Thursday 24 April 2008

Creating a new potager.

When we bought this house I inherited a vegetable garden and for a number of years I've been happy just pottering around and growing salad, beans, peas, courgettes etc. in quite a slapdash manner I must say!
This Spring, however, I'm trying to be a little more structured and so have had Sean (my new gardener) create 3 long beds dissected by a pair of paths using wood pavers
Today at the weekly market in Le Molay Littry I bought the first plants to go in the new potager. 4 sorts of salad; courgettes; tomatoes; cauliflower (chou fleur, so much prettier in French); beetroot (betterave); celeri and seed potatoes.
There will also be a section with herbs: parsley; coriander; rosmarin; wild garlic; basil; sage and mint (but in pots to contain the roots which would take over the whole place if planted in the soil).
In the potting shed I already have spinach; pumpkin and runner bean seedlings sprouting and when the soil has warmed up a little more I shall plant haricort vert and for the first time haricot jeune seeds straight into the prepared beds.
My bedside reading now is a gardening magazine and I'll welcome any tips that you feel will help with mynew project.
Check back for more info and hopefully, pix of my progress over the coming weeks.

2 comments:

  1. Wow, it sounds fabulous! I can't wait to see the pics. I will send a website that has some organic info that might be helpful. Good luck and savve me some haricot verts!
    Susan

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  2. Here in the UK we planted our potatoes today - I think they were supposed to be second Early's - more like 'first late's' now ! They are well chitted - runner beans and toms will go in the propagator later this week.

    Tip for runner beans, pinch the tops out when they are just halfway up the pole, gives bushier more productive plants.....

    We are growing all our veg in containers this year - a potager sounds positively luxurious

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