anne marshall asked 14 years ago
I am new to growing veg in Ireland and would welcome some advice on what will grow in windy wet climate with sea air, The garden is high on moorland. I have built a couple of raised beds as the ground is very stony.can you recommend any publications that might be useful?
1 Answers
Gerry Daly Staff answered 6 years ago
Some vegetables were seaside plants originally, including the beet family … beetroot and chard, asparagus, the cabbage family … cabbage, kale, cauliflower,sprouts and seakale. These can take quite an amount of exposure and actually benefit from some salt in the air. The onion family can take quite a bit of wind too.
Other vegetables, such as peas, carrots, beans and lettuce need shelter. But being low-growing, it is easy to set up some windbreak material, such as wooden picket fence or plastic mesh wind-break.
Raised beds are a good idea in damp areas, not so in dry areas. If the soil is stony, try to build a layer of soil by using plenty of compost or buy a load of organic material, spent mushroom compost would be the ideal, although probably not available locally in Donegal, but there is plenty in Monaghan and surrounding areas.
Klaus Laitenberger who grew vegetables for some years in similar conditions in Leitrim has recently published a vegetable book based on his experience.
