There can be a lot of work in small space gardening, depending on what you choose to grow. I want to grow everything! I think I might have made a mistake growing so many squash this year, although they are mini squash, their leaves are 
not as mini as I would like them. One squash is now growing nicely after the first fruit was nipped off by a snail. This is an organic sq
uash I bought last year and thought it nice enough to save some seed.
I should have left it at that but I thought my neighbour’s grandchildren would like to grow Jack Be Little, Baby Bear and Hooligan mini squashes as my neighbour was always telling me how they liked their fruit and vegetables.
I planted up a large tub with peas, flowers and fairies in it and it has been ignored by humans and appreciated by snails. I used a hula hoop with butterfly netting attached to it, a bit like a teepee and which fitted over the tub very nicely and gave the pea shoots time to grow without birds getting them. I put strawberries in a trough for the children but they were left mainly to birds and slugs. The space would have been of more value to me.
I grew Tromba di Albenga last year and not only was it happy growing up a support, it tasted delicious. I also tried Summer Crookneck squash but it was preferred by the gastropods and the one plant I have left is still deciding whether to produce fruit or not. Courgette Tondo Chiaro di Nizza has been the most productive so far.
Inside the greenhouse, Cucumber Passandra F1 has been prolific, giving me a regular supply of dainty little cucumbers. Everything else is playing at being the reluctant debutante and being quite shy to make an appearance. For some reason I’ve never been able to grow Cucamelon to maturity but I have high hopes this year and see the little fruits getting bigger.
I have two Kiwano (aka Jelly Melon or Horned Melon). These are much slower to develop but their little tendrils latch onto anything within a very short time, even the very tip of a tomato leaf has been captured.
As each plant gives up the ghost it has to get removed to give it’s place to a plant in need of more space. It’s a constant shift to find suitable homes for the plants as they grow. I know catching snails and throwing them over the wall is a bit like throwing a boomerang and they will come back and as long as I don’t catch them eating what they shouldn’t, they can get tossed again but should any of the skydiving snails be caught eating my plants they they will meet their salty Waterloo.
Small as it is, the garden is ever-changing. I have tried making charts, drawing diagrams, keeping a diary and everything a gardener should do but nothing really works to rule. Precise timing is not a consideration and when some plants defy the seasons it can add a bit of wonder, appreciation and a bit of chaos so moving the plants around never leaves any dull moments.
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