A Gardeners’ World star has recommended planting one vegetable that’s “just come into season” to enjoy the “most wonderful” rewards. Garden designer and horticulturist Adam Frost shared his insight while shedding light on growing your own produce, disclosing that he strives to harvest “five meals” from his plot.
During a recent episode of the BBC Gardeners’ World podcast, which covered “easy veg”, Adam was questioned about how much space is needed in our gardens to “feasibly” put a “little something” on the dinner table.
In his response Adam said: “Three square metres or something like that, really. I would say something like that. But I’m thinking, in reality, I think it’s probably what I…I set out, actually, weirdly…I set out to have five meals.
He continued: “So I set my year out to have five family meals out of the garden; that’s what I do. And then…then I sort of build it around that, and I think, ‘Actually, that’s five memories, that’s five conversations, that’s…’ All of that stuff.”
View 3 ImagesHe was asked how much space we need to “feasibly” put a “little something” on the table(Image: BBC/Glenn Dearing/Geffrye Museum)
“So [that’s] instead of thinking that I’m gonna put something on the table every single week – because half the time, I’m not there anyway.”
It was then suggested that growing vegetables can also save you money, prompting Adam to name one variety that he said would provide the “most wonderful experience” when it’s time for cutting.
Adam advised: “Yeah, and if you’ve got time, I would say…We talk about easy veg because it is easy to grow, as long as you’ve got well-drained soil or you put it in a raised bed, it would be asparagus, which is just coming into season.
“And I would say to anybody, if you’re going to live in your garden for the next ten years, you know, plant some asparagus crowns, because in three years’ time when you start cutting them, it is the most wonderful experience.”
View 3 ImagesAdam advised people to plant some asparagus crowns(Image: Getty)
In related news, Adam has disclosed his top flower to plant in May, one he says will offer a boost to any garden. He revealed the pick after being asked to recommend a bulb on the Gardeners’ Corner podcast.
He said: “May, for me, obviously it’s Chelsea Flower Show time. One bulb that I really, really love is the tulip. I’m going to go for tulip sylvestris, which, in reality, naturalised probably 16th/17th century.”
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“It’s just an incredible plant. I’ve nicknamed it mucky knees. So you will hear it called a woodland tulip.”
He added: “I call it mucky knees because when you see it growing in the garden, and it moves beautifully in the breeze, and then every now and then if you’ve got a reasonably clump you get a whiff of incredible scent.”
“And you will find the next thing the plant has taken you to your knees, and you are down with your nose amongst the tulips. It’s beautiful, soft yellow… it’ll naturalise; it’ll spread by seed, but not heavily so it sort of creates these wonderful swathes.”