🌱 Maximize Your Green Space: Smart Tips for Allotments & Gardens 🌿

Are you making the most of your allotment or garden space? 🌱🌿 In this episode, we explore creative and practical ways to use your green space wisely. From vertical gardening and companion planting to optimizing small plots, we’ve got tips to help you grow more with less. Whether you’re cultivating veggies, flowers, or a mix of both, this episode will inspire you to think outside the box and make every inch of your garden work for you. 🌸🍅 Tune in for actionable advice, expert insights, and a fresh perspective on sustainable gardening. Let's grow smarter, not harder! 💡🌟

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Gardening with Ben, your go to podcast for

(00:03):
all things green and growing in twenty twenty five. Whether
you're a seasoned gardener, a budding enthusiast, or just curious
about cultivating your own slice of nature, you're in the
right place. Join me Ben as we explore practical tips,
inspiring stories, and the latest trends in gardening to make

(00:24):
your outdoor space bloom with life, from a lotment adventures
to wildlife friendly gardening. I'm here to help you grow
your passion and read the rewards. So grab your gloves,
roll up your sleeves, and let's get started on this
year's gardening journey. Hey everyone, and welcome back to Gardening

(00:46):
with Ben for another brand new episode. Well it's Friday.
Friday is finally here. We've been counting down the days
and it's finally approached. I do apologize for not having
a podcast up yesterday. It got the better of me
and I didn't get around to doing it. But we
have got a podcast for you today, and make sure

(01:08):
you come back for tomorrow's podcast because we'll be talking
all about the jobs which we're going to be doing
in the garden this weekend. So yeah, make sure you
stay tuned for that. And just thank you for everybody
that's been commenting on all my posts and liking them
and getting involved. I'm trying to start respond to every
comment on my social media's now and hopefully interact with

(01:30):
you more. I know I've let you down in the past,
so I've just let people comment and I've never replied,
but I am starting to try and reply to them
and take note of them all. I always read them,
but I've never usually replied to them all, so hopefully
I'll start to reply to them all and keep in
touch with you all. So yeah, today's podcast, we're going
to be talking about using your garden and allotment space wisely,

(01:54):
as some people don't have big gardens, you only have
small gardens. Same with your allotments. Some people have massive
plots and some people just have half plots, or some
people just share a little space. And it's about making
the most out of it and working out how you
can use a space wisely to get as much growing

(02:14):
as possible. And I might actually try this this year.
My plan is just to use one bed and try
and grow varieties of different things in that bed and
use it wisely and see what happens and whether we
get a good crop from doing it. So obviously, like

(02:35):
I said, some people don't have big gardens or big allotments,
and some people don't have gardens at all. So sometimes
you have to grow stuff in pots, and sometimes you
have to grow stuff in walls on walls, and yeah,
sometimes you have to grow stuff on balconies. But it's
about using that space wisely, and you can grow a

(02:56):
lot of fruit and vege and flowers in pots. Stuff
work well in pots, obviously, the only issue with growing
things in pots is that it dries out fast, so
you have to keep things watered, especially during the summer
periods because it does dry out. And also growing stuff
in pots, it runs out of nutrition as it uses

(03:17):
all the nutrition up, and you have to help it
get more nutrition by feeding it and yeah, looking after
it and giving it a bit more TLC. A bit
like when you're growing too Martyr's in pots. You have
to keep feeding them so that they get enough nutrition
to grow well and get good produce on them. So
the same goes for anything growing in pots because there's

(03:39):
not much after it takes it from the compost, so
it needs a bit of regular feeding and improvement to
the soil to keep it well nourished. So when you're
growing stuff in pots, obviously you can grow like lettuce
in pots. You can grow spring, onions, carrots, beetroot, radishes,

(04:02):
runner beans, peas, causeets, pumpkins even but like I said,
pumpkins and obviously corseets, they do need a lot of water,
so you have to make sure they get well fed.
And yeah, obviously when you're growing stuff as well, just
grow the amount that you'll actually need. I shouldn't be

(04:23):
really saying this because I'd never do that. I grow
more than well enough that I need. I'm one of
these that shows every single seed in the packet, and
I'll plant every seed in the packet. But yeah, if
I'm going to try and grow one bed full of vege,
I'm going to try and just grow a few of
each vegetables and plant them in it and see how

(04:44):
well we do with it, and see if we get
a better outcome than we do having a bed for
different vegetables and see how well it grows. So make
sure you stay tuned for that because I'll be sharing
my updates obviously on Instagram and Facebook with regards that
I'll be talking to about it on the podcast, and

(05:05):
I might try growing some more stuff in pots and
also in baskets on my shed and on my fencing,
trying to grow stuff and using it wisely in my space,
so trying to get as much planted in the plot,
but using every available space I've got around me to

(05:28):
do it. I did try growing some stuff in hangers
on the side of my shed, but I forgot to
water so they all died. But this year I might
give my extra time to it and give it a
bigger push in trying to do it this year, because
I do want to try and grow as much variety
as possible down at the allotment. And I am going

(05:50):
to crack growing carrots this year. That is on my
mission list. I will grow some good carrots. You can
hold me to it, and if I fail, you can say,
well you did say that you would try. But yeah,
I'm going to give it a try this year. So yeah,
And it's about obviously planting stuff and as soon as

(06:13):
it's been harvested, planting something else in that space which
can then grow and continue. And when you like growing
like lettuce and spring onions and beetroot, you have to
keep sewing at regular intervals so that you can keep
growing a crop throughout the year. Like obviously, you can

(06:35):
start some lettuce off one week and then in a
month's time start another batchel lettue off, so then as
you're harvest in one lettuce, you can be planting some
more lettuce to replace it. So it's about keeping that
crop growing. And like I said, I never grow anything
through the winter period. I've only got my onions of
my garlkin throughout the winter period. And a lot of

(06:57):
people do actually grow stuff through the winter period. And
I take my heart off to people that live off
everything that they eat throughout the year. They grow the
full year and eat off it. I wish I could
do that, and I wish I could spend the time
down there to do that. But yeah, as long as

(07:17):
you use your space wisely use try and grow as
much as possible, and just grow what you actually need.
And if you do grow an abundance crops, take it
to your local food bank or take it to your neighbors,
to your friends, to your families, and they will absolutely
love you. Everybody loves free fruit and vegetables. Like I said,

(07:41):
certain stuff I don't share with people. Some stuff I
do share, but I won't be sharing like my strawberries
or the sweet sweet call me anyone, or my peas.
They're the one thing that I do not share. I
can grow in abundance to them and I will eat
them all. But so yeah, and that's why I always

(08:01):
stress the importance of planning your allotment now ready for
the summertime. Where you want to grow stuff, and how
you want to grow it, and when you plan on
planting it there, and just drawing like a treasure map,
but of your allotment and a plan of it. And
if you do it like that, then you can work

(08:22):
out where things are going to grow. And if something
doesn't work out there, you can obviously plant something else there.
But it gives you a good idea of where you
want to grow stuff. Look at where the sun shines,
look at where it gets full somewhere it don't get
full sun, where it's shady, and work out what things
can grow in certain areas, and obviously googles your answer.

(08:44):
It'll tell you what stuff can grow in the shade,
which stuff needs full sun, so you can work around
that and make the most of your garden to its
full potential and your allotment. So yeah, I hope you've
found this podcast interesting and let me know if you're
going to use your space wisely and try and grow

(09:05):
more stuff this year, and try and find unusual things
to grow things in as well as like you see
people growing stuff in watering cans, in pot different types
of pots and stuff like that, recycla little containers, have
a look around, try and grow stuff in different varieties
and stuff and make it look attractive as well. So yeah,

(09:27):
I hope you've enjoyed that. Like I said, tomorrow's episode,
we're going to be talking about all the things we're
going to be doing in the gardens, so make sure
you stay tuned for that. Obviously, in a couple of
weeks it's the Big bird Watch, which I'm going to
be doing down at my allotment. I'm going to be
spending a load of money on bird food and seed
and different varieties of seeds, fill all my feeders up

(09:48):
and just sit there and watch the bird's cub and
hopefully get some good photos of different varieties of birds
down at my allotment. So I'm looking forward to that.
So if you don't know when the Big bird watches,
Google it and get involved and joined me in doing
the Big bird Watch. So yeah, I hope you've enjoyed
the podcast today, and as always, if you've not followed

(10:08):
this podcast, do give it a follow. Feel free to
leave a review as well. And yeah, until next time, everyone, remember,
keep smiling, keep shining, and keep gardening with everyone. Thanks
for tuning in to today's episode of Gardening with Ben.

(10:30):
I hope you've enjoyed our chat and picked up some
tips to help your garden and allotment pride. Don't forget
to stay connected with me on all social media for
even more gardening inspiration, updates and behind the scenes content.
You can find me on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Just
search Gardening with Ben, hit that follow button or subscribe

(10:53):
button and join our growing community of garden lovers. Until
next time, everyone, remember, keep smiling, keep shining, and keep
gardening with Ben.