In The Land Of The Living – With Susy B

Take life down-under, wed it to life up-top. Hey, that’s Susy B Living! Hey, that’s plant grafting! Hey, that’s Susy B Living plant grafting! Hailing from Australia but now residing in the U.K., Susy is a hemispheric-horticulture-melding kitchen gardener who is guided by some intriguing ideas. 

This year she’s been growing grafted fruit and veg to great effect. For those not in the know, grafting is an innovative method of binding two plant varieties in order to improve the health, vigour, and yield of a crop. Susy very kindly took us through her grafted plants along with many more eye-opening projects in her vast and varied gardens.

After a stunning, grafted Bonica aubergine crop in 2023 Susy decided to branch out with tomatoes for ’24. The tomatoes in question are Crimson Plum and Avitidas. These graft varieties both combine a very strong rootstock with sensational fruiting qualities. Deep flavour, robust flesh, minimal seed count, ready for the pot – sounds absolutely ideal! 

Although Susy has so far grown ready-grafted plants, the process of grafting itself is relatively simple. Grow your rootstock variety and your fruiting (or ‘scion’) variety until the stems of both are at around 2-3mm in diameter. Take a scrupulously clean scalpel and slice across the stem of the young root donor plant at a point just north of the first true leaf. That’s your rootstock. Then slice the top section off your fruit donor plant. That’s your scion. Clip the two together using readily available binders and in a few months hey pesto! Or rather, hey marinara!

As well as accelerated growth and yield, grafted varieties often offer better resistance to non-native growing conditions. A rootstock that is known to thrive in harsher climates can, in theory, support a fruiting section that, whilst delicious, might otherwise prove vulnerable outside its native environment. The ability to bring home trickier crops has a clear appeal to Susy. 

Whilst she enjoys the things that flourish in northern climes Susy says she misses some of the produce that can be grown natively in Australia. ‘I miss the mangos definitely. Of course you can get most things these days in the UK, but in Australia we actually grow them there. Things like peaches, passionfruit, water melon, pineapples and bananas.’ 

Susy has tried to grow more exotic plants in the UK with mixed results. ‘It’s really difficult because of the winters here and the high cost of heating a greenhouse. I had a passionfruit that did well for a season but then died during a cold snap, however I do have a Macadamia nut tree that is thriving.’ The need for responsive, low-cost, low-maintenance plant support for non-native varieties has now led Susy to try AutoPot Watering Systems. 

Sixteen different types of chilli and pepper are enjoying the complete and undivided attention of Susy’s mixed-module AutoPot system. Anaheim, Piri Piri, Buena Mulata, Lemon Drop, Scotch Bonnet, Apache, Cayenne, Albertos Locoto, Curry Chilli and Korean Dark Green comprise the chilli collection. Meanwhile the peppers represented by Lemon Dream, Akron F1, Bright Star F1, New Ace F1, Corno Giallo, and the inimitable Paprika. Destined for fermented hot sauce, dry seasonings, pickling, jams, and fresh cooking, the fruits of the system will get used in nearly every meal round at Susy’s gaff.

The system that’s being used to water these plants is made up of 8.5L easy2grow and 15L 1Pot modules. These have been arranged around the perimeter of a greenhouse allowing the plants plenty of light. In Susy’s experience the set up was a breeze, ‘it was fairly straightforward because my husband did it! Cutting the hosepipes and getting the layout right takes a little bit of work but after that he said it was very quick and easy.’ For simplicity all the modules are hooked up to the same 225L FlexiTank collapsible reservoir. Whilst the plants can receive fertiliser via the reservoir and pipework Susy chooses to feed them directly.

As well as offering consistent, accurate, and responsive watering the systems are a huge labour-saver. This is especially important to Susy given the amount of plants she has to attend to in her gardens. ‘At home we have two greenhouses and 12 raised beds for veg growing, and an area for citrus, fruit trees and soft fruit. I also have an allotment where I have another greenhouse and more space for crops like potatoes, brassicas and long season vegetables.’

All Susy’s plants are grown with reference to a Biodynamic Moon Calendar. In a nutshell, the calendar advises growers as to how and when they should work the soil, plant seeds, plant out, apply fertilisers and treatments, and harvest. All in accordance with lunar cycles. In Susy’s own words, ‘the calendar structures my gardening year and I find it really works. I have a Youtube channel where viewers can follow my daily moonphase schedule and see what I sow and grow.’ 

That this should work makes perfect, logical sense given that our oldest forms of timekeeping are the solar and lunar cycles. It is with reference to these cycles that farmers have perfected sowing, growing, and harvesting over thousands of years. 

To support other growers in their efforts to follow the moon phase calendar Susy has also produced a series of capsule Sowalongs. These bite-sized videos are designed to coincide with the optimum sowing time for any number of different plant types. You can check out the Sowalongs along with a trove of other easily accessible growing tips on Susy’s insta reels.

Sincere thanks to Susy for sharing and for showing off our systems to such superb effect. If you’re feeling inspired to try AutoPot you can even get 10% off using Susy’s discount codes – available via her insta linktree