some beans can be succesfully planted in the autumn, in particular the broad bean, along with late variety cauliflowers and other brassicas. Make small cloches to protect your young plants. Cut a clear plastic bottle in half width-wise and voilà - 2 mini-cloches! What you plant as a second crop will depend heavily on your area, climate and availability of seed. However, when this crop comes out in the spring, there will be far fewer weeds than if you had left your patch fallow all winter. Don't do this every year as the earth will need feeding and resting, but even a small garden can be divided into rotatable patches, and if you get double your crops from one place, you won't need the extra space every year. Pile on as much green manure as you can and keep your fallow patch weed free.  Double your crops with Companions:Plant your crops close together so those pesky weeds don't get a chance to come up. Companion planting enables you not only to save space in the garden, double your crops and control the weeds, it will also help with pest control. A line of onions next to a line of carrots for example confuses both the onion fly and the carrot fly. Plant your good companion plants close together but avoid putting large crops of the same species too close. Plant a tomato plant here and there round the garden, then if one plant gets a disease, it won't easily spread to the other plants. The same with cabbages. The cabbage white butterfly, enemy of all brassica growers everywhere, won't be so attracted to your garden if the cabbages aren't neatly planted in rows. ................................................................
Keep permanent patches in your garden. A small herb patch or corner in your vegetable garden will attract bees and also give you and your family lots of new tastes, natural medicines and even cosmetic preparations. Herbs will establish themselves fairly quickly and will thrive with regular picking. You honestly won’t know what to do with all those wonderful fresh herbs, that would otherwise cost you a fortune in the supermarket.  Another great permanent patch to create is asparagus. Most new gardeners are put off growing this wonderful vegetable because of all sorts of crazy reasons. I’ve even heard it said that it’s a ‘luxury’ crop – whatever that may mean!Asparagus is extremely good for you, is ready to pick during the ‘hungry gap’ in the vegetable garden, and best of all, with very little attention, it will produce more and more every year, so will more than double your crops in the long term. Create a permanent asparagus bed and indulge in the luxury ! Find out more about growing asparagus on this page.. Growing Asparagus Happy Gardening! Grow Your Own Winter Food: A good diet incorporating plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables is a must if you want to stay fit and healthy and keep the bugs at bay during the cold winter months. Growing your own winter food is just one way of ensuring you get the freshest, tastiest produce packed with goodness straight from the garden to the kitchen table. This easy-to-follow self-sufficiency book shows you how to grow your own fruit and vegetables for winter use and includes facts on each fruit, vegetable or herb as well as nutritional value, recipe ideas and storage suggestions. ("Double your crops by growing summer and winter food!")  Grow Your Own Winter Food is perfect for those with limited gardening experience, with gardens big or small who are looking to become more self-sufficient. Order it now direct from the publisher... Grow Your Own Winter Food Grow It, Cook It!: Many crops, including herbs, can be produced in a relatively small space with a little pre-planning and organizing: in containers, on a balcony, and indoors. Herbs are perfect for enhancing the flavour of cooking, treating minor ailments, and preventing colds and flu. Your own back garden will not only produce the best food on the planet for you and your loved ones, it is also economical, environmentally friendly and more fun than shopping. Gardening is more than a hobby; it's a way of life. .  This book provides all the information you need to keep your family and friends healthy, fit and enjoying life to the full. Order it now direct from the publisher... Grow It, Cook It! Grow Your Own Pharmacy: If, like me, you want to be able to eat the best food on the planet, grow your own!  • Clear instructions on planning, planting, growing and harvesting the fruits, vegetables and herbs required for a healthy vitamin intake. • Recipes and menus to help incorporate the fruit and vegetables into your daily diet. Grow Your Own Pharmacy Herbs and Spices: Some herbs grow vigorously, some are tender and need special growing conditions, some are annuals, some perennials, some you can grow indoors, all can be grown in pots or directly into the ground. There are also certain spices, such as chillies, that can be grown in temperate climates.  This clear and concise directory of herbs and spices provides all the essential information to help you grow a selection of these flavour-enhancing foods in small or large spaces. Ideas for which herbs and spices go best with which foods also accompany each description, so that you can really enliven your repertoire of recipes. Order it now direct from the publisher... Herbs and Spices Granny's Book Of Good Old Fashioned Common Sense is packed full of great ideas and tips. Granny brings traditional home-making up to date with cooking, gardening, needlecrafts and even games to play with the kids...Click on the link below to order your copy.  Cooking doesn’t have to be a chore and preparing nourishing home cooked meals for the family will certainly keep them away from the goodie shelf. Gardening encourages physical exercise and a good healthy dollop of fresh air. And you can get the kids involved too. Before the days of computer games and electronic pets, children used to have fun without rummaging about in the fridge every five minutes. Enjoy a few rainy-day games and crafts of yesteryear with today’s kids. They’ll love it and so will you! Granny's Book Of Good Old Fashioned Common Sense Back To Gardening Back To Flower and Garden Tips Homepage Click here to subscribe to "Creative Gardening" - Your FREE monthly ezine! http://www.flower-and-garden-tips.com/double-your-crops.html |
broad beans 
brussel sprouts 
Chili Peppers 
Sweetcorn 
Tomatoes