Close to the Veg

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The Close to the Veg site is managed along similar lines to an organic garden, but is NOT certified organic, due to the paperwork and cost involved. Close to the Veg is a member of Thames Organic Growers , a local producers group, and the Organic Growers Alliance.
The site is laid out in permanent beds which do not have to be dug each year, and is planted up with living windbreaks to give the veg some shelter on this very exposed site. These windbreaks are of various species, and some of them are edible too: Jerusalem artichokes, currants and gooseberries, hazel and willow.

Flowers are planted around the site and are allowed to self seed to encourage pollinators and predators of other insects, for example ladybirds and hoverflies whose larvae prey on pests such as aphids.

Fertility is maintained by composting waste and by growing crops such as clover on site for green manure - these can be dug in where they are or composted to use on other areas.

The site as it looked at the beginning of March, with only the living willow windbreak, then the garden in June, with things starting to happen