Based on plans produced by over 1,600 UK gardeners some interesting trends have emerged.
Beans beat the usual contenders of peas and potatoes to the top spot with 85% of gardeners planning to include them in their vegetable plots. Peas were next in line with 70% of gardeners choosing them, followed closely by carrots at 68%. Carrots are particularly surprising given the difficulties in growing them on heavier clay-based soils and in adequately protecting them from pests such as carrot fly.
Traditional favourite Potatoes came in at only fourth place, being grown in 67% of gardens, closely followed by onions.
A surprising 50% of gardeners plan to include beetroot, rapidly growing in popularity due to its proven health benefits and status as a ‘superfood.’ It is also remarkably easy to grow and is rarely affected by common garden pests.
The top ten vegetables in UK gardeners’ plans produced using the GrowVeg.com Garden Planning Tool are:
Vegetable Inclusion in garden plans
Beans 85%
Peas 70%
Carrot 68%
Potatoes 67%
Onion 64%
Beetroot 50%
Leek 49%
Parsnip 47%
Courgette 46%
Garlic 46%
More and more people are including fruit and vegetables in their gardens as they experience the superior taste and health benefits of home grown food. But growing vegetables has traditionally needed more experience than picking out plants from a garden centre. Many crops need to be grown from seed, spaced correctly and ‘rotated’ in groups to prevent the build-up of pests or loss of soil nutrients.
UK-based website GrowVeg.com, which launched five months ago, was developed to make planning a vegetable plot as simple as dragging-and-dropping vegetable symbols onto a plan. The website features a unique system showing which crops benefit from being grown together and how to space them, allowing personalised plans to be produced in minutes. Gardeners can be automatically emailed reminders about when to sow and plant out the vegetables they are growing and the website also contains a wealth of articles to make growing-your-own fresh produce simple and enjoyable.
In the survey each vegetable was counted once per gardener, regardless of whether it occurred in different plans for the year (such as an allotment and garden vegetable plot). Although GrowVeg.com reaches an international audience, only garden plans from the UK were surveyed.
www.growveg.com
