BBC Home Grown

BBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire

Daphne has just agreed to take part in an exciting new TV show scheduled for the BBC. The following article is written by the producer Anneli Shearsmith

We live in a part of the world that is rich in really good locally grown and raised produce and we at the BBC in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire wanted to celebrate that.

As well as having great food on our door steps, we are coming into a time when more and more people want to know exactly where their food has come from and how it has been grown or raised, this is information that is almost impossible to gain from the huge supermarkets. The growth and popularity of farm shops and farmers markets is testament to this and more and more local food producers are turning to these sorts of outlets to market their produce.

But when it comes to fruit, vegetables and salads, what better way of knowing how it’s been grown than by growing it yourself. I am no gardener – in fact I’m the only member of my family who does not have green fingers – but the idea of growing my own vegetables with some expert advice seemed very appealing. And if with the ‘Home Grown’ project we wanted to encourage other people to have a bash at growing their own produce, then I thought we need to do it with them too. So, we have got two allotments, one at Riseholme Agricultural College on the out-skits of Lincoln and one at Bishop Burton Agricultural College in East Yorkshire. I wanted to form partnerships with the Agricultural Colleges because that way we have experts ‘on hand’ and they can manage the plots for us. I did look into starting up allotments on council run sites, but I could not overcome the issues of ‘who would manage them, who would be keeper of the keys and who would provide the equipment etc’. So with the Agricultural Colleges on board I then needed to address the issue of ‘what if you don’t have an allotment or garden’. That is when Daphne got involved.

I discovered that Daphne had written a book about growing vegetables in patio gardens and immediately called her. Daphne is no stranger to the BBC, she is a regular expert on Radio Lincolnshire Gardening Phone-in (Sunday mornings between 9am and 10am) and before that she regularly featured and worked as an advisor on the very popular BBC TV series ‘Gardeners Direct Line’ – the series ended in the early 90’s but it’s legacy continues! So Daphne will be showing us all how to grow vegetables in pots, tubs and raised beds. All of the outdoor pots will be in the carpark of BBC Radio Lincolnshire, but there will be some indoor tubs in the Radio Station reception area and in the BBC Hull Open Centre. We will be following their progress during the year.

BBC Home Grown is not just about growing your own food. We want to look into the hot topic of ‘food miles’ – how far has your food travelled before it ended up on you plate? Also we will be challenging some families to live for a week on food that has come from a 20 mile radius of where they live – will they manage it? We are following a group of chaps in East Yorkshire who are starting a Farm Shop and restaurant from scratch and we want to launch competitions for the best recipes using local produce. (a mini master chef!) The Climax of our year will be around the time of Harvest Festival, when we would like to start a Farmers Market in the centre of Hull! This is just a few of the things we will be featuring, but if you keep watching, listening and logging on, you’ll be able to find out exactly what is happening when.

Anneli Shearsmith, Producer, BBC Home Grown

BBC Look North, weekdays at 6.30pm

BBC Radio Lincolnshire 94.9, 104.7FM & 1368AM

BBC Lincolnshire online:- http://bbc.co.uk/lincolnshire

BBC Radio Humberside 95.9FM

BBC Humber Online:- http://bbc.co.uk/humber

Daphne's Tips

Growing vegetables in tubs

You can grow virtually any vegetable in a tub of a good multi-purpose compost. The best ones are those which are compact in size and shape; big plants like Brussels sprouts, red cabbage and curly kale need a large container so may not be practical for very small spaces. Crops grown closer together than the recommending spacings will produce smaller individual vegetables but a higher overall yield.

Secrets of success

Choose quick-maturing or ‘cut-and-come-again’ vegetables. These will maximise yield in a small space. If you are not sure which varieties to try, buy a collection of seeds, such as Thompson and Morgan’s ‘Mini-Vegetables’ or ‘Baby Leaf Collection’ (www.thompson-morgan.com).
Always use new compost the first time you grow vegetables in tubs, although you should be able to grow one or two follow-on crops in the same compost.
Make sure the container has drainage holes in the bottom. Use a drip tray if you are growing indoors to prevent damage to carpets, floors, furnishings, etc.
Never let the compost dry out, but do not allow it to become waterlogged. Do not let the container stand in water for more than a few minutes.
Place the tub in the lightest, most sheltered place you can provide.
Feed twice a week with a soluble fertiliser such as liquid Growmore. Plants that produce fruit, such as tomatoes, should be given a tomato feed, according to the manufacturer’s instructions, once the first flowers appear.
Turn the tub daily if you are growing indoors and the light is only coming from one direction.

‘Recipes’ for attractive and successful vegetable containers

1 Beetroot ‘Moulin Rouge’ (Mr Fothergill’s Seeds, www.mr-fothergills.co.uk) and carrot ‘Amsterdam Forcing 3 – Sprint’ (Mr Fothergill’s)

2 Salad leaves ‘Niche Mixed’ (Thompson and Morgan); Mixed Lettuce Leaves (Mr. Fothergill’s); Variegated American/Land Cress (Thomson and Morgan); spring onions ‘Photon’ (Johnson’s, www.johnsons-seeds.com)

3 Cabbage F1 hybrid ‘Minicole’ (widely available)

4 Tomato ‘Sungold’ (widely available as seed or young plants)

5 Cucumber (1 per tub) Look for an all-female variety, preferably with good mildew resistance e.g. F1 ‘Futura’.

6 3 Trailing tomato ‘Tumbler’ (‘Gardenperle’) (widely available) in a hanging basket or 1m long window box.

NB Indoor vegetables, like tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and aubergines are best bought as young plants.

How to start

Scatter the seed thinly onto the surface of a tub of multi-purpose compost and cover with about 1cm of sieved compost, or make drills (grooves) about 1cm deep in the surface of the compost and sprinkle the seed thinly along this. Cover with compost and firm lightly.
Alternatively, sow pinches of seed about 1 cm deep in small pots in a similar way and plant in the tubs when large enough to handle.
Water well. The seed will germinate in 4 to 20 days depending on variety.

Planting an Ornamental Tomato Basket or Pot

You will need

A 12” (30cm) pot or 14” (35cm) solid-sided hanging basket

Enough multi-purpose compost to fill your container

3 ‘Tumbler’ tomato plants

Method

Put enough compost in the basket or pot so that when the pots of tomatoes are stood on the surface, the level of compost in the tomato pots is about1” (2.5cm) below the rim of your container.
Remove the tomato plants carefully from their pots and position on the compost, with the root balls towards the edge of the container, with equal spaces between each plant. If the plants have already started to bend over, make sure they hang over the sides of the pot. When the plants grow, they will send up more shoots from near the base to fill the bare middle.
Place one empty plant pot that contained a tomato plant in the centre of the container. This will make it easier to water the mature feature.
Add more compost until the root balls are covered, but do not fill the empty plant pot in the centre. Firm the compost gently.
Water well, by filling the empty plant pot in the middle, letting the water drain into the container, then refilling, until the water runs out of the drainage holes at the base of the pot or basket. If the compost settles, top up with more until the surface is level, about 1” (2.5cm) below the rim.
Place in a sunny, sheltered position.

After care

Always keep the compost evenly damp, but not waterlogged. Never let it dry out. This may mean watering a hanging basket several times a day when the plants are mature, during hot and/or windy weather.
Feed once a week with a specific tomato feed.
Pick the ripe tomatoes regularly to ensure the plants continue to crop. You should be able to pick tomatoes until late autumn if you look after your container well. You may need to move your tomato pot into a light position indoors later in the season if the weather turns cold, in order that the green fruits ripen.