Self seeding ground cover

It’s safe to come into the Potager now. I’ve weeded.

And that was as far as I wrote.

I had all sorts of intentions of writing this blog last night.  But it was a beautiful still night and I sat out on the terrace with a beer and some home-made hummus and fresh bread and just drank in the view.

And tried to block out the sounds of Artur snoring at my feet. He is a wheezy old codger.

And at 9 ‘o’clock I walked him home. That’s our new thing. He needs to be walked home to the next farm-house (ahem, where he lives) as he seems to have forgotten the location of his food bowl. It’s about 200 metres and rather pleasant, apart from the fact you think you are being herded by the cat and not the other way round.

So each night I call him like a puppy and he happily trots behind me until we get to Jean Daniel’s. And then he remembers and he goes inside.

Except tonight my lovely neighbours were sitting ready and waiting for their adult children and families to descend and the champagne popped and what a lovely time was had by all.

I’ve only just staggered home and it’s almost 11pm. I love country neighbours. I love my country neighbours.

But back to the plants.

My rocket plants which bolted last month have self seeded nicely. It’s like time-lapse photography seeing how quickly they germinate.

And the finicky gardeners amongst you might be wondering why I’m not there on my hands and knees thinning the plants out.

I prefer to treat these plants not as a considered salad crop; but more as a ground cover plant. They can fight it out. And I will get plenty of greens for my salad bowl.

I will rogue them out of the paths, but they just get on with it.

And many of you will know these self seeded plants. It’s a mighty jumble of rocket, lettuce, tomatoes, dill, coriander. And anything else hoiked into the compost bins over the course of the year.

Yep, home-made garden compost applied to any vegetable bed will produce weed seeds.

But I just keep an eye on them as they emerge and decide whether they stay or go.  I get most of my lettuce crops this way. And of course the tomatoes that pop up are faster and better than any of the ones I laboured over.

And the coriander is more unfussy.

Lettuce? Pretty even when bolting.

Nasturtiums? They can grow wherever they like.

I do plant the beans – originally Dwarf French Bean Cocktel – but now I let many go to seed at the end of the season and harvest them for next year.

And once they have produced their wonderful crop, I leave the plants in situ.

Great great cover, good nitrogen fixer. Lush looking jungle rather than bare earth.

And naturally there will be some beans that I have left behind. They can grow and grow and then offer me the seeds for next year without much work.

If they are crammed. And believe me, the beans are crammed here in between courgettes, a rogue teasel plant which provides great cutting flower material (ouch, gloves required), they just get more leggy. But still produce.

The teasel is a self-serve. I just wish it didn’t chose such a prominent spot. But there you go.

Rogue out when small or you get to ‘enjoy’ them all season.