When we first began the house/garden the first thing we had built was the allotment. My dad, along with his brother Rob got to work making a fence, laying and plastering bricks for the raised beds. Along with a small shed for tools, a wall for grapes and a pergola supporting two kiwi trees. The garden has now been going solidly for 5 year and more recently it has expanded onto the terrace with use of some wooden planters for lettuce and beans, the essentials.
This year has been one of the best yet, filled with the basic produce you’d expect to find in an allotment, carrots, lettuce and herbs but requests and some persuading from my part we now have Chinese cabbage, passionfruit and the juiciest bulls heart tomatoes. Fragrant thai basil and peppery nasturtiums are nestled in between the thyme and parsley plants.
In order to be almost self-sufficient we rely heavily on this fresh produce to provide us with enough food throughout the summer, or before we left, the year. So any damage caused by draught, virus or bugs are of great worry.
For those who don’t have the space or time to grow their own vegetables but want to have fresh herbs. Plant pots on your windowsills are your friend people! Low maintenance and you’ll never have to buy expensive herbs which then turn black in the bottom of your fridge. In England we lived in a flat with no garden but the windows were filled with herbs and my favourite lil chilli pot. All you need to do is buy one from a supermarket- you know the one which come in a plastic pot, which people generally pick then throw away- then transfer this into a larger pot. Give it some loving everyone and again- water and sun and it should be pretty low-maintenance. Not only does it look beautiful but its super handy. Just remember to look after it and put it outside if you can. I found the ones which worked best were chilli plants, thyme, rosemary, mint (which mutated into super-sized leaves) but my basil always died in the winter- too cold.
We harvested all the butternut a few weeks back to make space for the winter veg. Leeks, brussels sprouts, chard and broccoli which Marcus and Ana will enjoy now were leaving. Pa’s top tip to a successful commune is a good, plentiful garden for everyone to enjoy!
As much as I hate winter and the cold I am all for the winter produce, the pumpkins, the parsnips and the chestnuts!
Jodie Cox 