Vegetable Gardening

[Dannie Boy]

As well as cooking, I also like to grow a few vegetables as well - the climate here is good for some veg, but too hot for others, but I’ve managed a good crop of tomatoes, a few cucumbers, peppers, beetroot, some very dangerous scotch bonnet chilli and just started to harvest some sweetcorn which are incredibly sweet picked and cooked within 5 minutes.

[PeteC]

What do you use to keep the insects/slugs etc., from devouring it all?

[PeteC]

Second question, what type of layers of dirt do you have, i.e. small layer of top soil followed by sand, followed by clay etc.?

You may be lucky enough to be in an area of rich, black dirt, and that's fantastic if you have that.

[Dannie Boy]

Hi Pete, answers to both questions - I haven’t used any chemicals to deter predators so it’s almost Organic and no problems with pests!! The soil was brought in by Lorry when we had the house built so it’s mixed quality although I did put down a generous layer of cow poo and dug that in. I also water in my coffee grounds from our daily espresso - tomatoes seem to enjoy that!!

[PeteC]

I would have to bring in a lot of good dirt. Where I am was the bottom of the sea a few millennia ago which is now a few inches of top soil, a few feet of sand and builders fill, then very heavy clay. So heavy that large tree roots choose to grow horizontally near the surface as they can't seem to penetrate the clay.

Sadly, to make a good vegetable garden such as yours would require major excavation.

I've been wanting to give it a go for years, but don't know if I ever will.

[Dannie Boy]

I found it quite difficult to find good soil - we tried a few times but the Thai definition of good soil and mine were not the same, although eventually we found something acceptable.

Many years ago (40 pr more) I had in the UK what’s called an allotment - if you don’t have a big garden you could rent from the Council or local gardening association for a relatively nominal fee and grew all manner of vegetables (and some fruit like raspberries and strawberries). I managed to get some wonderful produce but without very careful planning, it normally ended up with gluts and shortages, but that enabled you to quickly make friends by sharing the surplus with family/friends/neighbours.

Probably my favourite period was being able to lift early new potatoes, peas and carrots and eat them with roast lamb and mint sauce - my idea of heaven from a gluttony perspective!!