Vegetables and Herbs

By Liam McCann

Growing vegetables and herbs at home is easy and rewarding as long as you choose the best time to plant the right seeds. Some require a little TLC while others will happily look after themselves.
You don't need to tend a dedicated area in your garden as most vegetables herbs will thrive next to flowers or in containers on balconies or windowsills, or preferably in a plot or on an allotment.
This informative little ebook looks at the origins and history of many of the world's most popular vegetables herbs as well as teaching you the best way to grow them.

• Language: English
• Publisher: G2 Rights
• Release date: Jul 10, 2020
• ISBN: 9781782812869

Book preview

VEGETABLES

INTRODUCTION

Growing vegetables at home is easy and rewarding as long as you choose the best time to plant the right crops. Some require a little TLC while others will happily look after themselves.

You don’t need to tend a dedicated area in your garden as most vegetables will thrive next to flowers or in containers on balconies or windowsills. Most species will also grow alongside herbs in a plot or on an allotment.

Growing your own is cheaper than buying vegetables from a supermarket, and you know how each plant has been cared for. You can grow anything from pumpkin to chilli, and from cucumber to spring onions.

You then have the freedom to create exciting dishes using the vegetables as a base. You can even pickle them or turn them into long-lasting chutney.

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ASPARAGUS

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HISTORY

Asparagus is a herbaceous perennial vegetable that was native across Western Europe from Spain to Ireland. It has been eaten for thousands of years, and a recipe survives from the oldest cookbook yet discovered: Apicius’s De Re Coquinaria from the third century AD.

GROWING

Asparagus should be planted in a weed-free bed in generous sun. It can be grown from seeds but it’s easier to embed year-old dormant plants from crowns. Dig a trench around 30cm (a foot) wide and 20cm (eight inches) deep and work in a bucket of compost per square metre. Then make a low ridge and pop the crowns in the top. They grow best in well-drained soil with a neutral pH. You should leave the plants until the third year before harvesting from April onwards. As it requires a fair amount of space, asparagus isn’t suitable for growing in pots.

USING

The young shoots taste best and are a good source of vitamins B, C, E and K, as well as dietary fibre and iron. Asparagus can be boiled, roasted, stir-fried or even eaten raw in a salad. It is also popular with salmon in a quiche, with shredded chicken in soups, or pan-fried with goat’s cheese and beetroot.

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BEETROOT

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HISTORY

Beetroot is particularly popular in Eastern Europe, where it is used to make soup (borscht), and in India where it is cooked with spices and served as a side dish. It was used as far back as the Middle Ages to treat digestive problems, and more recent research suggests the juice can lower blood pressure.

GROWING

It’s easy to grow beetroot in the garden. It prefers fertile well-drained soil with compost and a little fertilizer. They should be planted every 10cm (four inches) and need to be watered every couple of weeks in dry spells. When they reach the size of a golf ball, harvest alternate plants to have raw with salads. Leave the rest to