Leaving London after living there for over twenty years to move to rural Suffolk in pursuit of ‘The Good Life’, was an idea that was several years in the making. It wasn’t that it was hard to switch lifestyles, it was the thought of saying goodbye to my allotment that brought tears flooding to my eyes.
Toiling that soil for many years, I knew where it was heavy, where it flooded and where it would quickly dry out. From what was once a piece of wasteland, I created Heaven on earth, my very own Garden of Eden. Well, it was in my eyes. However, all was not lost! When my wonderful wife (Sophie) and I first talked about leading a more sustainable life, it presented me with a fantastic opportunity, to create my very own kitchen garden.
Don’t get me wrong, when we first started house-hunting, we were looking at homes with a couple of acres of land. I had an image I would be the new village dandy, with top hat, cravat and cane. Flaunting my organic wares across the village, trying to entice locals to my homegrown produce.. What was I thinking? Truth was, I wanted to show people you didn’t need Long Meadow to produce a lot of veg, sorry Monty. Small spaces can give you all you need to successfully grow, whilst creating a space that is packed with biodiversity and a retreat from the grind of daily life. And so, with a quarter of an acre to play with, The Good Life Gardener stepped into the abyss.
I’m of the belief, there’s no right or wrong way to creating a kitchen garden, but it’s good to keep in mind the following when you have your potential area. The amount of sunshine it gets throughout the day, is it sheltered or exposed? Think about maintenance and accessibility. You don’t want to create something the size of a football field, then realize it’s too large to look after. What do you like to eat and will this reflect what you plant? There are no point growing rows of cauliflowers if no one in your household likes them. Likewise, why grow a huge pumpkin in a limited space, when a trailing variety tied into an arch or trellis will give you more fruits that don’t all have to be eaten at once.
And of course, last but no means least, how do you want your kitchen garden to look and function. Instagram, Pinterest and garden magazines are great resources, and will illustrate the weird and wonderful in kitchen garden designs. Once ideas start forming, make a sketch of how you want your kitchen garden to look. It doesn’t have to be overly-complicated; a bird’s eye view is more than enough to create a blueprint of beds, paths and structures. Consider incorporating a greenhouse, shed or compost bay. Whether it’s raised beds or an open plot, create a garden that works for you and the allocated space.
If drawing’s not your thing, try marking out the garden with pegs, string and rope. You don’t have to have it down to the exact cm, but a general plan will really help you visualise. For example, are you going to be using a wheelbarrow? Then, push it around your marked paths, ensuring it can work within the area.
Another element vital to the build is an accessible water source. If you plan your kitchen garden too far from a running tap, you’ll be giving your arms a heavy workout as you drag watering cans up and down the garden. By the end of summer, you could be flexing biceps the size of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s. So, the more water butts and containers you can set up in the kitchen garden, the less you’ll need the garden tap, saving you money.
As the plan begins to take shape, consider what materials you’ll be using to build your garden. Metal, wood, or something that’s been upcycled. You don’t need to spend a fortune, ask most allotment holders. Quite often they’ll recycle and re-use what’s available to them, finding treasures in skips and reclaim yards. Of course, you want the growing area to be unique, special, and to last. But spending a small fortunate on newly laid paths, when wood chippings or old bricks are easier on the pocket, and can add real character. I always think the gardener’s best friend is a wooden pallet, there’s a hundred and one uses for them.
For me, raised beds play a large part in my garden. Suffolk soil is heavy, also I’m a fulltime gardener, so my days are filled tending to other gardens making time for my own kitchen garden limited. When I had my allotment, it was open plan and as many know they take a lot of time and work. The soil in open plots also can take longer to warm up at the start of the season, and both water and valuable nutrients can easily run off the growing area.
Having raised beds means the soil warms quicker allowing me to extend my growing season. Also, my garden is no dig and organic, no chemicals have or ever will enter this space on my watch. And by allowing ecosystems to thrive, it’s one of the best ways to improve your soil’s health.
Every bed in our kitchen garden has been filled, and topped up every year, with Dalefoot Wool Compost for Vegetables and Salad. The only other matter that goes into the beds, is well-rotted manure. Again, I wanted to see just how good peat-free compost is. So, the only way to do it was to go for it 100%. Five years on? Take a look at my Instagram feed and check out what I grow and the smile on my face. I’m not going to lie; I still miss digging. Single digging, double digging, show me a spade and I still go weak at the knees.
Although the centre of my kitchen garden is dominated by oak raised beds, the outer area is filled with modular metal beds that are built and can be adapted to be made bigger or smaller. As gardeners, every season we incorporate new ideas, change things up, grow new veggie varieties, so having these metal beds have allowed me to change the outlay (several times in the last four years), pack more growing space in and grow more fruit and veg.
Like the metal raised beds, I didn’t want the surrounding paths to be a permanent structure, underlined with a concrete sub-base, so I opted for a base of honeycomb ground stabilisers. Made from recycled plastic, these can easily be lifted and reused.
One area of the kitchen garden I’m particularly proud of is thriving space we lovingly call Bugmetroplis. Here, I’ve set aside one large bed, created a huge bug hotel, a couple of nest boxes for birds and a hedgehog motel. All made from wooden pallets. There, I’ve also planted bug loving plants and comfrey. The comfrey makes a fantastic comfrey tea for my veggies. As comfrey can easily spread and dominate, I opted for Comfrey Bocking 14 which is a non-spreading variety. By creating this bug estate, I give my critters free food and board. In return, they pollenate my fruit and veg and deal with the unwanted pests.
I also line the kitchen garden with nasturtiums. Living in the Suffolk countryside something I learnt quickly when you’re surrounded by farmer’s fields, the field pests don’t stop at your front gate, they will keep going. We tend to get overrun by both flea beetle and cabbage white butterfly later in the summer. But by filling the area with nasturtiums, and netting all brassicas, damage to growing veggies is minimal.
Finally, think about how the kitchen garden will sit within the whole garden. Will it need fencing to keep stop the family dog from digging up your spuds? Is it better situated next to the house for easy accessibility. Or, built at the bottom of the garden, allowing you to enjoy the entire vista of the garden.
Don’t expect it to be plane sailing, despite your efforts of pre-empting and sussing out the growing space, until you plant something, you’re not going to know who will turn up for the free meal. Be vigilant gardeners! Remember, this is a space for both you and nature, don’t be intimidated by what you read, see on social media or glossy garden magazines. Mistakes will be made; it’s how we learn. And sometimes mistakes allow for great discoveries. Just go for it and enjoy the journey. Happy Growing!
BIOG
I’m Ade Sellars the ‘Good Life Gardener’, and I’m am award-winning garden writer, gardener, presenter, and content producer, with a passion for growing my own food in my kitchen garden. As well as running my own gardening business, I design kitchen gardens, write for magazines, produce tailored video content for gardening brands, flower shows and outdoor events and I regularly deliver talks and demonstrations around the country.
Website: www.adesellars.com
Instagram: adesellars
YouTube: @TheGoodLifeGardener
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ade-sellars-the-good-life-gardener-7429ba42/