VEGETABLE GARDEN
Vegetables are a big part of what we’re all about here at Haye Farm. When we moved here one of the first things we did, along with building our chicken coop, was to start planting vegetables and we now have around 3.5 acres on which we grow over 50 different varieties. It’s the most productive use possible of land – in high summer we’re often harvesting two tonnes of veggies a week, which is a yield far, far higher than any meat or arable system could produce.
Of course, to get these sorts of quantities, the soil needs to be in tip-top condition, well structured and packed full of nutrients. To achieve this we do several things. We grow our veg between rows of fruit trees in an alley cropping system in which the land between the trees is never ploughed, increasing biodiversity and attracting pollinators. We rotate our crops and use green manures to fix nitrogen in the soil and suppress weeds. We use our own compost and farmyard manure to improve the soil and often put the chickens in the veg garden to clean up the seeds and winkle out any slugs. And we practice companion planting, sowing beds of carrots between beds of taller broad beans to deter the carrot root fly, which can’t fly very high, for example.
We grow everything from common vegetables such as beetroot, pumpkin and courgettes (though we’d always like to think we have a variety you haven’t tried before) to more unusual crops such as agretti or monk’s beard, a crunchy, succulent leaf with a mild, salty flavour. All are delicious and we rarely think of them as mere side dishes, preferring instead to elevate them to the starring role.
Of course, to get these sorts of quantities, the soil needs to be in tip-top condition, well structured and packed full of nutrients. To achieve this we do several things. We grow our veg between rows of fruit trees in an alley cropping system in which the land between the trees is never ploughed, increasing biodiversity and attracting pollinators. We rotate our crops and use green manures to fix nitrogen in the soil and suppress weeds. We use our own compost and farmyard manure to improve the soil and often put the chickens in the veg garden to clean up the seeds and winkle out any slugs. And we practice companion planting, sowing beds of carrots between beds of taller broad beans to deter the carrot root fly, which can’t fly very high, for example.
We grow everything from common vegetables such as beetroot, pumpkin and courgettes (though we’d always like to think we have a variety you haven’t tried before) to more unusual crops such as agretti or monk’s beard, a crunchy, succulent leaf with a mild, salty flavour. All are delicious and we rarely think of them as mere side dishes, preferring instead to elevate them to the starring role.