Grow Your Own: How to successfully harvest fruit & veg
There’s a time for everything – especially when it comes to sowing, growing and harvesting. With our growing tips, you can turn your garden into a foodie’s paradise.
Growing your own fruit and veg: Why timing is key
Sow in spring, ripen in summer, harvest in autumn – that much is clear. But for the perfect harvest, you need to be a little more precise. Every plant has its own rhythm, and four phases are crucial:
1. Sowing: The seedlings of most plant varieties must not be exposed to frost under any circumstances. However, some types don't mind the cold during sowing. Sowing is day 0 in a plant's life.
2. Propagating: If you want to give your outdoor plants the best possible start, you can propagate them in a pot before planting them out – for example, in a greenhouse or on a windowsill. The shoots usually appear one to two weeks after sowing. If you want to grow cucumbers or tomatoes, propagating them first is essential. They should only be moved outside when the weather is ideal and the plant is strong enough.
3. Growth: Whether propagated or sown directly, the flowerbed is where you'll see if your green fingers have what it takes. From watering to feeding, and from pruning to other care measures, every plant needs the right attention at the right time.
4. Harvest: This is what you've been working towards – it's time to harvest! But hold your horses: one red fruit doesn't mean the whole plant is ripe. The optimal harvest time not only determines the taste, but also often whether your larder will be just as full again next year.
Top tip: It's important to keep an expert eye on your garden and plants throughout the season. Not every plant will ripen exactly to schedule.
Plant growing tips
If you want to grow your own plants from scratch, you'll need to create the ideal conditions for them to thrive. Four factors are particularly important:
1. The right compost: Special seed compost is low in nutrients, providing just enough of a boost for germination and root development. This makes it easier for the plant to strengthen its most important parts – the roots.
2. The right watering technique: After sowing, the compost must be kept consistently moist, but not wet. It's best to use a spray bottle and cover the seedlings with a plastic sheet. Regular ventilation will prevent mould.
3. The right light: The more light your plants get, the better. In the darker, early spring months you can help them along with daylight or UV lamps, but a sunny, south-facing spot is also a great idea.
4. The right temperature: During the germination phase, you should maintain a warm, constant temperature of over 20°C. After this, it should be a little (!) cooler. Use a thermometer to find the perfect spot in your home or greenhouse.
Top tip: Keep a written record of sowing dates and other key details. This will help you work out when it’s time to repot, check if your plants are making good progress, or see if you need to take extra steps to help them grow.
Growing plants in a raised bed: What to consider?
The soil in raised beds is usually a little warmer than in conventional garden beds. This means you can often sow seeds and transplant seedlings a few weeks earlier than the dates suggested in a planting calendar. But the same rule applies: always wait until after the last frost!
Planting by the moon: Helpful or hype?
Planting by the moon isn't necessarily about the direct influence of the moon on roots or other parts of the plant. Following the lunar phases means you're gardening in tune with a natural cycle – the oldest planting calendar in the universe. If you'd like to give it a go, the rule is: work on the parts of the plant that are above ground during a waxing moon, and on the roots during a waning moon.
