Innholdsfortegnelse for July 2017 i Kitchen Garden

Although there is plenty to do in the garden this month it’s also important to take some time out to relax and enjoy the fruits of your labours. With this in mind we have a special feature on patio produce, including original suggestions on how to make some mouthwatering barbecue dishes from your home-grown delights. If the pruning of stone fruits, which includes some of our most delicious summer harvests such as cherries, plums, peaches, apricots and nectarines, is a bit of a mystery to you, turn to page 66. There our resident fruit expert David Patch explains how to go about it in easy steps. We also have great features on growing your free seeds this month which include Cape gooseberries and borage. We show you how to make…

CUT KOHL RABI Kohl rabi is a vegetable with a difference and some describe it as a cross between a turnip and cabbage. It’s really easy to grow and will grow quickly if kept watered in dry weather. The swollen stem is what is eaten and if eating it raw in salads it needs to be picked before it gets too large and woody, ideally about the size of a tennis ball. Tasks this month PICK ASPARAGUS PEAS For something a little different on your dinner plate have a go with asparagus peas. Amember of the legume family, the plants produce very pretty, red flowers that develop into triangular shaped pods that have a delicate flavour and resemble asparagus, hence its name. The whole pod is eaten and you need…

SHOW GIVES IT SOME WELLY As part of the HortCouture theme at the Spring Harrogate Flower show this year a gardening item of clothing – the welly – was featured throughout the showground. There was a competition for the best dressed wellies and many exhibitors took part, including Kitchen Garden magazine. We had a rather fetching pair of ‘leeky’ wellies, sporting a hole with compost spilling out and planted up with two handsome leeks. We didn’t win with our wellies – that award went to a fine chainsaw carving of a tall tree of wellies called The Giant Wellington-ia Tree by Wood Actually (www.woodactually.co.uk). There was also a wonderful veggie-themed pair of wellies on the National Vegetable Society stand. They took third for their tomato, herb and cauli wellies. The…

GET IN TOUCH by post, email or via our Facebook page: Facebook.com/kitchengardenmag THIS MONTH’S EXPERT PANEL: GUY BARTER RHS chief horticulturalist EMMA RAWLINGS Deputy editor, Kitchen Garden magazine DAVID PATCH Professional nurseryman, R V Roger Ltd ANNE SWITHINBANK Contributor to Radio 4’s Gardeners’ Question Time STEVE OTT Editor, Kitchen Garden magazine OLD WIVES’ TALE OLD BEAN I read somewhere that you should spray your runner beans with water when they flower to help them set. Is this necessary and if so, how does it help? Tom Fawcett, Durham ANNE SAYS: Spraying runner bean flowers with water is now widely considered to be an old wives’ tale and I agree. Should the weather be dry, you’d be better off directing the water at their roots and then spreading a good mulch…

Get the best from your free seeds Did you know? Borage is a good source of Omega-6 fatty acid (gammalinolenic acid GLA), beta-carotene and B vitamins as well as trace elements. However, it shouldn’t be eaten if you suffer from liver problems. As a very well-established wild plant and one that self-seeds freely, borage (Borago officinalis) often pops up of its own accord in many areas of the UK. When in flower, which can be right through the summer, it is a wonderful sight, made all the more lovely by the fact that it will almost inevitably be covered with bees, which find the little vivid blue star-shaped blooms irresistible. It will grow almost anywhere and inmost types of soil, no matter how poor, although a sunny, well-drained spot is…

■ ‘BLAUHILDE’ A tall climber with purple pods, totally stringless and extremely tasty, this variety is also very ornamental and looks good in any garden. Available from www.dobies.com ■ ‘RED AND WHITE CLIMBING from www.hsl.gardenorganic. org.uk (please remember, you must become a member of the Heritage Seed Library charity to gain access to their rare seeds). ■ ‘ROQUENCOURT’ Small bush-style plants. They are more cold-hardy than most other varieties, so can be sown a few weeks earlier than others, and will crop for a few weeks later too. The beans are a waxy, yellow colour. Best picked young when they still have a flush of green on them, they have a fresh buttery flavour. As the beans are yellow and plants are short, they are easy to spot and easy to…

1. POTATOES Grow in bags, pots, tubs or potato planters from 8-litres upwards, planting just one tuber on a thin layer of compost in the base of the pot. Early varieties are good for this such as ‘Charlotte’ and ‘Jazzy’, but most will thrive. A second planting in August will be ready for harvesting in November. Just add mayo for a new potato salad – delicious! Don’t miss KG chef Anna Pettigrew’s original barbecue recipe ideas starting on page 88. 2. SALAD LEAVES These come in a range of mixes to suit all tastes from hot and spicy to oriental or mild. Choose a shallow container for salad leaf mixes. With regular feeding three cuts are easily possible from each batch sown. A much more interesting base for a salad…

HOW TO ENTER We are looking for the UK’s most passionate fruit and veggie grower and now veg plots are starting to fill up with tasty crops it is the perfect time to take some photographs and enter our competition. So if you love your plot then share it with us and other KG readers. Simply send us a few photos of your plot and you could win some great prizes – and your plot will also be featured in a future issue of Kitchen Garden. SEND US: ■ One photograph of yourself (preferably taken on your plot. Others who help you on your plot can also be in the picture but please state who is pictured.) ■ 6 pictures of your plot (aim for one overall shot and then…

Sweet cherries, greengages, nectarines, apricots, peaches, the classic Victoria plum… the stone fruit family contains some of the most delicious fruit the home gardener can grow. Cropping at the height of summer, they harness the sun’s warmth and turn it into sweet delights bursting with nectarlike flavour. Pruning of these trees seems to cause people a lot of headaches – what to prune and when – but follow a few simple rules, understand the principles behind them and you will have regular crops of these stars of the orchard. SUMMER JOB The first key point to remember – all stone fruit should be pruned during the summer. This is done to avoid serious diseases such as silver leaf and bacterial canker, which can prove fatal. Silver leaf (Chondrostereum purpureum) is…

The tomatillo (Physalis philadelphica) is another lantern-enclosed fruit that is easy to grow in the UK. These fruits are like tart green tomatoes, nearly always used for savoury dishes – particularly salsas, sauces and chutneys – to give them a citrusy tang. They are propagated from seed and grown just like a Cape gooseberry, in a polytunnel or greenhouse, or in a warm, sheltered position outside. If anything, they are more rampant than Cape gooseberries and can produce a prolific crop. Despite this, my first attempt at growing them was a disaster – the plant I put in my tunnel was healthy and vigorous, but it produced precisely two fruits. So it is true what the instructions on the seed packets say (I should have read them more carefully): you…

STEP 1: Decide on the height and depth of the ladder and measure the long lengths and rungs for the ladder frame STEP 2: It’s important that the cuts are square, so use a set square to mark all around the circumference of the timbers STEP 3: Cut carefully on the line, making sure the cuts are all even and square, especially the ladder rungs STEP 4: Make sure that all edges are sanded to remove any rough edges so that the ladder frame fits neatly together STEP 5: To work out where to position the rungs and shelves, lay the A-frame on the floor and play around with measurements STEP 6: Lay the sections of the ladder on a level floor and position the rungs evenly between the long…

DIG EASY WITH DRAPER WORTH OVER £1665 PRIZE WORTH £300 TO GIVE AWAY 5 RUNNER-UP PRIZES TO GIVE AWAY Make short work of digging with the Draper Expert 135cc Petrol Cultivator/Tiller (stock no. 58972; £300). Manufactured to be robust and durable, this cultivator is ideal for preparing the ground in gardens, allotments and smallholdings. Its formidable 135cc petrol engine delivers power to the tines under varying soil conditions and effortlessly cuts through hard soil, roots and sod. It has a light, easy-to-handle frame, with fingertip throttle control and a clutch handle, a tilling width of 400mm (15¾in) and a tilling depth of 280mm (11in). One lucky KG reader can win a Draper Expert 135cc Petrol Cultivator/Tiller – and we also have Draper prize packages to help five runners-up make light…

SUE STICKLAND Former head gardener Sue turns her attention to those exoticlooking fruits, Cape gooseberries and tomatillos this month and explains how to turn your free seeds into succulent golden berries STEVE NEAL Steve is a keen plotter and last year helped to open his allotments under the National Garden Scheme. Read about his experiences starting on page 26 and perhaps you’ll be opening your site, too TONY FLANAGAN Staff writer Tony has an allotment and two large polytunnels at his home in Lincolnshire. In this issue he explains how to get the best from a crop that can be a little challenging, but well worth the effort: melons ANNA PETTIGREW We just love editing Anna’s pages, but try never to do it mid-morning – one look at the mouthwatering…

■ Basil likes warm growing conditions and young plants that have been raised in pots can be planted out into a sunny part of the garden where they should be fine. ■ Continue to earth-up main crop potatoes as the stems grow. To make this a little easier, use a three-tined drag to loosen the soil between the rows and then use a draw hoe to pull the soil up to form the ridges. ■ To keep runner beans growing and fruiting, water along the rows to thoroughly moisten the soil and then apply a good thick mulch of grass clippings around the base of the plants to seal in moisture. ■ Courgettes can start to run out of steam by mid-summer, so feed them once a week with a…

Social media PINCHING OUT TOMATOES If you’re growing cordon varieties of tomato, you’ll need to pinch out the side shoots. This simple video shows you how to do it. http://bit.ly/2opudJ4 TWITTER MUD IS GOOD! Gill Hodgson @thepatientmole Forget the sterile sandpit. Every child should have access to soil. Black, dirty, wonderful, wormy, magical soil. … http://ift.tt/2pty2kR FACEBOOK FAVES PROUD OWNER Wendy Pearson Well I’m a happy chappy as of this morning. I’m the proud owner of an allotment. For the princely sum of £30.50 a year I get to grow fruit, veg and flowers in this little (quite large actually) beauty! SWAP TILL YOU DROP GreenPlantSwap, an open gardens and plant swap network, has created new free tools for garden event organisers to help attract more visitors and raise more funding for…

Did you know? All parts of the plant are edible including the young leaves, roots and undeveloped flower heads which can be eaten like broccoli. Sea kale is rich in vitamin C. SUPPLIERS (see also page 93) Young plants: ■ Marshalls Seeds www.marshalls-seeds.co.uk ■ Kings Seeds; www.kingsseeds.com ■ Plantworld Seeds; www.plant-world-seeds.com ■ The Organic Gardening Catalogue; www.organiccatalogue.com ■ Suttons Seeds; www.suttons.co.uk If you’ve got a garden which is sun blasted rathe than sun kissed, soi thick with brick rub and generally desol looking like someth over from construct latest motorway ext might be thinking i to grow veg… but don’t give up. There really is a plant out there which actually likes that sort of site. And it’s delicious! A real change of flavour and texture, coming at the hungry…

NORFOLK GREENHOUSES A great product which has been designed and manufactured by us for over 30 years in the UK! The Spacesaver Greenhouse is one of our favourite products, it’s simple, yet offers a huge amount of gardening value for overwintering, growing tomatoes and chilies, for an excellent price. It’s perfect for smaller gardens and balconies in the urban environment, giving you a lot of extra useful growing space. Shop online at www.norfolkgreenhouses.co.uk or call 020 3011 2040 KINGS SEEDS This unique and multi-purpose patio planter offers a very simple and practical solution for building cane supports into an attractive planter for beans, peas and tomatoes - sweet peas look great too! Made from a range of brightly coloured polythene, all our planters have brass drainage holes around the sides…

1ST PRIZE VALUE £958 ⋆ £250 Harrod Horticultural products (chosen by the company) ⋆ £250 WOLF-Garten tools ⋆ £150 voucher for The Organic Gardening Catalogue plus The Chase 3-Step Organic Plant Nutrition Programme (1 litre each of SM3, SM4 and SM5). RRP £33.85. ⋆ £150-Greenhouse Sensation Vitopod propagator ⋆ £125 Dobies vouchers 2ND PRIZE VALUE £551 ⋆ £150 Harrod Horticultural products (chosen by the company) ⋆ £150 WOLF-Garten tools ⋆ £100 voucher for The Organic Gardening Catalogue plus The Chase 3-Step Organic Plant Nutrition Programme (1 litre each of SM3, SM4 and SM5). RRP £33.85. ⋆ £42.90-Greenhouse Sensation Quadgrow ⋆ £75 Dobies vouchers 3RD PRIZE VALUE £366 ⋆ £100 Harrod Horticultural products (chosen by the company) ⋆ £100 WOLF-Garten tools ⋆ £50 voucher for The Organic Gardening Catalogue plus The…

1ST PRIZE £100 Mr Fothergill’s vouchers and a pair of WOLF-Garten RR2500 secateurs 2ND PRIZE £ 25 Mr Fothergill’s voucher and a Kitchen Garden digital subscription 3RD PRIZE £25 Mr Fothergill’s voucher TO ENTER We are judging this competition at the end of August so when you feel your marrow has reached its peak take a picture of it. To do this, first place your marrow next to a recent copy of KG, which must also appear in the picture. Then lay a ruler or tape measure (centimetres) along the length of the marrow to give us a good idea of its length. We need the girth measurement too, so please measure the marrow at the thickest part. To do this wrap a piece of string around and then measure…

MULCH WITH STRULCH Strulch is a light, easy-to-use garden mulch made from mineralised wheat straw. It reduces weed growth by up to 95% and retains moisture – vital in a year when droughts are predicted! It enriches soil structure, deters slugs, and lasts for up to two years. Strulch can be used on borders and raised beds, around fruit and on vegetable plots. It’s available from local stockists, or from the Strulch website in bulk – perfect for big gardens, gardening neighbours or allotment societies! Bulk deliveries normally cost £228 for 25 150-litre bags (to cover up to 110m2/132yd2) or £355 for 50 bags – but KG readers can save 15% by quoting code ‘strulchit’ at the checkout at www.strulch.co.uk Delivery is free to England and Wales, but extra to…

STEP 1: MAKE A FILTER Use the 6mm drill bit to make evenly spaced holes around the sides of the plastic bottle. These holes are small enough to keep large pieces out and yet large enough not to clog too easily. The filter protects the tap mechanism. Try a couple of bottles if needed to see which one fits your bin the best. STEP 2: FIX THE TANK CONNECTOR IN THE BOTTLE Put one end of the tank connector into the neck of the bottle. Use the 3.5mm x 16mm screw to fix through the neck of the bottle and into the tap connecter – this keeps the bottle in position when in the bin. STEP 3: MAKE A HOLE IN THE BIN Mark a point on the side of…

Of the top 20 culinary herbs, only six or so can be harvested through the winter. Up to a point that isn’t a problem; herbs, like all crops, have their season, and evergreen stalwarts like rosemary, sage and bay step up as summer salads give way to winter roasts and casseroles. But the preserved flavours of summer can light up a winter’s day – and preserving season starts early for herbs, which are mostly at their peak in July. HARVESTING HERBS The optimum time to harvest herbs for storage is mid-morning – I’ve seen sources which pin it down to 10.30am – on a dry, still day in early summer. There’s logic behind this prescriptiveness: wet plant material won’t dry well, and will stick together if you freeze it, so…

ALSO IN THE KG SHOP THIS MONTH SAVE OVER £20 SAVE £4 RUNNER BEAN PLANT COLLECTION Our offer: 20 plants, 10 of each – £9.90 These self-pollinating runner beans provide good reliable yields, even in the most unfavourable conditions. So if you can’t rely on a British summer, you can rely on the red flowering ‘Firestorm’ and white flowering ‘Moonlight’. Ready for harvest from August. Code 47486 DWARF FRENCH BEAN COLLECTION Our offer: 15 plants, 5 of each – £9.95 A crop of stringless beans that are indicative of summer months with their vibrant colour and mouthwatering taste; that’s exactly why we matched these three varieties, ‘Sonesta’ (bright yellow), ‘Ferrari’ (traditional green) and ‘Amethyst' (deep purple). Perfect for a summer salad and a great addition to your plot. Ready for…

GRILLED SALMON KEBABS WITH A CHILLI HERB DRESSING These spicy and delicious salmon kebabs are the perfect fish dish for your summer BBQ party. SERVES 4 Preparation time: 30 minutes Cooking time: 10 minutes ■ 680g/1½lb skinless salmon fillet (preferably wild), cut into 1-inch pieces ■ 2 organic lemons, very thinly sliced into rounds ■ 1 red onion, cut into wedges ■ 3 tbsp coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley ■ 3 tbsp coriander, chopped ■ 5 tbsp organic olive oil ■ 2 tbsp red wine vinegar ■ 1 red chilli, finely chopped 1. Using two skewers at a time, stick the salmon, onion and folded lemon slices on to 8 pairs of parallel skewers (making 8 in total). Brush with a little oil. 2. Combine the remaining oil, vinegar, chilli and…

Teabags were first introduced in the Fifties and since gardeners are keen recyclers, are now one of the most prolific items on our compost heaps. However some recently began to notice plastic mesh in their compost and, suspecting this may have come from leftover teabags, began to call some of the ingredients used to make them into question. In 2010, the consumer magazine Which? investigated this phenomenon and discovered that most teabags contain a plastic called polypropylene, which is not biodegradable. It’s used to heat-seal ordinary teabags and is standard practice in the industry. The report raised a few eyebrows, so seven years later, I wondered whether anything has changed. I wrote to the tea companies to find out. Today we have pyramid, individually sealed and tagged bags, and standard…

10 MINUTE JOBS FEED TOMATOES Tomatoes growing outside should be making good growth now and starting to develop several trusses of fruit. It’s important that the plants get plenty of nutrients, especially potash, so feed once a week with a high-potash fertiliser to help the fruits develop and ripen. CHECK APPLE TREES When the natural ‘June drop’ on apples has finished, which is often July in the north, check your trees to see how much fruit has remained. On cooking apples aim for one or two fruits per cluster and on eating varieties leave two or three. LIFT GARLIC Lift bulbs of garlic from the garden as you need it or when the foliage starts to die down. When freshly lifted it has a sweet flavour and if allowed to…

Pictures by Ben Russell July is a gloriously productive month in the greenhouse. All those tiny tomato plants have grown into strapping adults and are producing delicious and fragrant fruits; peppers are swelling, cucumbers are ridiculously abundant, there are enough beans to fill a freezer, and that’s before we mention sweetcorn, melons or courgettes. Keep up with the harvest and enjoy the taste of the freshest vegetables and fruits, but be vigilant too: this is a month when pests and diseases should be thwarted before they gain a hold. SOW & PLANT IN JULY ■ Start sowing for winter crops this month. More can be sown until October, but July sowings ensure some plentiful autumn, winter and early spring harvests. ■ Sow Swiss chard, spring cabbage, Florence fennel and parsley,…

Top tip Pinch out the tip of aubergine plants when you have five or six fruits and remove any new flowers that are produced “All for onions and onions for all” ALWAYS READ THE INSTRUCTIONS Recently, this Vigoroot Easy Table Garden appeared in the KG offices and, as it was a nice sunny day, the Mudketeers took it along to Steve’s garden to set it up. Now, it really IS very easy to put together... for most people, anyway. On their second attempt – after reading the instructions this time (durgh!) – Emma and Tony finally had the assembled product in front of them. This table garden (on a smaller scale of course) is a raised bed, greenhouse and irrigation system all in one. The irrigation system works via a…

Top tip Some beans, notably French types, are generally self-fertile, producing pods through self-pollination. However, others will cross if the right insect transfers pollen from one variety to the other. If you are planning to save seeds to grow next year’s beans, make sure to grow your different varieties as far apart as possible. Being legumes, beans are part of the Fabaceae family, the second most important plant family to feed humans after the grasses (Poaceae). They have gone by many different names over the centuries and depending on what country you come from depends on what you call them. Dwarf French bean, climbing French bean, kidney, flageolet and even pole beans are different names for what we would call French beans (Phaseolus vulgaris), be it the climbing ones which…

THE ORGANIC GARDENING CATALOGUE Only good things for your garden…The Organic Gardening Catalogue brings you an exciting collection of seeds and supplies, all assured suitable for organic gardening and delivered direct to your home. Choose from an extensive range of over 500 organic seed varieties, seed potatoes, onion sets and garlic, as well as organic and peat-free composts, fertilisers, seaweed feeds, organic fruit trees, comfrey plants, green manures, biological pest controls, tools and gardening essentials. As the official mail order partner of Garden Organic, the charity for organic growing, you can buy in confidence knowing that everything is suitable for your organic garden. Fast and easy ordering by telephone, post or online and great value delivery. Tel 01932 878570 www.organiccatalogue.com DOBIES Dobies has been supplying flower and vegetable seeds direct…

When I was a youngster I spent most of my summer holidays toiling in a plant nursery. It was a great place to hone my plant identification skills and indulge my passion for anything with leaves. On a hot day, however, working inside the polythene tunnels where many of the plants were grown on was akin to exercising… in a sauna! Soaring temperatures conspired with high humidity to turn up the sweat. By break time I’d be more than ready to down a pint of water or two and relish the cool of the break room! FEELING HOT, HOT, HOT! The same is true of the fruits and vegetables we grow under cover in our gardens or on our allotments. If temperatures are left to soar beyond their level of…

Growing plants and displaying them around the garden is something we all do in different ways and one very good way to grow plants is on an open shelf system. This not only looks decorative, but it’s a great way of saving space and it allows you to grow a selection of plants together. A ladder shelf is a very simple method and can be made in various ways to suit your needs and growing conditions. It is, as its name suggests, made from ladders and if you have an old wooden ladder kicking about that isn’t used any more it is ideal to turn into the frame for a shelf. Alternatively, you can easily make a ladder-like structure out of wood that will look the part. The basic design…

35 X BRASSICA & BROAD BEAN PLANTS WORTH £17.90 As you start to harvest early crops such as potatoes and space becomes free on your plot, now is the time to plug the gaps. This collection of 35 brassica and broad bean plants will help you extend your harvest, with very little effort. Each one is carefully grown in individual cells of compost. When ready, we hand select, grade and despatch them direct to you, guaranteeing the best possible quality. If you love broad beans then growing ‘Luz de Otono’ is a must – they are the first autumn-cropping variety! Each brassica and broad bean plant collection contains; 10 x ‘Luz de Otono’ broad beans, 5 x cauliflower ‘Sapporo’, 5 x calabrese ‘Marathon F1’, 5 x cabbage Savoy ‘Serve F1’,…