The Eden Project: How To Grow Vegetables
Nutritious, delicious and satisfying, growing your own vegetables is a joy that encourages biodiversity and gives us direct, cost effective access to home-grown produce. Our friends and collaborators at the Eden Project have created a guide to help you with your home growing this season, with helpful tips from the green-fingered experts.
Grow your own
Choose a sunny spot in the garden. Make one or more vegetable beds no wider than four feet (120cm) across so you can reach the bed from the sides. Clear weeds, fork over and add compost. Try to not stand on the soil. As you build the bed up with compost over time, there will be little or no need to dig.
No garden?
Not a problem. Start small with a simple window box of lettuce or beansprouts – or join a community garden, and work as part of a team.
Share your food successes
Give away surplus home-grown crops to family and friends, or swap with other gardeners. Sharing pictures of your crops and new recipes is a great way to stay connected and learn from each other too.
TOMATOES
San Marzano tomato 'Scatolone di Bolsena'
San Marzano near Naples is famous for its superb plum tomatoes. Great for slicing, often considered one of the best cooking tomatoes in the world.
To grow from seed…
• Sow in peat-free seed compost in March or April, about 6 seeds per 10cm pot.
• Repot ('prick out') each seedling once it has a pair of true leaves.
• Keep seedlings moist and in a sunny position.
• Plant out around 60cm apart after the risk of frost has passed.
Once planted out…
• Cordon varieties need staking – keep tying in as the plants grow.
• Pinch out side shoots to create one strong main stem and encourage fruiting.
• Feed when fruits start to appear, using tomato feed or homemade comfrey tea.
• Harvest from July onwards as the fruits turn red.
Top tips…
• Water evenly, little and often to help prevent fruit from splitting.
• Plant basil next to tomatoes – said to improve the flavour.
• Make comfrey tea feed: soak a bucket of leaves in water for a few days, sieve and apply with a watering can.
• If fruits won't ripen by October/November, harvest and make green tomato chutney.
WILD ROCKET
'Foglia d'uIivo'
Used across Italy and the Mediterranean, rocket brings a peppery bite to salads, pizzas or with slices of orange.
To sow from seed…
• Sow 0.5cm deep between March and September into weeded, fertile soil.
• Can also be grown in a pot or window box.
• Ready in four to six weeks – a 'cut and come again' plant.
BASIL
'Classico Tigullio'
A true Ligurian basil from near Portofino, Italy, traditionally used to make pesto Genovese.
To sow from seed…
• Sow in peat-free seed compost in spring and late summer.
• Plant into larger pots when seedlings need more room; grow on a sunny windowsill or outside after risk of frost.
Top tips…
• Ground-grown basil is more aromatic than pot grown.
• Pinch out tops once established to encourage bushing out.
• A stem placed in a glass of water will often root and provide a new plant.
LETTUCE
'Pesciatina of Tuscany'
A tender yet crunchy heritage variety from the Province of Lucca, with a compact round head and dimpled leaves graduating from green to dark red.
To sow from seed…
• Sow sparingly between March and September, 1cm deep in rows 30cm apart.
• Sow a new row every two weeks for continued cropping.
• Harvest between May–November.
BEETROOT
'Barbabietola di Chioggia'
Characterised by bright red and white rings when cut, this Venetian variety has a mild, sweet flavour suited to cakes, desserts and salads.
To sow from seed…
• Sow between March and June, 1.5cm deep in rows 30cm apart.
• Thin seedlings to 10cm spacing.
• Harvest from June to October, when no larger than a tennis ball.
