Build a Better Vegetable Garden – Book Review

Build a Better Vegetable Garden - 30 DIY Projects to Improve Your Harvest

If there’s one thing I need right now (apart from about three weeks’ worth of solid sleep, of course), it’s inspiration. Dull, dank grey days and a sodden and sleepy vegetable garden have left me feeling somewhat indifferent about what’s going on outside at the moment.

So when publishers Frances Lincoln sent Joyce & Ben Russell’s Build a Better Vegetable Garden: 30 DIY Projects to Improve Your Harvest for review, I was keen to delve in and strike up some horticulturally-inspired fire in my postpartum belly.

So did it give me some ideas for projects ahead of the next growing season? Most certainly. But perhaps a lot of the projects will have to be added to Rich’s ever-growing list of things to do (finish the kitchen floor, finish the dining room, put up my polytunnel). So why Rich, and not me? Quite simply because right now, I don’t have the time to tend to a baby and learn some elementary skills. I just don’t. Rich, on the other hand, is ahead of the game and is pretty nifty wielding a hammer, chisel, drill and a whole host of power tools.

So I would say that if you’re a complete DIY novice with zero carpentry skills, are a little lean on the tools front, and like us lack a garage or workshop space, you may struggle a little with the projects laid out in this book. All of the projects featured involve working with timber and require a basic skill set for working with this material. For instance, I really love the bean support and apple/fruit storage trays, but it would take me a month of Sundays to make them, and even longer to make them well (I can’t even saw straight). But if Rich can find some time (and workspace) in the Spring, I’d love to hand over a couple of projects to help us improve our growing conditions and hopefully boost harvests next year.

Likewise, if you’re keen to learn some new skills or already have the knowledge to put together some relatively simple but effective pieces for the garden or allotment – think obelisk, raised veg beds, cloches and fruit cages, and more – then this book should definitely be on your Christmas list. Beautiful photography and clear instructions make each project a tempting prospect, and should inspire homegrowers to help make their little patches more attractive, productive and more secure.

You can purchase Build a Better Vegetable Garden: 30 DIY Projects to Improve Your Harvest through Amazon right here.

Successful Autumn harvests

On a personal level, 2015 has been difficult, sad and very challenging. One thing that’s kept me going, kept me grounded and kept me sane is my veg plot. And this year, after putting no-dig into action, I’ve had one of my most successful growing years ever. One of the greatest successes of the veg plots has been the arch.

Munchkim pumpkins and Spanish Flag (mina lobata)

Climbing munchkin pumpkins and Spanish Flag (mina lobata)

I’ve been growing Spanish flag (mina lobata) up and after a very slow start, they’ve been romping away with wild abandon. I’ve also weaved in the munchkin pumpkins, hoping to have a little crop later in the year. The munchkins are also a bit on the late side and have yet to flower, but I have hope that they’ll get there eventually. If not, then we’ll just have some pretty squash leaves adorning the arch too!

Spanish flag scrambling

The raspberries have been producing fruit for picking on a daily basis for the last fortnight at least, and we’ve got more than enough in the freezer ready for some jam. This year I’m going to try seedless jam so it’s a case of getting a few bits and pieces before the jam pan comes out again.

Polka raspberries

The peas came out and straight away, in went some salad leaves and leeks so I have a ready supply for some serious soup making later in the autumn. There’s nothing like snuggling down with a steaming bowl of leek and potato soup and a chunk of crusty bread on a cold but sunny Saturday lunchtime.

Knucklehead pumpkin

I’ve been digging up monster sized Picasso potatoes, but they’re not the only super-sized produce we’ve been growing at The Smallest Smallholding. The knucklehead pumpkin has grown about six metres long and is looking to produce some hefty fruit for the Autumn, with leaves about twice the size of my head. Meanwhile, the yellow courgettes have been popping out fruit for harvesting, but Rich isn’t eating them fast enough. Courgette cake may well be on the menu.

Yellow courgettes

New no-dig plot

Lawn is, essentially, a pain. It’s more work, it needs to be fed and watered regularly in summer to look half decent (ie unsustainable, bad for the environment), and needs mowing on a regular basis too. To me, that’s just unnecessary extra work with no real benefits for me or for wildlife.

While I’m happy for Rich to take care of the lawn on the “flower” side of our Smallest Smallholding, on the veg side the super-poor soil under the lawn means that weeds rather than grass tend to thrive. There are ants nest aplenty, and mowing it regularly is arduous. It’s essentially unproductive land that could be doing so much more.

(Its only saving grace is the fact that we have a LOT of clover, and the bees love clover flowers. So we let big patches grow and do a sort of mowing rotation system so that there’s always an abundance of fresh clover available for them.)

How to make no-dig plot

Laying out the no-dig plot

Given that I am always struggling for space, it seemed such a simple solution to just reduce the amount of lawn and increase the amount of available veg bed space. In the past we’ve opted for traditional wooden boards to line our veg plots, but with my new-found fondness for no-dig vegetable growing, it’s just a case of compost/manure dump and go.

I’ve outlined where the new plot will go and put down some compost I had to start to suppress the grass. We’re off to a local stable to collect some fresh horse poo and hopefully by late Autumn we can start winter planting. I’ll keep you posted with some “how to advice” if  you’d like to give no-dig beds a go. In the meantime, check out Charles Dowding’s No Dig approach on YouTube.