Veg for up a fence?

2cats1kid

Have a space near a fence (but gets plenty of sun) which I am looking to clear over the winter. I was thinking of using it for sweetcorn, but have read a site which says you get 1-2 cobs per plant so it hardly seems worth the effort.

I have a patch marked down for runner beans already, so they are covered off.

I can do a courgette plant (do I need 2 for pollination, or can I get away with 1?) but none of us are keen on them so I don't want to do too many and then have them wasted, and my book says to plant cucumbers away from courgettes as they get many of the same diseases.

Tomatoes I tend to grow in pots, so they are covered off too.

So what can I grow in my little patch (will be at least 4 foot long, could be as much as 8 or 10 depending on how mad I go with my clearing!). I don't want to get too much into lots of support, as I'm not sure how much the fence will hold (it has been patched and mended a lot!). I am after maxing my yield as much as possible.

Zazen999

First things first. Why are you growing stuff that you aren't keen on?

Sweet-corn - yes you get 1-2 cobs per plant, and you need ideally a block of say 6 or more to get pollination. However, they are the sweetest crops on the planet and if you like corn, so worth it. They are pretty much no trouble at all once they get going. You usually only get 2 weeks of these a year anyway, as they all come good at the same time. I always make space for them as we love them in our house.

How about - working out what you like to eat, and coming back with that, and we can guide you through.

Primrose

I know you say you grow your tomatoes in pots, but if you grow them in the soil in your sunny border and add some fertiliser or manure you can plant them close together and get a better yield than growing in pots. I plant mine 12 inches apart and in good years the plants are groaning with fruit. The cherry types grow at least six foot high so would hide your fence but as they need individual stakes, the stability of your fence wouldn't be affected.
In front of the tomatoes you could plant lettuces, beetroot, Swiss Chard or spinach (which will last through winter). If you've got any spare space, you could put in a few 6 foot canes and grow climbing French Beans. These are are useful back-up as they are self fertilising and if you get a cold summer the bees may not fertilise your runner beans, whereas the climbing French Beans self-fertilise. Most vegetables like a sunny spot, so even if your growing space is fairly small, with some manure dug in, you can grow things quite close together and still get a worthwhile crop.

Farway

As it is near fence and presumbly warm & sheltered how about cucumbers? You could even grow them up the fence if you get the climbing sort

Or maybe peppers, will depend on season, last two seasons have been rubbish for me, maybe chillies? Never grown them as I do not use them, but many here do grow them without trouble

Or longer term, currants or other soft fruit?

Jack's_mummy

Peas? french beans?

2cats1kid

I'm considering things we're not keen on because I've mostly covered off things we do!

Our toms in pots yielded more than we could use, so I have jars full of dried toms in oil, and loads of tommy sauce in the freezer, so I really don't need any more toms.

We do use a few courgettes, just not loads. DH likes courgette pickle, and I can hide a few in sauces to get them into DD.

OK, as for what we already have
fruit - gooseberries, blueberries, blackcurrants, strawberries, raspberries, rhubarb (technically a veg, I know)
veg - tomatoes, various herbs, runner beans, carrots, dwarf beans, broad beans, broccoli, spring onions, onions, garlic, turnips, lettuce, beetroot, swede. Will be trying squashes next year. Only things that we buy regularly that aren't on that list are caulis and cabbage.

Had peas last year but the mice got a lot of them. Didn't have much success with potatoes.

The space in front of this bit by the fence has got my strawberries in raised beds in front of it, so that bit is spoken for.

Most of what we like grows pretty low, which is why I'm after something that will grow up. I thought about more raspberry canes or maybe blackberry, but I'm nervous of them suckering into the neighbours gardens - the other rasps are further from the fence so I can keep an eye on them more easily. Last resort is more runner beans, as I love them, but I can just see me drowning in runner beans if I'm not careful!

Zazen999

2cats1kid wrote: »

I'm considering things we're not keen on because I've mostly covered off things we do!

Our toms in pots yielded more than we could use, so I have jars full of dried toms in oil, and loads of tommy sauce in the freezer, so I really don't need any more toms.

We do use a few courgettes, just not loads. DH likes courgette pickle, and I can hide a few in sauces to get them into DD.

OK, as for what we already have
fruit - gooseberries, blueberries, blackcurrants, strawberries, raspberries, rhubarb (technically a veg, I know)
veg - tomatoes, various herbs, runner beans, carrots, dwarf beans, broad beans, broccoli, spring onions, onions, garlic, turnips, lettuce, beetroot, swede. Will be trying squashes next year. Only things that we buy regularly that aren't on that list are caulis and cabbage.

Had peas last year but the mice got a lot of them. Didn't have much success with potatoes.

The space in front of this bit by the fence has got my strawberries in raised beds in front of it, so that bit is spoken for.

Most of what we like grows pretty low, which is why I'm after something that will grow up. I thought about more raspberry canes or maybe blackberry, but I'm nervous of them suckering into the neighbours gardens - the other rasps are further from the fence so I can keep an eye on them more easily. Last resort is more runner beans, as I love them, but I can just see me drowning in runner beans if I'm not careful!

How about french beans rather than runners - you can get dwarf and climbers - or coco type beans, which can be left on and dried, and used in soups through the winter.

I don't bottle any toms, I make it into passata and freeze it for curries/sauces, and also make over dried toms [dry for the day in oven at lowest temp in slices and freeze once cool]. I find growing more of what we do love, and finding better ways to store it, is better than wasting space on stuff we don't actually like. I would recommend cabbage as well, there's nothing like home made coleslaw with cabbage and carrot and onion straight from the garden.

RAS

2cats1kid wrote: »

Our toms in pots yielded more than we could use, so I have jars full of dried toms in oil, and loads of tommy sauce in the freezer, so I really don't need any more toms.

If you moved the toms to in front of the fence, would you have more room to grow other things you like on the ground that frees up?

2cats1kid wrote: »

OK, as for what we already have
fruit - gooseberries, blueberries, blackcurrants, strawberries, raspberries, rhubarb (technically a veg, I know)
veg - tomatoes, various herbs, runner beans, carrots, dwarf beans, broad beans, broccoli, spring onions, onions, garlic, turnips, lettuce, beetroot, swede. Will be trying squashes next year. Only things that we buy regularly that aren't on that list are caulis and cabbage.

Had peas last year but the mice got a lot of them. Didn't have much success with potatoes. !

Caulis are not easy to grow but would you be able to grow cabbage in the space left if you moved the tomatoes?

With respect to peas, do you eat mangetout at all? - they grow to a good five foot. I start my peas and mangetout off in old tubs and that reduces the mouse problem at that stage. Mangetout reduces the mouse problem with them eating the seed bacause you get to them before the seeds develop.

2cats1kid wrote: »

Most of what we like grows pretty low, which is why I'm after something that will grow up. I thought about more raspberry canes or maybe blackberry, but I'm nervous of them suckering into the neighbours gardens - the other rasps are further from the fence so I can keep an eye on them more easily. Last resort is more runner beans, as I love them, but I can just see me drowning in runner beans if I'm not careful!

Have you thought about cordons fruit trees? You can grow them a 30-40cms apart so can several varietes in a small space? You do need to check pollination dates for apples and get them on the dwarfing stocks but could be a good use of the space.

growing4gold

borlotti beans!
I grew these last year against a fence and they were fantastic!

You can use they fresh from the plant- great in soups, make your own baked beans, casseroles etc or dry them on the plant and gather when pods are dry and use them in much the same way after soaking them over night when you need them.

They look really pretty on the bush- all pink and white speckled.:o

angelavdavis

Butternut squashes
Beans
Fan Trained peach or plum

2cats1kid

We aren't fans of butternut squash, and have never had borlotti beans to my knowledge.

Has given me food for thought - I'll investigate the borlotti beans, mange tout and plum options, I think.