Introducing the “Hedgetable Patch”

I am currently transferring veggies from the Telford garden to the new garden and trying to find new homes for them has meant pushing the boundaries – literally – as I am using the hedge bank that borders the garden to grow vegetables!  In part this is an invention born out of necessity as the newly created polyculture beds are not large enough to accommodate all of the plants I want to move.  The garden as a whole is largely laid to lawn; and for the moment as I don’t have sufficient energy or time to remove it / create more new beds that is how it will stay.

The bank the boundary hedge sits on is between one and two feet high, a couple of feet wide and the soil at the base of the hedge is rich in humus, soft and fine textured.   A bit further away it is much harder, has little or no organic matter and looks like it is mainly comprised of clay.  However it is deep, very deep; and that has to be good.  Much of the bank runs behind the house and is in shade in the morning but gets light and sunshine from the side during the afternoon.  This photo shows the bank and the dappled sun on it this afternoon.

As yet there is not much evidence of the plants, but so far I have planted:

• A row of runner beans (Czar) close to the base of the hedge.  This is because two years ago beans grew very happily and productively in the shady edges of the garden, clambering up through an apple tree and shrubs.   Last year I tried to replicate this, but the wet conditions meant that slugs ate all my lovely plants.  However I am very keen to try again to see what happens.
• In front of the runner beans is a row of field beans saved from the other garden last summer.  They are tough, unfussy plants and should be fine here.
• I don’t usually plant in rows, but the linear nature of the boundary does make this pretty much inevitable, at least at the moment in order to keep track of what is where.
• Burdock plants raised from seed last year have gone at one end of the bank in deep soil and a sunny spot.
• I have been growing clumping spring onions as perennials and they have each split into approximately a dozen very slim individual plants.  I gently teased them apart and planted them singly near the burdock.
• A few small clumps of Babbington leeks went in nearby.
• Shallots that I harvested last summer, dried and saved have been planted in front of the bean seeds.
• Beside these are some more onions that I cannot presently identify.
• There are a couple of skirret plants tucked into a niche near the hedge, in nice soft deep soil.
• It’s not the normal time of year for planting garlic, but some cloves that were discarded from the kitchen have also been planted to see what happens.
• Some lathyrus tuberosus plants that over wintered in pots have gone into the sunniest end of the bank behind the new polyculture patches beside primrose, foxglove, wild violet, wild strawberry, wood sorrel, wild garlic, three cornered leek and allium paradoxum.
• I have also scattered some flax, honesty and vetch seeds all saved from last year.

Peering in a little closer you can see some of the Babington leeks and spring onions here:

Having used my observation of how plants have fared in different situations in the past I am reasonably confident that this new “hedgetable patch” will work okay but of course it is an experiment and who knows what will actually happen.

The other side of the hedge facing the road has also been ‘fortified’ with some raspberry canes and blackcurrant cuttings plus a few bean seeds.  I also plan to plant one or more of clematis, hop and honeysuckle into it as well.

Finally, here is a lovely clump of aubretia, just because it is beautiful and the bees have been buzzing energetically round it all weekend!

Ingredients for a New Perennial Vegetable Patch

At last I have been able to start preparing a perennial vegetable patch in my new “Borderland” garden – like this:

Ingredients

• dead sticks, boughs and twigs from the hedge
• turf from the lawn
• topsoil from the bank below the hedge
• humus from beneath the hedge
• and large flat stones dug from hedge and lawn

 Method

• lay the sticks, twigs and boughs on the ground and trample (gently) on them to flatten a bit;
• upturn the turfs and place them one layer, possibly two layers, thick on the sticks;
• cover with a mixture of topsoil / humus and spread gently;
• surround the patch with flat stones to make an edge.

This first veggie patch is situated at the side of the house, in a relatively shady area between the house and next door.  It was chosen as the starting point because observations showed that this area is actually a little warmer than other parts of the garden as frost and snow both disappeared first from here.

One of the great gifts from this garden is that it lies alongside a road that has been used since at least Roman times.  Along the edge runs a mixed hedge of hawthorn, blackthorn, elder, damson, ash, holly and hazel, entwined in ivy.  It is set up on a bank which is itself two to three feet in height.  Given that the boundary has been in place for (literally) centuries I can be sure that it has never been ploughed or disturbed by other human activity and is virtually certain to be teeming with lots of miniscule life forms. 

 

At some time in the past the hedge was properly laid and there is still a clear framework of horizontal branches.  However some have died and broken off, others have grown too large and need to be removed.  As far as I am aware the hedge has generally been trimmed, in the way that many rural hedges are cut, by a local farmer using one of those cutting attachments on the tractor which slices across the top leaving the cut wood to fall to the ground.  Happily this has led to a large quantity of decomposing and decomposed wood building up into a very rich, dark, humus-y layer at the base of the hedge making a lovely environment for insect life and decomposer organisms.

It has also meant an accumulation of small fragments of dead wood within the hedge and by removing it I have been able to let light and air in.  This has enabled me to see parts that need pruning to keep them under control and also to identify some places where I can introduce new things into the hedge later in the year.  The picture below shows an accumulation of dead twigs.

The garden has far more lawn than we need and over time much of it will be removed to make room for edibles of all kinds.  But one of the first things to do is to make a welcoming bed of flowers near the entrance as a cheery greeting to us and all visitors!  The turf ingredient for the new veggie patch came from the area being cleared for a wild flower patch.

The top of the bank where the hedge grows in is covered in a profusion of plants, as yet unidentified until spring brings them into plain view.  I plan to keep the wild character, but to introduce all my favourite wild plants as well!  I have so far been able to plant patches of three cornered leek, wild garlic, primrose, foxglove and sweet cicely. 

To make room to plant these I had to remove some very tangled ivy stems, leaf litter and remove some of the top layer of humus to level the area.  This liberated the humus-y materials for cladding the new veggie bed.  I did feel a bit bad taking off the top few inches of beautiful, soft, dark, springy humus as I would not generally disturb such good habitat.  However as I am only transferring it a few feet away and there is still plenty left I was happy that this was not a destructive thing to do. 

I was also able to use some soil from the base of the hedge bank to clothe the new beds with.  This looks to be almost entirely mineral in nature, being quite yellow coloured – I am presuming it is clay, but it was not lumpy and uneven textured as clay often is.  Taking this soil has made the edge a little smoother alongside a planned path.

Mixed in with the soil in the boundary edge and beneath the lawn there are lots of sizeable flat stones, derived from a shaley rock that outcrops locally.  I have removed the largest ones to make an edge to help the new patches stay in place.  They should also provide a small amount of differential microclimate by heating up in the sun and also some interesting nooks and crannies for insects to live in.  Smaller stones have been left in situ.

I knew that I needed a deep veggie bed, and that I would not be using any kind of conventional raised bed flanked with wooden sides.  The method just developed in response to the materials on hand and the plans for the garden overall.  This three part sandwich of materials that needed to be removed anyway – dead wood, turf and humus / top soil, will break down naturally (and hopefully quickly) into a deep, nourishing, fertile bed for my perennial veggies.  This is what the patch looks like so far. 

All the materials used were readily available and suitable for reassigning into a new purpose.  The rationale for using them is as follows:

• The decomposing wood at the bottom will help hold moisture.  But also I hope its presence, and the air it has trapped round it, will improve drainage.  The area for this first patch lies in a bit of a dip in the landscape that has been holding water and growing moss.  I want to raise the area, and have the finished beds at a level that will drain downhill towards the rest of the garden, rather than accumulate water.
• The wood will also be host to decomposer organisms which liberate, and store in their own bodies, the nutrients once embedded in the wood.  This is one part of providing fertility and health for the patch.
• The turfs will break down, again providing additional fertility and the action of worms and other soil life should ensure the resultant soil has a good texture.
• I did something similar in the Telford garden last summer using a double layer of turf for a new veggie patch and started it off with a sowing of phacelia which grew very happily in the upturned turf.  The deep bed that resulted made a fine home for some yacon plants which I am sure benefited from the depth of soil.
• Topsoil on the patch provides minerals.
• Humus, leaf litter and partly decomposed wood and twigs from the hedge bottom adds organic matter which binds minerals to its surface and adds more microscopic life.
• The final ingredient is to add some living things as soon as possible.  Nature would do this anyway – in the form of “weeds” – ie plants that take advantage of available nutrients and store them in their bodies.  I am happy for any such plants to live here until I have others ready to move in, but also planted peas in one part and broad beans in another.  These will not only add life to the soil, they will start to add nitrogen and eventually give flowers for insects to visit and pods to harvest!

The day I prepared the first square snow still lay on the ground, quite a lot of it in parts.  To save energy, carting water from the house, and to save mains water as well, I put large dollops of snow on top of the bed to water it as it melted.  It began raining as I prepared the second square so I just let nature do the watering.

One of the principles of permaculture is to aim to create closed systems thus avoiding bringing in resources from outside and reducing or eliminating waste products.  Happily, thanks to the kind gifts of nature my perennial veggie patch can be prepared without bringing in any resources from outside but just be rearranging things within the garden.  All it took was time spent observing and thinking over the winter and my inclination to use as little physical effort and minimal time as possible. 

So far I have prepared two adjacent squares, each of approximately one metre square, with a boot sized “path” of sticks between them.  This together, with planting some things in the hedge has taken me

• 2 ¼ hours to remove dead wood from the hedge
• 5 ¼ hours to prepare the beds and plant
• 1 hour of my partner’s time helping
• Totalling 8 ½ hours

Doing this preparation did not feel like work, though it was quite hard at times.  Being in the garden and being aware of nature, trying to co-operate rather than coerce feels more like play than work.  It is fun, even in the cold and wet. 

Whilst “playing” in the garden I was very glad to see a beetle that I had never met before.  My reference book identified it as a violet ground beetle, an extravagantly deep purple edged creature and a slug eater to boot!  Then just to add to the passing biodiversity that we are currently attracting these woolly friends were grazing the lawn first thing this morning having escaped from a farm down the road!

Spreading other people’s good ideas

As well as giving information about the perennial veggies and polycultures that I grow I think it is about time I mentioned some other interesting projects.  I have been reading the Transition Network website looking at the food and gardening projects that are or have been done by different initiatives.  I find so much to gladden the heart and inspire the soul reading about other people’s projects and hope that you will equally find inspiration from these three:

West Kirby Garden Orchard Project

Transition West Kirby had a vision for a fruit tree in every garden in the town.  What a fantastic idea!  To facilitate this they bought fruit and nut trees at a discounted price and enable local people to take care of them and reap the harvest in due course.  That sounds to me like a project that could be transferred to almost any locality.

http://www.transitiontownwestkirby.org.uk/garden_orchard.html#h4

Bathampton Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)

CSAs can come in many forms and I particularly like this one.  It stems from a partnership between a family which owns an overgrown market garden site and members of Transition Bath.  Between them they have been working to clear the site and preparing it for a variety of projects.  Their website mentions a few – ploughing with horses, the Land Group growing veggies and teaching others how to, clearing land with pigs, salad growing, a vegetable box scheme, shared picnics and much more.  Their newsletter gives lots of details: http://bathamptoncsa.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/dag-newsletter-summer-2012-online3.pdf and their blog can be found at http://bathamptoncsa.wordpress.com/.

The Fabulous Fruit Tree Initiative, Transition Waiheke, New Zealand

In their own words:

“With a ten-year vision of planting 20,000 fruit and nut trees on the island’s public and private land, the Fabulous Fruit Tree Group is working, in conjunction with Auckland City Council, towards planting its first orchard reserve this winter – possibly behind the old Surfdale post office.  Approximately 25 organic trees will be under-planted with heritage daffodils and narcissus; a bench will be placed for contemplation in the shade and a path weave through the young trees.

This model orchard will be the launch of the “Fruit Bowl of the Hauraki Gulf”, taking us one step closer to feeding the community more locally.  A private donation has been gratefully received to purchase these trees.  A map of all the fruit trees on the island is being drawn up, identifying those with fruit to share and also those quality ones from which to graft future stock.”

http://transitiontowns.org.nz/node/341

I love the sound of all of these projects.  They are on different scales and will need different amounts of input of time, effort and funds but they are fabulous examples of what communities can do when they start to work together.  I would encourage anyone to follow the links and read about them and also when you have some spare time to have a browse through the directory of transition initiatives listed on https://www.transitionnetwork.org/initiatives/by-number which lists the (current) 457 official initiatives.  That’s probably enough to start with!  And if your interest is in energy or local money or any other transition-y theme there will be masses of information about those things too.

I plan to continue my exploration of transition initiatives and to add some more posts like this in due course.

My book – Edible Perennial Gardening!

I have been researching and growing perennial veggies since 2005 and blogging about how I do this for a couple of years.  My aim has always been to be able to find out as much as I could and then to share it with as many people as possible.  To this end I have also been writing a book about the veggies and the garden and am really happy to be able to say that this project is now in the final stages and the book will be published in November!

It describes how I started out on the project and how the principles of permaculture provide a foundation for everything that follows.  It also contains:

• full descriptions of the best of the perennial vegetables that I have grown;
• how some other (normally annual) vegetables can also be grown as perennials;
• a few recipes with suggestions of how to use some of the unfamiliar veggies
• how to grow in polycultures – what they are and how to plan, implement and manage them;
• how to develop a living soil and a vibrantly healthy and bio diverse environment by following natural principles.

I began by planting a few experimental vegetables in a flower bed.  As I tried to track down as many perennial vegetables as possible and try them all inevitably they started to take over!  The first polyculture bed expanded outwards, then a section of the front lawn was taken up and other flower beds were hijacked.  I made small polyculture beds in unlikely places to see what happened, eg in deep shade under trees; and planted some things in the hedges and edges of the garden.  Having limited space I just made it up as I went along and everything was done in the spirit of experimentation. 

Experience has shown that you don’t need much space, you don’t even need what are normally considered favourable conditions for vegetables – much of my garden is damp and shady.  Perennial veggies are hardy and tolerant and once established they are happy to just get on with the business of growing without much attention. 

I am increasingly convinced that perennial vegetables, grown in polycultures, have the potential to be very productive for minimal effort.  Of course it does take a little time to get acquainted with new plants and new ways of doing things and for that reason I have tried to describe everything I do in as logical and detailed a way as possible.  The book is my offering towards helping you to make the best use of both the land you have available and your time. 

I am not an expert gardener, far from it.  If I can do it anyone can!  I hope that you will take a look at the advance information about the book which can be seen here on the Permanent Publications website:

http://permanentpublications.co.uk/port/edible-perennial-gardening-by-anni-kelsey/

If you are not familiar with Permanent Publications they have all kinds of fascinating books – well worth a browse.  They also publish Permaculture Magazine which I really recommend subscribing to if you want to read inspirational articles about people undertaking all sorts of amazing projects.

And as it is getting towards March and like me no doubt you have your sights set on the forthcoming spring here is a picture from March last year showing lamb’s lettuce (front left), scorzonera emerging (back left) and a lovely allium paradoxum arching over with its delicate blooms. 

Bittercress is not bitter

What are the properties of wild plants or “weeds” that make them so unwelcome in many gardens?  They can be any or all of the following:

• Persistent
• Hardy and resistant, able to out compete the plants you want to have
• Able to spread or self seed prolifically

Bittercress certainly has all of these attributes.  In the past I have spent quite a bit of time early in the year attempting to rid the garden of it which was a thankless and largely pointless task.  The young plants are so tiny they can be hard to spot, then while you are not looking they grow at an amazing speed.  Finally just when you get back to them you find they have flowered, set seed and the pods are exploding and sending seeds flying in all directions.  They are in full flow in January and February when really most people don’t want to be out weeding and I used to consider them a thorough nuisance.

It is different now though.  I have made friends with bittercress, it is welcome in the garden and I pick it liberally.  The flavour is not bitter and neither is it particularly hot.  We had some today to check and my partner and I both agreed that the taste is a little hotter  / more peppery than standard mustard and cress type greens in a little pot, but certainly much less hot than watercress or land cress.  At lunch time today we had some as part of a mixed salad and also as a sandwich filler mixed with some left over scrambled egg.  Both ways it was really nice.

There is always some bittercress in the garden at this time of year and at the moment I have a small carpet of it.  I would once have been dismayed to see so much in one place, but now all I see is more salad leaf than I can use.  It was under a small carpet of snow this morning which I had to pull aside before picking some and taking this picture.

Winter Harvest

It is 28 January (2013) and there are still a few small fingers of ice on the lawn, the remnants of the frozen carpet that had been in place for nine days.  The photo below was taken some time during last week.

Although the temperature today is theoretically much higher than last week there is a bitterly cold and very strong wind tugging hard at everything – and I have been out harvesting!

Firstly there were some oca plants and one mashua to find.  I dug some of each up in mid December and deliberately left the others to see if giving them a bit more time meant there were any more tubers.

In the case of the oca that plan did not work very well as I hardly found any.  I’m not sure if there are none to be found or if I was digging in not quite the right place.  There is no marker for where the plants were exactly and as I don’t want to dig around too much I decided to stop after digging around where I thought they should be.  If they were there then they may well sprout up in the spring, as some did in another bed earlier this year, having overwintered.  If they are not there, then either they have formed and rotted in the atrocious weather, or not formed at all.

Better news on the mashua as the one remaining plant which had been an amazing leafy abundance through the summer yielded just over one kg of reasonable sized tubers (photo below), plus another twenty small ones which I will save to replant next year.  In fact I will probably save most of the harvest for re-planting.  Given that it has survived a very soggy, cool summer and being just below that carpet of snow it is clearly a hardy crop.

I had an unexpected and happy discovery of four really large Jerusalem artichoke tubers growing where I thought I had one of the oca plants.  As I want to transfer some to the new garden I have planted them into a pot.

The other harvest I have had today is of salad greens – lamb’s lettuce, land cress, bittercress (yes it is a “weed”) and pea shoots.  The lamb’s lettuce is two varieties, one ‘normal’ one and the other a large leafed variety.  One of the large plants weighed 17 g as opposed to approximately 2 g per small plant!  The pea shoots have been growing in a pot on the study windowsill.  The photo below shows my plate of sparkling, bright green salad with ‘normal’ lamb’s lettuce in the centre, the large leaved variety to the right, bitter cress bottom right, land cress bottom left and pea shoots upper left.  I gathered 53 g of greens and an equivalent amount of lamb’s lettuce from a supermarket would cost between 70 p – £1.04.  As there is absolutely masses left to pick and we use a lot of salad greens this is saving us lots of money!

Warming soup on a cold day

We have had snow here since Thursday (four days!).  The photo below was taken yesterday morning and it has continued to snow today as well.   It’s probably only a very small amount for many people from outside the UK, but it’s quite a lot for Shropshire.

Anyway we have cheered ourselves up with a hearty bowl of soup, sourced in part from the garden.  It was carrot and Jerusalem artichoke soup with the latter being home grown.  The Jerusalem artichokes have been stored in the garage since I dug them up at the end of November.  They have been stored loosely enfolded in shredded paper and kept as dry as the damp atmosphere has allowed.  So far so good and although one had gone a bit soft (but okay to use) the others were fine.  The soup is made as follows:

Ingredients

• Four good sized carrots, chopped into chunks
• Approximately equal amount (weight) of Jerusalem artichokes, chopped
• 2 sticks of celery
• 2 large onions
• Vegetable stock
• Olive oil
• Pepper

Method

• Sweat the onions in a small amount of olive oil until soft and golden.
• Add the carrots, Jerusalem artichoke and celery and cook gently for five to ten minutes.
• Add sufficient vegetable stock to cover the veggies and simmer until they are soft.
• Season with pepper.
• Blend until smooth and add any extra stock or water if needed.

Here is a picture of my bowlful just before lunch!  It was smooth, hearty and warming and tasted very creamy even though it had no cream in it.  Yummy!