Ashford Castle’s Garden Manager gives his top tips for growing a kitchen garden at home.
There’s something special about growing your own vegetables, watching them ripen and harvesting them for a home-cooked meal. Alex Lavarde, garden manager at Ashford Castle Estate, specialises in cultivating produce that thrives in the Irish climate.
Heading up Ashford Estate’s ambitious kitchen garden project, Alex is of the opinion that everyone can grow their own food if they put their mind to it: “You don’t need experience to grow your own food, you just need a bit of time and a willingness to start. Begin small with the vegetables you actually enjoy eating, then decide what works best for your space, whether that’s pots, raised beds or a patch in the garden.”
April and May are the busiest months in the Irish gardening calendar, says Alex, as he and his team plant herbs, vegetables and salads that will feature on menus at Ashford Castle and its sister property, The Lodge at Ashford Castle, in the months ahead.
Alex’s top tip for new gardeners:
Drainage: Ensure your soil drains well. Whether planting in the ground or raised beds, poor drainage can lead to waterlogged soil where little will grow.
pH: Test your soil’s pH; you can buy test strips online, which are easy to use. In general, Irish soil tends to be slightly acidic, so for plants that like a more alkaline soil, add lime to the compost before planting to ensure they thrive.
Mulch: Grass clippings make an excellent mulch, helping to suppress weeds, retain moisture and return nutrients to the ground as it breaks down.
In terms of what you can sow and plant right now, there is plenty to choose from, says Alex:
Potatoes: St Patrick’s day is typically the best time to grow potatoes, but it’s not too late to sow main crop varieties if you get them in the ground now. Sarpo Mira is a great starter variety; it is high-yielding and extremely blight-resistant.
Carrots: you can sow carrots directly into the ground from now until late June – just make sure the soil is sandy and light, this will allow your carrots to grow straight and will prevent forking (when the carrot splits in two).
Onions: Onions are one of the easiest food sources to grow. Once planted, you can more or less leave them to do their thing. A word of caution, however, onions and garlic should not be grown beside peas and beans, as they can inhibit each other’s growth and will lead to a lower yield. Lettuce, cabbage, broccoli, and carrots can be grown beside onions.
Salad leaves: Go for ‘cut-and-come-again’ mixes, which will allow you to get longevity out of your lettuce plants through the summer.
Peas: Peas can be sown directly into the soil between now and mid-June and will yield an autumn crop. Pea plants are climbers and will need support – place chicken wire or sticks beside plants to give them the best chance to grow strong.
Tomatoes: Tomatoes can be a trickier plant to grow if you are new to gardening, as they need to grow in a glasshouse or polytunnel. If you want homegrown tomatoes for summer salads, you’ve missed your chance to sow from seed. Instead, buy young tomato plants from your local garden centre, so you have a head start on the growing process. Just make sure to water your tomatoes daily, as they are quite a thirsty plant.
Photography by Ashford Castle.