What I’m Growing in 2021

The weather is just miserable and no doubt there will be more yukky stuff to come, spring can’t come soon enough and I think we’re all holding out for some better weather, a good potter around the allotment without 20 layers of clothes or a snorkel would be lovely. My seed orders have all arrived and now I can list exactly what I plan to grow, there are a lot of old favourites on the list but each year I like to grow one or two new varieties (more have snuck in somehow) and sometimes a crop I’ve never grown before. I hope you enjoy reading through my list, it’s quite long so well done if you make it to the end!  Beetroot Boltardy, a variety that always does well for me, resistant to bolting hence the name. Deep red colour, super sweet if pulled around the size of a golf ball, lovely earthy flavour when larger. Sits happily through winter. Rather than sow beetroot direct I multi sow into cell trays, around 3 to 4 seeds per cell and plant out in clumps once the seedlings have their first set of true leaves, not only do you get more beetroot this way but they tend to stay smaller for longer due to the restricted space in which to grow.  Beetroot Sanguina, another lovely variety with deep red colour and sweet flavour. Produces lovely leaves which are edible and useful in salads when small or cook like chard.  Borage, pretty star-shaped blue flowers, great for pollinators and edible too. Will self seed readily. Broad Bean Aquadulce Claudia, great for autumn sowing to get an earlier crop the following year and to avoid blackfly, which doesn’t always go to plan! Mine went in a raised bed in November and are doing well under a tunnel cloche which is open to the elements at both ends.  Brussels Sprout Bedford, a variety I haven’t grown before so I’m looking forward to seeing how this does. I didn’t choose it for the name – purely a coincidence it will be grown in Bedford, my decision was swayed by the height the plants grow to (2.5ft) which will be better for my exposed plot. Cabbage Golden Acre (summer), I grew this variety last year and if you could picture the perfect ‘Peter Rabbit’ cabbage then this would be it. Firm ball head cabbages which are a joy to grow and beautiful to look at, a shame to cover them with butterfly netting! Cabbage Romanov (red summer), beautiful and delicious with a long growing season. Last year I planted strong plants during late summer so no surprise they didn’t get going in time to harvest for a summer crop, however they sat well through late autumn/early winter eventually producing lovely tight heads of rich burgundy red so you could squeeze in a late crop if the weather plays ball. Very nice raw and in coleslaw. Cabbage Traviata (savoy winter), I do love a savoy cabbage and this is a lovely one to grow, beautiful crinkly leaves which are very winter hardy. Slugs can be more of a problem to winter cabbages due to wet and cool conditions, I keep the numbers down by regularly tidying the plants, removing yellowing or very damaged outer leaves. I find wool pellets (organic and wildlife friendly) to be beneficial. Calendula Pot Marigold, single orange flowers which are beautiful and edible.  Carrot Mixed, a blend of purple, orange and yellow carrots – Rainbow, Red Samurai and Purple Haze F1 varieties. I’ve not grown this blend before but I have grown purple carrots which are amazing. The big kid in me chose this variety, I like the idea of not knowing the colour of the carrot I’m going to pull.  Carrot Autumn King, maincrop carrot that I love growing every year. Big roots packed full of flavour, pull earlier for smaller carrots. This variety sits well over winter without splitting, as long as the slugs don’t find them you will still be pulling carrots into early spring. Don’t forget to thin them if you want big carrots, sow direct from March onwards if soil is not waterlogged or frozen and cover with a tunnel cloche or fleece to aid germination. Once the seedlings appear I place a barrier made of fine mesh and bamboo canes around them to prevent carrot fly damage to the roots. This stays in place till the end of the year. Celeriac Monarch, I grew celeriac for the first time last year and I’m glad I did. Lovely flavour and delicious roasted, sits well all winter so great for late winter harvests. Seeds take a long time to germinate and need some heat to get them going. Chard Bright Lights, I tend to grow chard for the stems which are delicious roasted, I like the young leaves in salads and give the larger ones to my chickens, beautiful colours of red, baby pink, yellow and white. Quick to bolt in hot weather, remove the flower stems as they appear at the base to keep the plants producing. Cosmos Sensation Mixed, a favourite flower on the allotment pulling in the bees right up until a hard frost. Great for cutting and will self seed readily, shades of pink and white. Dahlia, some mixes and dinner plates! I thought I’d never grown dahlias before but looking back through photos I found that I have but the dainty Bishop types. For my birthday last month I received some tubers and some of them are the huge dinner plate types. I’m looking forward to giving dahlias another go, any planting/growing tips would be great, please leave me a comment. French Bean (Climbing) Cherokee Trail of Tears, a very rare bean with purple flowers and green or red tinged pods. Pods can be eaten fresh or allow them to dry for the small black beans to use when needed. Really nice bean. Garlic Red Duke, I grow this hard neck variety every year and keep bulbs back for planting in the autumn, usually around November time. They’re doing well in a raised bed which I’m glad I did given the amount of rain we’ve had so far. Pink/red colour to the skin, white when peeled. Strong spicy flavour. Kohl Rabi Modrava, a lovely purple variety, delicious raw and tastes just like cabbage. Does well in part shade Kohl Rabi Olivia, a green variety that to me tastes slightly more ‘cabbagey’ than the purple type listed above. I love them grated into a coleslaw. Larkspur Giant Imperial, cottage garden and cut flower, long flower spikes above feathery foliage. A new flower for me to try. Leek Musselburgh, long thick stems with good winter hardiness. Sadly leeks are becoming almost impossible to grow on my allotment site due to leek moth and allium leaf miner. I won’t allow the disappointment of last years awful crop to put me off, I’ll try again but use very fine mesh to cover from time of planting out. Fingers crossed it works. Nasturtium Salad Mix and Bloody Mary, an allotment garden favourite which pulls in beneficial insects. Flowers and leaves are edible. I grow them for the lovely flowers and as a sacrifice plant – attractive to blackfly and cabbage white butterflies which keeps numbers down on brassica and runner beans, the plants are so prolific when they get going they seem to shake off pests very well.  Onion Bedfordshire Champion, I usually grow onions from sets but last year I gave seeds a go and now I’m hooked. Using the multi sow method in cell trays I planted out in clumps, pulling immature onions through summer as salad onions, allowing the rest to bulb up.  Parsnip Gladiator, my favourite variety to grow. Long smooth roots some of which are huge! Sits well through winter. Pea Jaguar, one of the best peas I’ve ever grown and so delicious I eat them like sweeties so hardly any make it to the kitchen.  Potato (second early) Charlotte, my favourite potato to grow and eat, delicious small as a salad potato and we use the bigger ones in an air fryer cooked with the skin on and sliced into thick chips/wedges. Potato (maincrop) King Edward, an oldie but I’ve never grown it before, I usually go for Desiree but fancied a change. I know they’re widely available in supermarkets etc but I believe the taste of a homegrown potato can’t be beaten.  Runner Bean Polestar, my favourite runner bean variety which are stringless when on the small side. Heavy cropper.  Squash (summer) Crookneck, I’ve been interested in this variety for a while now and finally I got my hands on some seed. Unusual knobbly yellow squash with a distinctive curved stem or ‘crooked neck’. Should be interesting! Squash (summer) Verde Di Milano, dwarf bush courgette from Italy. Dark green fruit with bushy growth so great for small spaces, but still produces lots of fruit if regularly picked. I pick them small, lovely raw too. Squash (winter) Rouge vif d’Etampes, French heirloom pumpkin which is my favourite to grow. Cinderella pumpkins with lovely flavour, I use them to make pumpkin and raisin cake. Squash (winter) Galeuse D’Eysines, another variety I’ve never grown is this French heirloom, fruit ripens to a shade of pink and develops a warty surface when stored. Sounds fab!  Squash (winter) Crown Prince, I’m super excited to grow this squash as I have heard it tastes great, I can’t believe I’ve never grown it before. Blue/green coloured fruit with yellow flesh. Can’t wait to taste it. Squash (winter) Sweet Dumpling, lovely little squash with light ribbing and green speckled stripes, attractive and easy to grow and very tasty with a nutty flavour. Sunflower Russian Giant, Black Magic and Copper Queen, my plot is naked without a sunflower or three and these varieties are just some of my favourites. This is a great mix of single big yellow flowers we all know and love and the multi-branching burnt orange and rich purple that just keep flowering all summer. Just stunning to grow and the bees adore them too. Sweet Corn Incredible, I really like this variety and it usually grows well for me, producing well-filled sweet cobs from late July onwards depending on planting time and weather. Will grow like stink in well fed soils, plants can reach well over 7ft.  Tomato Sweet Success, red cherry type for greenhouse or outdoor. New variety for me, looking forward to tasting them. Tomato Sungold, probably the sweetest tomato I’ve ever grown. Orange/yellow cherry type for greenhouse or outdoor. Tomato Ruby, large red tomato with superb flavour, I really like this variety and usually grow it every year. Turnip Petrowski, old variety, yellow in colour with a sweet flavour. I confess to never growing turnips before so I’m excited to give them a go. Turnip Navet de Nancy, a very old French variety with deep purple colouring to the upper part of the root. I decided to try two different varieties of turnip to get a good feel for growing them, a nice mix of colours.  Zinnia Forecast and Whirlygig, bold and colourful flowers that look almost tropical, need a good summer otherwise they don’t do so well, great for bees and butterflies. Leave me a comment if you’re planning to grow something you see, keep in touch, I’d love to hear how you’re getting on.