Neat
House Gardens were market gardens serving London since medieval times,
eventually being overrun by the suburban development of Chelsea during
the nineteenth century. Covering about 200 acres, they formed a small
part of the almost 10,000 acres of market gardens which surrounded and
served the city during the Georgian and Regency period.
The
gardens were richly fertilized with the dung from the streets and stables
from London - each acre had sixty cartloads of manure spread over and
dug into it each year.
Working
the gardens began soon after Christmas. Once the weather was favourable,
the market gardeners began by sowing the borders with radishes, spinach,
onions as well many seed crops.
By
February the gardens were thickly planted out with cauliflowers (which
had been growing in cold frames for at least 6 weeks prior). By this
time the radishes were ready to be sent off to the markets and gentlemen's
tables of London.
Once
the cauliflowers were ready they were sent off to market as well, and
sugar-loaf cabbages planted in their place, to be followed in turn with
endives, celery (both from the seed crops planted out in February.
Each
acre was said to produce above £200 per year in sales of vegetables,
of which £120 was sheer profit.
By
the early nineteenth century all the markets gardens about London were
worth £645,000 annually in income, plus another £400,000
per year from the fruit gardens.