What I plan to Grow in 2022

With the greenhouse cleaned out and the days getting longer I intend to spend more of my free time messing about with the garden.

But first off I need to decide exactly what to grow this year.

As I mentioned previously, the new layout of the greenhouse with the raised beds will give me a better space for tomatoes and other things. So I’m quite excited about that.

I also discovered that some of the plants from last season that I’d given up for dead might still have some life in them. If they do it’ll give me a small head start and if they don’t that’s fine too, as I wasn’t expecting them to still be alive.

So what will I be growing:

• Strawberries: these worked out fairly well last year, though I think they could have gone better. I’m not 100% sure about where to put them though. Should I put then in the greenhouse, leave them outdoors in various pots, or give over part of one of my raised beds to them?
• Rhubarb: I planted some last year and more this year. I’ve no idea if I’ll get anything out of it until next year, but it’s in the ground and is pretty low maintenance.
• Rosemary: I’ve got multiple rosemary plants dotted around the place. None of them have really “taken” so I’m hoping that at least one of them will this year. Ideally I’d end up with a decent sized rosemary bush which would give me nice fresh rosemary for most if not all of the year. So far that simply has not happened
• Basil: last year I was successful in getting a very vigorous growth, but I should have pruned it back more aggressively.
• Mint: this will grow whether I want it to or not
• Oregano: freshly cut oregano has a wonderful aroma and enhances so many dishes. I’m hoping that my raised herb garden will sprout some fresh growth in the coming weeks. If it doesn’t then I’ll need to get some new oregano plants to give it a proverbial shot in the arm
• Tomatoes: last year was a disaster. Yes I did get some tomatoes, but I screwed up badly. I planted too many plants in the space I gave them. I didn’t support them adequately and of course I didn’t prune them properly. Hopefully this year will be better. I’ll be planting only a small number of plants in the hope that I’ll get a decent crop from them if I care for them properly.
• Courgettes: I had mixed results with these last year. I’d like to give it a go again
• Cucumber: I ended up with a lot of cucumbers last year. It was wonderful, yet a little overpowering at times!
• Chillis: I had a lot of fun with these last year. They take a LONG time to grow, but since I like spicy foods having fresh ones to cook with was great. The challenge is choosing which varieties to grow. I have some seeds but I’ll also be getting some plants as growing from seeds is far from reliable. Last year I got some plants from a German company and they were excellent.
• Peppers: These worked out pretty well last year. I got a pretty good crop over the course of a month or more

I’ve also got two quite large raised beds, as well as a couple of others that are of different sizes.

I planted garlic back in September or October of last year and I’d hope that will be ready to harvest in a couple of months. I also managed to get my hands on some wild garlic seeds, though I had to import them from Poland, so I’m hoping that that will grow. I’ve no idea if it will or not, but it’s planted anyway ..

Maybe I should plant some potatoes or other things? There are some fairly funky varieties available if you go looking (think ones that my local shop will never stock!).

And of course another wee challenge is the “grass” out the back. It’s not and never has been proper grass. It’s always been a horrible mess of weeds, moss and general I don’t know what. I have absolutely zero interest in having a carefully manicured lawn. None. I’d much prefer to have more of a wild meadow vibe with grasses and flowers that would contribute a little to the local eco system. Last year I planted some meadow and it’s come along fairly well, but to do the rest of the garden it really needs to be properly rotavated as the soil is rubbish and really needs it. I’ve ordered seeds from a company down in Cork so hopefully I’ll be looking out on a bit of meadow in a couple of months!

If anyone has suggestions for what to grow please let me know via the comments!