Flourishing, but bring on the sun (From Blackpool Citizen)

Flourishing, but bring on the sun

11:24am Thursday 9th August 2007

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WHEN I started my raised bed urban garden all those months ago I never realised how addictive growing food would be.

I also didn't realise the extent to which other people would react to this weekly column. People have taken to ringing me up with garden queries which, frankly, I am not equipped to answer.

I am stopped at work and in the street and asked how my veggies are doing, when am I setting up my market garden stall and so on - with varying degrees of seriousness or amusement.

The whole point of starting the column was to let readers know how a complete gardening novice like myself fared in growing vegetables in an ordinary back garden.

I decided to use the method of square foot raised bed gardening I had seen on the net, espoused in a book written by American Mel Bartholemew, because this offered the most efficient use of space in my garden.

Bartholemew claims to have invented the square foot raised bed gardening method, but I think what he has done is apply a bit of an outsider's scientific nous to a system that has been used for centuries.

His particular contribution is not the raised bed method which he claims ownership of but he did think laterally and was the first to introduce (as far as I can tell) the square foot method whereby each four- foot square bed is divided into one-foot squares to maximise growth. This is the method I chose because, to be frank, it involves no digging, though it does involve a lot of mixing of peat moss, vermiculite and five different types of compost.

I followed the instructions and set the beds up and, to be honest, I've never looked back.

The mix Bartholemew advocates is fantastically fertile as I can vouch for in my five raised beds.

The further north you are, the more difficulties you have in growing vegetables but had we had a really good summer I think my four raised beds would have been 10 times more productive.

The hot spell in May, followed by the cold snap and then by rains even Noah would have found depressing, have conspired to limit productivity.

The broccoli and some of my lettuces went to seed and some plants have not grown at all, though I know other gardeners have not had problems.

The successes so far have been the peas, beans, salad leaves and cauliflowers, though the real stars have been courgettes which have thrived in the rain.

The beetroot is OK, onions reasonably OK and the corn looks to be on schedule.

Outside the raised bed, my remaining potatoes seem to be OK although one of my special faux Victorian potato barrels had to be emptied and the other has also developed light blight.

The £8 plastic bins appear to have been a good choice to grow carrots and leeks as both appear to be thriving.

The Victorian style strawberry barrel is also looking very healthy and should supply me throughout the summer.

On balance, I feel the garden has been a qualified success despite everything nature has thrown at it.

As I have said, some plants have thrived while others have fared less well but my wife and I have enjoyed growing and eating our own produce and look forward to planning next year's planting - but please, we need some sun!

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