This year, 2010, I'm going to be growing vegetables in a small plot in my garden, but I'm going to do this without visiting the garden centre or hardware store for seeds - I'll be starting using nothing more than seeds and vegetables from my kitchen.
So... here's an overview of the vegetable varieties I'll be attempting to grow (each section here will link to its own page in due course):
Peas
This half packet of dried marrowfat peas has been lurking at the back of a cupboard for too long.
This mealy variety is normally eaten fully mature, but I'm sure they will also be able to be picked early for pods and green peas.
Garlic
A bulb of garlic, broken into cloves and planted, will probably not develop full-sized bulbs, especially as I'm starting it in the spring, but it should grow into green, fleshy 'wet garlic' that I can slice and use in soups and stir fries
Potatoes
These potatoes were left in the vegetable drawer too long and they started without me.
No good for eating any more, as sprouted potatoes may contain toxins, but they're already proving their potential to grow.
Tomatoes
I'll try one or two varieties of tomato - including this cherry variety - starting with seeds saved and dried on paper.
Shallots
These red skinned shallots will each split, multiply and grow into lots more shallots.
Chillies
I bought this big red chilli on the market - it's a variety with a heat moderate enough to be eaten raw like bell peppers. Inside, there are loads of seeds that I'll grow in pots in the greenhouse.
Jerusalem Artichokes
This root vegetable - related to Sunflowers - deserves wider popularity.
I bought some from a market stall and have set aside a couple of tubers to grow (they are started in a similar way to potatoes).
Anise
These are anise seeds - great for baking into crackers and breads in a way that the similarly-flavoured but larger Star Anise can't be.
I had a lot of trouble tracking down a supply of aniseed, so I'm going to try growing some more.
Beans
These Cannelini beans are a variety of dried French Beans. I'll be growing some of these, along with some other types - for pods and for mature beans.
Butternut Squash
I usually save and dry the seeds from pumpkins and squashes to mix with the food for my daughter's gerbils - but I've set aside a few for the garden.
Other/Fun Stuff
In a generous spirit of give and take, the gerbils donated some of their food to the experiment - many of the items in this mix are seeds - so let's see what we can grow...
Weeds
They say a weed is just any plant that is growing in the wrong place - well, let's take a look at some of the weeds that have made an appearance in Project Samwise.
The Garden
This is the main area in which I'll be growing the vegetables - a strip of cultivated ground about 4 by 20 feet along the side of my house. It's far from ideal in terms of the amount of sunlight it gets (although it's not quite as gloomy as it looks in this photo), but we've had decent crops out of it in the past.
Its location in a gap between the corner of two large buildings also makes it a wind funnel - which can mean wind damage or drying of the crops and it can expose them to more than the usual share of windborne pathogens or pests - but we'll just have to do the best we can.
I'll also be growing some of the vegetables in containers on the patio and perhaps in spare spaces in the garden borders.
The Plan
This is the main area in which I'll be growing the vegetables - a strip of cultivated ground about 4 by 20 feet along the side of my house. It's far from ideal in terms of the amount of sunlight it gets (although it's not quite as gloomy as it looks in this photo), but we've had decent crops out of it in the past.
Its location in a gap between the corner of two large buildings also makes it a wind funnel - which can mean wind damage or drying of the crops and it can expose them to more than the usual share of windborne pathogens or pests - but we'll just have to do the best we can.
I'll also be growing some of the vegetables in containers on the patio and perhaps in spare spaces in the garden borders.
I'm planting the taller things (artichokes, beans) at the back of the plot. The sunniest spot is the rightmost end, so my squashes will go there - they'll have to grow around the rhubarb and gooseberries that already live there.
Right in the middle, there's a spare bit that I haven't decided on yet - maybe I'll use this for a second planting of peas, or maybe I'll put some of my peppers there.
Yours
Ana
http://books.google.com/books?id=vVOF5mR6vx4C&dq=don't+throw+it+grow+it&ei=BoCrS_mWBoiKyQSk_o2ADg&cd=1
http://books.google.com/books?id=WNEvOAAACAAJ&sitesec=reviews&source=gbs_navlinks_s
http://books.google.com/books?id=o_dHAAAAYAAJ&q=The+After+Dinner+Gardening+Book&dq=The+After+Dinner+Gardening+Book&ei=3oCrS6KeJYigzAS9xezDDQ&cd=1