Autumn Crops in Pots...

To lovingly steal a phrase from one of the many people I follow on Twitter, we are now well and truly in the 'bbrrrr' months: Septembbrrrr, Octobbrrr, Novembbrrr, Decembbrrr!

With the weather shifting perceptibly cooler and the evenings drawing in, vegetable gardening changes dynamically. Gone are the long days full of light and warmth, replaced by gloom, gloom and grey – especially if you live in London and your 'garden' is a high-rise balcony!

Although my tomato plants are doggedly hanging in there, they're definitely wilting and becoming less productive – rather like Gordon Brown really. Despite this, the focus of the London Vegetable Garden has now officially turned to winter vegetable gardening. Along with the continual trays of salad leaves growing on my balcony windowsill (which remains very warm in the sunshine), I have three main batches of 'crops in pots'.

The first of these is a pot of spring onions, which (so I've been told on the London Gardeners' Network) are relatively easy to grow:


One of the key things I've learnt from the London Vegetable Garden project has been that when planting in pots, one needs to sow the seeds thinly, so that roots have enough space. I'm hoping that these thin, grass-like shoots will end up forming into tasty spring onions!

The next vegetable pot I have on the go is beetroot:


Again, thin planting has been employed but I fully expect that I will have to transplant these once they get a little bigger.

Finally, I'm having another stab at growing carrots. I planted my first batch of carrot seeds way back in April when I started the London Vegetable Garden. My initial enthusiasm got the better of me and it transpired that I had sown far too many seeds in too small a pot for anything of note to grow.


As you can see, I really have been frugal with my planting this time round, but I hope that the seven shoots I have will carry more success than the initial attempt!

As always, progress will be chronicled here at the London Vegetable Garden blog, as well as on the London Gardeners' Network, which now has well over 100 members!

Runner Beans on the London Vegetable Garden Balcony!!!

Perhaps one of the most difficult of vegetables to grow from the confines of small spaces such as the London Vegetable Garden, the runner bean has made its first appearance in spectacular style!

After a weekend of extremely hot and humid weather in London, I was preparing to water the plants after work this evening and brushed aside some leaves on the runner bean plant to discover these two beauties!

Hopefully I'll get a few more runner beans in my crop (space permitting) but these are photographic proof that urban gardening in a tiny space CAN bear fruit if you're dedicated enough! I shall keep you all updated on further bean developments as they happen!

My First Crops From Pots!

I hope that Mr Bob Purnell will excuse me from drawing so heavily on his book title for this blog post, but my excitement this morning can't be contained – the London Vegetable Garden has yielded its first radishes!

In hindsight (a wonderful thing, but I'm hoping my mistakes will help you chaps out there), I planted my radish seeds too close together, so many of the plants and leaves have been fighting for a very small space. The resultant crop of radishes has therefore been quite varied, as you can see from the picture below, although amongst those, we do have some decent looking ones!

I've scrubbed up a couple of the radishes I'd be comfortable entering into a competition (well almost) and laid them next to the seed packet, as shown below:

As you can see, although I haven't managed to grow enough radishes to open a stall at a farmer's market (yet), this hopefully illustrates just what can be achieved from the confines of such a small urban vegetable gardening space. I'm really proud with these big radishes – and the fact that they look so similar to the picture on the packet!

Please take this as motivation – which is what this London vegetable gardening blog is all about. Why not try planting some radishes of your own? Simply use a decent sized pot and remember to SOW THINLY! Good luck – I'd love to see everyone's results. After all, if I can achieve this on a London balcony next to a busy, smoky London railway line, your balcony, windowsill or patio can too!

From Seed to Plate - Edible Produce!

It may not be a particularly spectacular harvest, but the London Vegetable Garden has enjoyed its first taste of edible, balcony-grown organic produce! Over the past week, the rocket has looked good enough to eat - so we did precisely that! Accompanied by the other half's exquisite lasagne and accompanying many salads, we've enjoyed a surprising amount of rocket from such a small window box.


They say that giant oaks grow from tiny acorns and I hope that although this humble rocket is a modest start to my project, it's a prelude to exciting vegetables to come. Simply a few window boxes are more than enough for any amateur London gardener to produce some enjoyable results and I'd imagine it's not too late to enjoy some of your own.

In just under two months, I've planted, grown and harvested plenty of tasty rocket. All I used was grow bag compost, a window box and plenty of water. If you're diligent enough to check your rocket plants each night for watering, this really is the maximum extent of your efforts. The window box on my balcony faced inwards, so whilst gaining a lot of sun, had some partial shade too. Good luck growing your own - if anyone else has had a rocket revolution, please comment and share your findings!

No Vegetables Today, Just Flowers...

There's an age-old adage that there are two sides to every story. There's a lesser well-known adage (but one that's equally relevant) that there are two sides to every balcony and this doesn't exclude the London Vegetable Garden!

Whilst I'm promoting the use of any urban space (however small) to grow vegetables and raise awareness of becoming a bit more self-sufficient (why should we give Tesco all our money?), the truth is that container gardening extends beyond bags of beans and pots of peas.

The photos in this entry show the other side of the London Vegetable Garden. Whereas the much publicised half contains pots of compost, seedlings, canes and grow bags, its twin represents my more botanical inclinations.

The modest display you can see in the photos represents a continuing project that's lasted over a year. Whilst the main bush-like plants and ivy have been a constant on my balcony, I've had the pleasure of adding and changing seasonal plants and flowers over several months.

Over winter, we had some beautiful pansies that lasted right through until a few months ago, which have now been replaced by some vivid petunias. As Bob Purnell explains in his superb book 'Crops in Pots', one of the most attractive features of container gardening is the ease in which you can move plants around to create varied displays that make a real impact in your garden (or on your balcony).

For balconies, one of the easiest and most space-effective ways to get started is to purchase a few window boxes. They make an immediate impact without taking up any ground space. On the London Vegetable Garden, we have one in the middle that's full of floor-length ivy now, turning a concrete balcony into more of a living garden.

For more ideas on container flowers and bedding plants that are easy to use, visit your local garden centre or check out the BBC Gardening website.

Book Review - 'Crops in Pots' by Bob Purnell

As interest in the London Vegetable Garden continues to rise (check out our reference on the Times Online if you haven’t already), more and more of you are emailing or leaving comments requesting information on how to start vegetable gardening in a small space or on a balcony.

The London Vegetable Garden simply started off as an idea one weekend, but there are many dedicated and authoritative books upon the subject of micro-gardening, growing plants in small places and city vegetable growing. Last weekend, my Dad gave me a fantastic book called ‘Crops in Pots’ by Bob Purnell. After an enthusiastic read on a train back to London following my recent Sussex sojourn, I wholeheartedly recommend this vegetable volume for anyone considering starting their own miniature vegetable growing project!

‘Cops in Pots’ starts off by describing in detail what pots to use, how to plant your vegetable pots, what compost to use and ideal positioning, giving any amateur gardener more than enough information to begin. Purnell then goes on to mention what pests and diseases to look for, how to treat these, feeding your plants and general care.

Whilst this is clearly a great book for anyone considering growing a few vegetables in a small space or on a balcony, one of the best bits about this book is its many ‘projects’. It lists several different container combinations for you to attempt, depending on what food you’d like to compliment, such as pasta pots, select salads, textural treats and green garnish. Whilst these all allow for wonderful organic vegetable combinations to be harvested, they remain extremely simple, easy to grow and most importantly, all of these can be achieved in a pot on a balcony – just like the London Vegetable Garden.

If you’ve been inspired by the urban gardening projects brought up by following the London Vegetable Garden, Bob Purnell’s ‘Crops in Pots’ is an ideal starting point for any green-fingered city gardener. Highly recommended.

To purchase ‘Crops in Pots’ on Amazon.co.uk, simply click here.