Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2021 i Kitchen Garden

You’d be forgiven for thinking that seed sowing is done and dusted for this season, but if you want to make use of every inch of growing space and extend the season as much as possible then it is important to keep those seeds coming. As ever, our jobs pages are packed with things to plant and sow now, and starting on page 30 I look at lots more crops you can get in the ground in August for harvesting this year and next, plus if you turn to page 44 we have a growing guide to those winter stalwarts, turnips and swedes. If you like to take a relaxed approach to your veg growing you’ll love deputy editor Emma’s feature on self-seeders - crops that sow and grow themselves…

A PATCH FROM SCRATCH Like many who picked up anew skill or hobby due to lockdown I decided to get outside and learn how to grow my own veg. So on April 28, 2020 I showed my mum the plot and she thought I was mad! I massively underestimated the project I had on my hands! Two tonne bags’ worth of carpet, plastic, netting, wire, glass, loose branches and general litter was cleared before I was able to turn the whole plot over. I had miner bees professionally rehoused due to being located in the middle of the plot. My brother spent his time making all the woodwork seen and my mum nurtured the fig tree back to health. Apart from the shed everything else has been upcycled cheap or…

A POLYTUNNEL FOR THE PLOT? I have an allotment and I would very much like to extend the growing season by having a polytunnel. Could you advise? Jade Mort, Hampshire STEVE SAYS: A polytunnel is a great way to extend the season and ensure some good harvests in a poor summer. I’d go for the biggest you have space for or are allowed on your site since most people regret not having more space a few years down the line. They are relatively easy to build and quite forgiving if your site is not flat, but it is a two-person job really; there is a fair bit of digging to do depending on how you anchor the tunnel to the ground and fitting the cover definitely takes two and takes…

KAYLEIGH AND DEAN BEIRNE FROM NEWPORT, WALES Do you have an allotment or a garden veg patch and how long have you been growing? An allotment and been growing a year as a serious effort, though we did grow some vegin pots in the garden the previous year. We got into gardening a few years back after Kay had some tough times in work as away to improve our mental health; we enjoyed watching plants grow, which in turn led to questions as to how our food grows. We bought some veg seeds followed by two pumpkin plants which took over the garden and that was it – we were hooked! Do you share your plot with other people? Just the two of us – we share the tasks between…

Getting to know a garden is along process and a luxury. I have had the luxury of working in an organically managed walled vegetable garden in the Cotswolds for the last 12 years and I feel like I have finally got to grips with what works and what does not. Salad crops, beans and peas, for instance, work beautifully. Root vegetables do not. Over the years I have added ton after ton of well-rotted manure, home-made compost and leaf mould but the Cotswold brash soil keeps throwing up stones. A few years ago I would spend hours on my hands and knees picking individual stones out of each bed. These days I spend my precious time matching the right crop to the right conditions. The vegetable garden was newly constructed…

REWILD YOUR GARDEN BY FRANCES TOPHILL Rewilding is a different way of thinking about how we garden. It encourages us to care for our patch in away that helps support wildlife and the environment as a whole and it has grabbed the imagination of many who are concerned about growing in an environmentally friendly and natural way. Frances is a familiar face to viewers of BBC’s Gardener’s World and ITV’s Love Your Garden. She is a keen proponent of rewilding and in her book explains the principles behind it and why it is something we should all consider introducing into our own gardens. Some key reasons include creating a home for wildlife, reducing chemical use and balancing the ecosystem in our gardens. A handy feature of the book is the…

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BASIL AND CHERRY TOMATO FRITTATA A summery dish that takes no time to whip up. Try it with rocket if you are short of basil and it’s great with a Greek salad on the side. SERVES 4-6 Preparation time: 15 minutes Cooking time: 30 minutes ■ 6 eggs, lightly beaten ■ 250 grams/8¾oz cherry tomatoes, halved ■ A large bunch (25g/1oz) basil ■ 90g/3oz good quality feta, crumbled ■ 1 small to medium onion, sliced ■ Salt and pepper 1. Preheat the oven to 180C/fan 170C/ gas 4 2. Grease a 23cm/9in oven proof flan dish. 3. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs. Then stir in the feta and most of the basil, season generously with salt and pepper. 4. Pour the egg mixture into the flan dish and…

LIFT ONIONS Spring-planted onions are ready to lift when the tops flop and leaves start to yellow. Spread plants out to dry in the sun and set aside any that show signs of mould or rot. Bulbs can be wound into strings when the necks are dry but not brittle. DIG MAINCROP POTATOES Harvest potatoes when the tubers are the size you want. Lifting a little early can reduce problems with slugs spoiling roots. Remove any diseased foliage to a separate pile and cover until the contents are fully broken down. KEEP SOWING FOR AUTUMN AND WINTER Sow early in the month if you want autumn crops or buy in small plants if you want a head start. Make use of pots, tubs and trays, so small plants are ready…

■ To keep cucumber plants growing and cropping though late summer and into early autumn, give them a boost by feeding a couple of times with a high-nitrogen liquid fertiliser. This will promote a flush of new growth and foliage, followed by more flowers and fruit. ■ August can be a warm and sunny month, so make sure that all plants growing under cover in the soil or in pots are watered regularly to keep the roots moist. Ideally water early morning or late evening as the temperature cools down. ■ Check regularly for signs of pests such as red spider mites or whitefly which can be a problem at this time of the year on tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and other crops. If spotted, take action to prevent them spreading…

It seems records are being smashed with alarming frequency. Last spring was the sunniest on record, with May registering as the driest ever May across England and the second driest in Wales. Then there’s July 25, 2019, which the Met Office declared the UK’s hottest day of all time when the mercury at Cambridge University Botanic Garden topped out at 38.7C - that’s more than 100F! As the climate warms, so does the likelihood and severity of heatwaves. More sunshine and warmer temperatures make for drier soils during the growing season, presenting new challenges - and opportunities - to gardeners. You can’t miss the changes happening all around us, from the date of the first lawn mow to the return of frosty nights in autumn. Soil-cracking summers may be the…

These round root veggies were once the mainstay of every veg plot, and while they may not be as widely grown today as they once were, they still feature in most of the major seed catalogues. And rightly so; being easy to grow and nutritious they deserve their place in our gardens. Turnips are the least hardy of the two and make a great fast-growing summer crop, ideal for the open garden or pots alike. From sowing to harvest can take as little as six to 12 weeks and they are at their best when harvested as baby roots or at golf ball size when they are still tender and can be cooked or eaten raw grated in salads and slaws. The bone hardy and majestic swede is a much…

“Well-drained but moisture retentive soil, sheltered position in full sun.” The Shangri-La of gardening. A mythical utopia where any plant will flourish. How many times have we read about a fruit tree that sounds great on paper, but then we find that phrase, guaranteed to strike dread into the 99% of gardeners who don’t have such ideal conditions to hand. Even if we do have the good fortune to have a favourable soil and aspect, much like the poolside sun loungers at the hotel, the best spots have already been taken and we are left trying to spread out our towels in a cold, damp corner, exposed to the wind, or in deep shade. At its heart, gardening is all about us imposing our will on nature. Mowing lawns, weeding,…

MINI MULTI-CHANGE GIFT SET This Mini Multi-change® Gift Set contains a trowel, small cultivator, small lawn/soil rake, double hoe and small handle, suitable for planting, loosening soil and weeding. The handle included can also be interchanged with more than 60 different tool heads in the Multi-change® range. WOLF-GARTEN TOOLS wolfgarten-tools.co.uk TEL: Go online to find stockists near you PRODUCT CODE: P243 PRICE GUIDE: £24.99 * Prices correct at time of publication KG VERDICT This is an excellent set of hand tools, perfect for a range of tasks in the garden and perfect for using in borders, small vegetable plots and raised beds. Attaching each tool head to the handle is slick and the connection is secure. This would make a super gift for someone just starting out but useful, too,…

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Who first got you into gardening? It’s in my blood I guess, even my family name is horticultural! Although addicted to reading, I also loved being outdoors, tending stock and growing. As a child I encountered the organic movement at its farm and Soil Association headquarters at Haughley, which lay only a few villages away. My influences early on were garden and natural science authors, particularly William Cobbett, who recommended personal trial and experiment, and Laurence Hills, founder of HDRA, now Garden Organic. What is your veg heaven and hell? Heaven has to be asparagus. For years I’ve selected from ‘Kidner’s Strain’ for female plants with huge-sized spears but other than that and a bit of weeding it grows itself, and is so welcome early in the year. Hell has…

■ SPLIT FRUIT Try to keep soil damp around any fruiting plant. Uneven watering can lead to split skins and cracked or burst-open fruits. This applies to figs and apples as much as tomatoes. Letting the ground dry out completely and then flooding with water will only exacerbate the problem. ■ POWDERY MILDEW Check the leaves of cucurbits such as courgettes, pumpkins, cucumbers or melons and look for a scatter of white powdery mould. Remove any badly affected leaves and treat mildly affected ones with a milk and water solution. Keep soil damp to reduce the problem. ■ LATE BLIGHT ON TOMATOES Tomato leaves show the typical fungal darkening and fruit develops hard brown patches. Once a plant is deeply infected, all the fruit will be damaged. Remove dubious leaves…

Hi! I’m Belle and I’m here every month to share lots of fun activities for you to do at home, on your own or with your family Would you love to see frogs, toads and other wildlife visiting your garden? Creating your own mini wildlife pond could provide a home and feeding spot for hedgehogs, dragonflies, birds and frogs! Inviting these wonderful creatures into your space will also help keep all the garden pests away and your vegetables growing. YOU WILL NEED: ■ A container- toy tub, bucket or washing-up bowl ■ Spade ■ Water ■ Stones, bricks and logs ■ Pond plants WHAT TO DO: 1. Start by deciding where you would like your pond to be sited in the garden or at your allotment. Choose a light, sunny…

Many annual flowers which are grown in veg patches and on allotments up and down the country are chosen because they are simple and easy to grow, don’t need heated propagators and reliably flower every year; so why not give them ago? In fact, some of them can also help you increase your harvest or guard your veg from attacks by certain pests, be it by attracting more birds to the garden or by luring problem insects away from your cabbages and beans. SUNFLOWERS Another easy to grow, showy flower which you will find on almost every allotment is the sunflower. Ranging from towering whoppers to small pot-sized plants, sunflowers add colour, interest and are edible. The petals and seeds can be eaten and added to salads, but I love…

I still can’t quite believe that in July (6-11), at Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival, I will finally see the RHS No Dig Allotment Demonstration Garden I co-designed with Charles Dowding. It has been quite a journey getting there. In late 2019, the RHS approached Charles and myself to ask whether we would design a show garden for the festival in July 2020. What an exciting opportunity! The difficulty was the timing, as we are both practical gardeners and this is a very busy time of year, especially for Charles, who has a market garden. So it was agreed that I would adapt my garden at home so that I could leave it for the three weeks or so that I would need to be at Hampton Court for the…

The lawn had to go. When I wrote ‘lawn’ I should have written ‘couch grass’. Lots of couch grass. This grassy area at the top of our quarter-acre hillside garden is the last place we have tackled. It’s taken us a decade to get here. As a disabled gardener, I found it impossible to mow this uneven space. It was left to go wild. It did not become the wild habitat I dreamed of but became the home of horseflies; I have the scars to prove it. This is largely down to the fact that this area drains poorly. I turned to professional gardeners who came to see our ‘lawn’ -most of them laughed, all of them quoted thousands to turn it into an immaculate bowling green (something I have…

The beauty of self-sown veg is you haven’t had to put in much effort and often the resulting plants are better than ones you have sown. There are quite a few edibles that will naturally propagate themselves by seed and if left alone will keep popping up around the plot. However, to benefit from these you can’t be too tidy and have a pristine, weed-free plot. SELF-SEEDER SPACE You could devote an area to self-seeding crops and in the first year sow in lines or in blocks and then allow some of them to flower. At the time the seeds are ready you can let them drop naturally or gather some and sprinkle over your self-seeder area. This just gives you more control over where the seeds land. The following…

Growing up I was always told to eat my carrots as they helped you see in the dark. But upon doing my own research now, that well-used statement which I definitely believed as a child is apparently a myth which stems from a Second World War propaganda campaign – a statement from government designed to respond to a wartime oversupply of carrots and keep the news of improved RAF radar technology a secret. Did you know that? The real deal of restoring and strengthening eyesight is fennel! It has been praised by Roman herbalists at least anyway. In the book titled The Art of Simpling, written in 1656, it is also noted that the seeds of this tall perennial herb “contain a high concentration of volatile oil which our forefathers…

A while back you bought a tool and that tool did one job - a hoe was a hoe, a rake was a rake and a spade was a spade. To a large extent this is still the case but new designs have come into play where one handle can service several tool heads. Here is a selection of companies that offer multi-change options. WOLF-GARTEN Some companies, such as Wolf-Garten, offer a whole suite of tools with interchangeable heads, such as rakes, hoes, cultivators, seed sowers, window washers, edgers and so on, with handles of 15 different lengths to choose from (including telescopic). In the multi-change® there are 60 tool heads in all, so pretty comprehensive - and all in the distinctive red and yellow Wolf-Garten colours. https://wolfgarten-tools.co.uk FISKARS Fiskars…

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