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Growing Your Own Fruit and Vegetables

We grow our own fruit and vegetables for our meals for as much of the year as we can. Without a greenhouse we have to buy shop food in the winter months but in the spring, summer and autumn we often have enough to share with family and friends.

Read about growing your fruit and vegetables here on my growing your own food pages.

Wednesday 2 March 2011

Planning what to plant and where to plant it on the allotment

Looking back over the last few years of growing our own fruit and vegetables some of the problems we encountered in the early days were due to lack of experience and some were beyond our control, like the weather.  Then again we had some beginner's luck with some of our first crops. Now is a good time to reflect on what worked and what did n't to save making the same mistakes again.


  1. Label everything you grow,  it  does n't matter if it is potatoes being put to chit, seeds sown in a tray, vegetables planted in the veggie plot, or fruit bushes in the garden. If you do not label everything clearly, one day you will be wondering what it is you have in this seed tray or if the potatoes you are going to plant are the first earlies or main crops. 
  2. Use a plant labelling system that does not get wiped out by the weather. My second year the tags on the crops were labelled with a carefully purchased pen, but within weeks the writing faded and I was left asking the same questions I had the year before.
  3. Plan what seeds or fruit bushes or vegetable plants you want to grow before you buy them. You will save money by doing this and not be tempted by impulse purchases. If you plan your crops and vegetable patch you will buy wisely and make educated purchases. This is important for things like seed potatoes where if you have a problem soil like a sandy or clay soil you can buy a  variety that suits you soil conditions.
That's it for today, more soon, I must work while the weather is good.

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a healthy potato plant in flower

a healthy potato plant in flower
photo of potatoes in flower

home grown carrots.. grown from seed

home grown carrots.. grown from seed
photo of my first bunch of carrots 2009

Even a small batch of mixed fruit can be useful

Even a small batch of mixed fruit can be useful
Home Grown Fruit can be made into delicious compote