Schneebeli-Morrell Deborah - Grow Your Own Food 35 WAYS TO GROW VEGETABLES, FRUITS, AND HERBS IN CONTAINERS

grow your

own food

grow your

own food

WAYS TO GROW VEGETABLES, FRUITS, AND HERBS IN CONTAINERS

deborah schneebeli-morrell

This edition published in 2021 by CICO Books

an imprint of Ryland Peters & Small

341 E 116th st, New York, NY 10029

20-21 Jockeys Fields, London WC1R 4BW

www.rylandpeters.com

First published in 2009 as Organic Crops in Pots

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Text Deborah Schneebeli-Morrell 2009

Design and photography CICO Books 2009

The authors moral rights have been asserted. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

A CIP catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.

ISBN: 978-1-80065-005-3

E-ISBN: 978-1-80065-044-2

Printed in China

Project Editor: Gillian Haslam

Text Editors: Henrietta Heald and

Eleanor Van Zandt

Designers: Roger Hammond and Roger Daniels

Photographer: Heini Schneebeli

Illustrator: Jane Smith

Art Director: Sally Powell

Head of production: Patricia Harrington

Publishing manager: Penny Craig

Publisher: Cindy Richards

Dedication

To my dear friend Jehane Markham, a pioneer of organic food and a thoughtful gardener.

Authors acknowledgments

Thanks to all my friends, gardeners, and vegetable growers who shared their gardening knowledge and who allowed us to photograph in their gardens. In particular, Mick Rand, Bill Saunders, Chris Jackson, Alan and Anthea Stewart, Helen Scott Lidgett, Jill Patchett, and Gloria Nicol.

I am indebted to Heini Schneebeli for his perseverance and skill in photographing the projects in the book during a particularly poor summer for veg growers.

I would like to thank John Levis of Bygones at Whitehall Garden Centre in Lacock, Wiltshire for lending some props and recommend a visit to his outdoor shop for inspiration and a source of lovely vintage domestic and garden objects.

Potting mix is commonly referred to as compost in the UK.

Contents

Introduction

Increasing concern about climate change has made us more conscious of where our food comes from and how it is produced. We know about the unwelcome effects of industrial-scale farming and the negative influence that humans have had on the environment. Sustainability and green issues are at the forefront of many peoples minds, and there is a general desire to live healthier lives while lessening our impact on the planet.

We have learned that it is better to eat seasonal vegetables that are locally grown, rather than those that have been flown thousands of miles around the world to reach our stores and markets. As a result, more and more of us are growing our own. One great advantage of this is that it allows us to harvest crops minutes before eating or cooking themand to understand fully the meaning of the word fresh.

Chilies come in many different varieties and are well suited to being planted in colorful empty olive-oil cans.

Vegetables deteriorate very quickly after they are picked, because the natural sugars start to turn to starch; and by the time commercially grown vegetables reach the stores the flavor is already greatly diminished. That is why frozen peas (which are frozen immediately after harvest) are superior in flavor to so-called fresh peas, which may not reach the stores until a day or two later. Dont just take my word for it. When you start to grow your own vegetables, do a little experiment. Pick and eat a lettuce or carrot or whatever you grow, and then eat a store-bought version, and you will have your prooftheres no comparison.

Pesticide residues, which are still found in commercially grown vegetables, can be harmful to human health, so if you want to be sure that your produce is pesticide-free, you need to cultivate it yourself. Store-bought organic vegetables are relatively expensiveanother good reason to grow your own.

Gardeners who grow their own produce are doing real workthe kind of work that originated with our ancient farming ancestors.

Borlotti beans quickly climb up tall canes, producing a heavy crop of speckled red pods. These are left to ripen on the vine and are harvested by opening the dried pods.

Given such a long history, you might be discouraged by the thought that there is too much to learn, too much tradition to absorb; but this knowledge is widely spread, and many people are happy to share their experience, whether by word of mouth or through books and manuals.

This old, sturdy, wire potato harvesting basket makes a useful container for growing tomatoes.

It is a fact of nature that plants will grow. Your role is to help to create the right conditions to encourage and enhance that process.

Urban gardening

There is a widespread trend among city dwellers to grow vegetables in the smallest spaceson windowsills and balconies, in patios and backyards. Unlike many fashions, this one is really welcome. It represents a movement away from the processed and the packaged, away from mass production and shoppingand, importantly, it challenges the domination of supermarket culture. Do we really need particular vegetables and fruit to be available all through the year? Does a strawberry eaten in the middle of winter, grown in a huge industrial greenhouse, bear any relation to an indigenous one grown in the open air and ripened by the sun? Do we want to buy a little packet of plastic-wrapped (cling-film) green beans cultivated in a far-off place and sprayed many times? And do we want to pay high prices for these dubious fruit and vegetables?

More and more people are saying no to these questions. Among them are those of us who do not have much outside space but want to grow our own and enjoy some of the advantages that were traditionally gained from gardening on a vegetable plot or in a larger garden. This is easier than it sounds; many vegetables are adaptable and can be grown in reasonably compact containers.

Many people opt for a grow bagespecially for growing tomatoes. These sausage-shaped plastic bags, filled with potting mix, will fit on a small balcony, but they have little else to recommend them. For one thing, theyre extremely ugly; for another, theyre difficult to water. Various gadgets have been designed to help with the watering and to prop up the plants. But the best thing to do with a grow bag is to cut it open and use the mixture in a more attractive container.