So the gardening year is coming to end for us. We’ve still got our main crop potatoes on the go plus some carrots which we just pull up when we need some, however the rest of the plants are finished with.
Next year isn’t going to be as easy for us. We’ve got a baby on the way, due at Christmas, so any plants with a medium to high maintenance are just not an option next year. However, we still want to grow some fruit and vegetables, so what’s easy to do?
Potatoes
We’ve (aka I’ve!) decided to stick with potatoes as they’re really low maintenance and we loved the early potatoes (new potatoes) that we grew earlier in the year, hopefully the main crop will be just as good. I’ll have two wooden troughs and 2 potato sacks spare so I’ll get a set of early potatoes on the go followed by some main crop potatoes. Easy to manage and great to eat!
Garlic
I’m also going to grow some garlic again, which we’ll be getting planted as soon as possible. Garlic is best grown from proper seed garlic which you can buy from garden centres from about now. They usually say sow on the shortest day (21st December?) and reap on the longest day (21st June), but it’s best to plant it out from October onwards, however you can also plant it in January, just leave it in for a bit longer (usually when the tops die off and dry out).
Garlic is grown by taking a bulb, splitting it into the cloves and then planting the cloves about an inch into the ground. I’ll be growing about 8-10 in a wooden trough. Once they’re in then I don’t need to worry too much about them. Also, the colder the temperature, the stronger the final garlic should be 
Strawberries
Usually I have my strawberry plants in pots, however I’ve not had a great amount of fruit off them, probably a bit stifled by the pot and also pots don’t retain water as well as the ground does so they dry out quicker. Thanks to my Dad and husband, David, we’ve now got a clear area at the back of the garden after they chopped about half the trees down/back over the weekend! I’ve already got 8 strawberry plants in the ground now, 7 of which are from runners this summer (I’ll write about getting new plants off runners soon!). I’ll be transplanting more into the ground from the pots where there’s space.
Raspberries
Of course good plants to grow when you have little ground space are tall plants, and raspberries are perfect for this. I’m hoping to get 3-4 raspberry canes off my Dad and put them at the very back of the garden up against the fence. It gets some great sun now, during the afternoon, and in the summer will get plenty more. Again, it’s very low maintenance, you just have to take a bit of time to pick the fruit when it’s ready! Towards the end of the year (around now), you cut the canes back down to the ground and they’ll grow new canes the following year. No need to replace 
Carrots
Hopefully I can get my Dad to start us off some carrots in a decent sized pot, and then we just need to keep them watered and remember to use them Smaller baby carrots are easy to grow in a pot or an old bucket with a few holes for drainage. You can sow them around the outside of a round pot and then pick every other one to allow the others to grow and expand a little more.
Tomatoes
Again, I’ve asked my Dad to see if he’ll start off a couple of tomato plants in hanging baskets for us. We’re not going to have the time or chance to start tomatoes off from seed and he has a better climate down south and more space than us. He’s just brought us a large 2l box of tomatoes and has some many more at home. Made a great roast tomato and garlic sauce for pasta and pizza usage
Lettuce
Hopefully I can keep a little bit of ground free to do some lettuce next summer. That’s the only plant I’ll probably grow from seed, and will probably go for the type that you can just pick leaves from and leave it to continue to grow. By then the new arrival will be happily sitting in the pushchair or can lie out on a playmat in the shade if it’s warm enough, giving me a bit of time to tend to some basic salad items
I’m looking forward to our garden next year. I think the clearing of the trees has given me a chance to plan planting a few plants in the ground here, which has given me a few ideas/reminders of what we can do. Even if it produces just a handful of fruit and vegetables for us, it’s still worth it for a taste that you just can’t buy in the shops
