Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
What is there to eat in your front garden this month?
Last Sunday, a few of us met up in Passion Cafe over coffee to talk about growing edibles in our front gardens. As ever, when a bunch of gardeners get together, the gathering went on far longer than we expected and we chatted about how we can help new growers to get going in their front gardens.
During the meet up, we discussed what we had already grown and decided to have a regular slot on HOL about what there is to eat in our gardens, month by month.
We hope to inspire people to have a go and if you have questions about where to begin, we'll do our best to crowdsource the answers. Also let us know what the blocks are to growing in your front garden and maybe we can make some suggestions.
The key thing when you start is to keep it cheap and easy.
So...here goes with some things to eat in my (south facing) front garden in July
Vegetables
As I bid goodbye to the last of the broad beans (more on that in September), I'm now awaiting my first tomato crop. My plants went in late so they are only just beginning to flower and fruit. I'm growing these in a trough container and the main thing they need is water and some feed. I'm pretty bad at all the maintenance stuff but I still manage to get them to crop.
Last week, Suhith gave me some tiny kale plants. If the snails don't get them, I'm looking forward to growing these.
I've also rather optimistically planted out some mange tout seeds and sowed some radishes. Again, all in an old trough container under the window.
Fruit
I live in hopes that one day I'll get to the strawberries in the window box before my son. These had some pretty rough treatment during my building works but the plants survived and are fruiting. Here's one that's nearly ready, nestling amongst the chives that I also grow in the window box.
In the small raised bed in the front, which isn't very deep, I've got a raspberry cane. Hoping for some fruit next year. If it's successful, I'm thinking of more soft fruits in that space.
Herbs
Even if your space is small, you can still grow herbs. As well as chives in the window box, I've got thyme and oregano clinging to the edge of one of my growing troughs.
In the raised bed, a rosemary bush twists and turns itself, and a mighty sage bush bullies everything else.
Meanwhile in an old nappy bucket, I've sown some red basil. Now just a question of wait and see.
Here's just a few ideas for what could be growing in your front gardens this month. Please share pictures of your front yard edibles, tips and comments about things to grow (with or without pics) and questions in the comments below.
Tags for Forum Posts: eat your front garden, edible front gardens, front gardens
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Suhith Shivanath on
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Wow, gardening leads to snippets of history - I love it. One of the many ideas we discussed when we met to talk about front gardening was the possibility of gathering hints and tips relating to herbal remedies, recipes and tapping into the rich knowledge about growing that older haringey folk must have that they brought with the from the far corners of the world. Anyone got any to share ?
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Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton on
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Of course, Liz, Rule 1 of any well-run website is that site admins are always right.
But I'd also suggest, FPR, that you take up Liz's suggestion about starting another thread. Since your point about hot weather bin collections is apt. The BBC reported that 1 July was the hottest July day ever recorded in England. And there were heatwave alerts.
So it seems sensible if there could be some provision in the waste contract to add a few extra collections when temperatures soar. That way we get to wake up and smell the garden flowers.
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Permalink Reply by Liz on
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Less a question of site admins than a good chair of a discussion doesn't let the conversation veer too much from its original purpose especially if its a topic about which they care. To aid you both to pursue the question of smelly general waste, I have started a new topic here
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Thanks, Liz. if other people think this is a good idea and tell their councillors, it may be a small modest achievable campaign.
Alternatively, the Council might be persuaded to declare Niff Alerts from time to time. Having previously grant-aided, loaned and given free or low rent premises to a new business training young people to handcarve artisanal craft nose-pegs from locally sourced sustainable woodland.
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