January is the perfect time to get started on those garden projects that you have been dreaming about. If you have space in your garden and are willing to undertake a full soft strip out to utilise areas that have been neglected, then you could soon reap the rewards.
Many of us have an area of the garden that is filled with debris or contains unusable outbuildings that need to be demolished. By freeing up this space, you could create a mini allotment for your garden. This is not only a fantastic feature when it comes to adding value to any property, it can also help with the current cost of living crisis. Feeding your family produce that has been lovingly home grown is becoming increasingly popular, and for very good reason. With food costs rising, you could certainly save money and create a beautiful garden feature at the same time.
Prepping the area
An important first step is to plan and prep the desired area for your allotment to be created. This may involve some demolition works to be handled by professionals if you have remnants of old outbuildings and debris still in place. Once this has been stripped back, you will be able to fully assess the space that you are left with. This leaves you free to draw up plans and make the relevant arrangements.
What to grow in your home allotment
The trick to living sustainably is to grow only what you intend to eat on a regular basis. By growing your favourite foods, you’ll have an almost unlimited supply on hand at all times of the year. You can also take a look around your local supermarket to check out which items are the most expensive to purchase. Then try growing them yourself, from seed! This is a great way to save money and to assist with rising food costs.
Making raised beds
Wood can be expensive to purchase, so making your raised beds may seem like a costly procedure. Instead of buying wood, you could consider finding cheap pallet collars on facebook marketplace and using these. You can stack them to create any height of raised bed that you desire, just make sure that they have not been treated with any harmful chemicals before use.
Easy vegetable growing for beginners
If you are new to growing your own fruit and veg, there is nothing wrong with starting small in your first year. Some excellent produce to grow in year one includes:
Salads and leafy greens – these can be direct sown to create a constant supply of salad leaves. Cover throughout the extreme winter months and you’ll never go short.
Potatoes – grow these directly into the ground, or in grow bags to ensure a steady crop of potatoes and new potatoes every year.
Radishes – these are by far one of the hardiest and easy to grow food items. Just thinly sow and you’ll see results in a few weeks!
