Roehampton Garden Society

Monthly Archives: July 2026


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Small Space Planting

Small space and container planting and companion planting are interesting features on a visit to the rooftop farm.

‘3 Sisters’ planting is sweetcorn planted next to french beans that will climb up the corn stems and squash planted in between the corn to give a beneficial effect from nitrogen fixing. All the crops benefit. The varieties you use do matter, for instance a large and rampant squash would be very difficult to control in a container.

In this container the varieties used are all from Dobies organic list: Sweetcorn ‘Earlybird’, French beans ‘Blauhilde’ , Squash Uchiki kuri.

3 sisters in container
Varieties growing
French beans secure on corn stalks

French marigolds and basil used as companion planting to prevent aphids on the rambling Costoluto tomato and fennel next to a melon.

Thriving container grown french beans
Melon and companion
Marigolds and basil with tomato

Re-purposed supermarket plastic boxes, such as delivery crates, lined with weed-proof fabric to make excellent growing containers..

Repurposed supermarket boxes

Boxes grow carrots and beetroot of good quality. Cavolo Nero and Courgettes grow well in containers.

Cavolo and Courgette containers


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Visiting the Rooftop Farm


Who knew …. A farm on top of Wimbledon Quarter shopping centre?? Amazingly there is!

Informative and interesting tours take place each month during the growing season where you can see container grown fruit and vegetables and the rooms used to produce oyster mushrooms. You can also admire, from afar, the farm rooftop beehives, moved further away from people for swarming season. (Purchase the honey in the Old Fire Station cafe on Queens Road.) They produced 298 jars last year!


Demonstrating organic gardening, companion planting and a circular economy, the farm is manned by volunteer gardeners. Many of the containers are repurposed from the shopping centre industrial skip, the mushrooms are grown on coffee ground waste from the cafes and the vegetables produced are supplied to local restaurants. It’s a masterclass in container planting in quite a forbidding space.

Chard
Unusual herbs
Mini Aubergines enjoy the heat


The variety of produce is surprising in what first appears to be a small space. The open site is intensely sunny – everything is grown from seed. Careful selection of seeds makes success possible – smaller varieties preferred.

Oyster mushrooms grow in two rooms next to ventilation machinery. Climate controlled for maximum humidity, they don’t like temperatures much above 25 degrees, so have found the summer challenging. With just the right amount of starter, used coffee grounds can produce mushrooms 3 times before being consigned to the compost heap. Everything is composted and re-used.


If you’d like to join a tour, ticket price includes a half price beverage and 50% off the farm honey and mushrooms in the Old Fire Station cafe in Queen’s Road. The tours can be found on Eventbrite, and we will try to let you know when the next one is happening.

with thanks to Shan Karwatowska