Leaves

• Types: Lettuce, Rocket, and Spinach are a few suggestions. Buy seeds of your choice in your local garden centre or online.
• Sow: Follow the instructions on the packet. They can be sown into a pot or directly into the ground. Prepare the ground with a rake. Water the soil before planting. Start by planting a few seeds and then every 2 weeks plant some more. This way you will have leaves all Summer long!
• Harvest: Once they are big enough to put into a salad, pick the outer leaves. The plant keeps growing back from the centre.

GIY Tips:

• Dampen the soil before planting the seeds.
• Spinach leaves are nicest in a salad when small.
• Sweet Rocket will grow back the following year.
• Keep them watered and weed in between plants.

Radishes

• Types: Choose seeds of the variety you would like to try. The seed packet will tell you their different qualities. They can come in different shapes, colour (red and/or white) and sizes. Some are stronger in flavour than others.
• Sow: Follow the instructions on the packet. Sow every 2 weeks to keep you in supply all summer long. Perfect for growing in a container or in the ground.
• Harvest: These grow fast and easily. Ready after just 3-4 weeks. Gently pull the radishes from the soil. Try checking their size by pulling 1 or 2 and if too small, leave the rest for another few days to keep growing

GIY Tips:

• Weed in between plants.
• Keep watered well.

Potatoes

• Types: There are many different colours and varieties of potatoes. They are grown from seed potatoes which are egg sized potatoes. “Earlies” are new potatoes. Then there’s second earlies and main crop. Buy seed potatoes of your choice.
• Sow: “Chitting” means to lay them out in a cool dry place, before planting, to encourage them to sprout. If you haven’t “chitted” your potatoes by April, they will still grow. It is of most benefit to new potatoes (“Earlies”).
  Plant Earlies 12in. /30cm apart – in rows 16-20in. / 40-50cm apart.
  Plant Main crops/lates 16in. /40cm apart – in rows 30in. /75cm apart.
  Draw up soil to create a mound along in a row. As growth appears, keep earthing up.
• Harvest: After the plant has flowered, check the potato size by pushing back the soil around the base of the plant. If they are very small push the soil back in place and leave for another few weeks.

GIY Tips:

• Earth Up. Pile soil up around leaf growth regularly. This prevents potatoes pushing up into the light and turning green and poisonous.
• Water regularly. Especially in dry weather.

Onions

• Types: Onions can be grown by seeds or sets. Sets are mini onions and take less time to grow than seeds.Buy varieties of your choice, red or white onions.
• Sow: Onions can be grown in containers or in the ground. Follow the instructions on seed packets. The top of onion sets should be just visible in the soil. Space out depending on instructions on packet.
• Harvest: Onions can be pulled when they are small or left until the tops have fallen over. Gently pull up onions needed. Leave on top of the soil on a dry day for a few days for them to keep well in storage.

GIY Tips:

• Start onions in modules before planting out.
• Weed regularly and water sparingly.

For more growing tips and resources visit www.giy.ie