Kitchen Garden March 2022

March is the month when many of us dare to think about starting to sow seeds outside in the open garden, but if you live in northerly parts, then you can at least start to sow in the greenhouse or on a warm windowsill to get an early start. In this issue hands-on gardener Joyce Russell offers her tips for success with seed sowing, whether in the ground or inside in a heated propagator. Gardening expert Martin Fish reveals his favourite potato varieties in time for buying and chitting those tubers and Sheffield-based Rob Smith takes you through the month on his beautiful veg plot. It is prime time for planting new asparagus beds and KG deputy editor Emma Rawlings offers her advice on starting and caring for this delicious…

PLANT STRAWBERRIES The first strawberry plants of the season should be available from about now. Plant these cold-stored bare-root runners into prepared soil as soon as you get them. FINISH SEEDBED PREP If your soil isn’t too wet, break up any remaining clods and remove stones. Rake the soil to a fine, crumbly tilth (texture) ready for sowing. PRUNE SOFT FRUIT Get on and finish winter pruning of soft fruits such as blackcurrants and gooseberries before they break bud later this month or next. BEGIN WEEDING With soil warming up, weed growth resumes and the annual battle commences! Keep on top of weeds by regularly hoeing and hand weeding so they never gain the upper hand. TIDY UP HERBS Herbs are a must in the vegetable garden and if you…

Are you a subscriber? Visit: www.mudketeers.co.uk WISE WORDS “What is a weed? A weed is a plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered.” Ralph Waldo Emerson (19th century American poet) PEAS, BLACKCURRANTS AND MICROGREENS Steve was lucky enough to obtain some seeds from the Heritage Seed Library (part of Garden Organic) this year including one called ‘Mummy’s Pea’. It’s known as ‘Mummy’s’ because it was suggested that the seeds were discovered in an ancient Egyptian tomb! There are just 10 seeds so Steve will be bulking them up for 2023 but won’t be able to resist trying at least one pod fresh from the plant. Emma was a bit late pruning the blackcurrants but the buds hadn’t started to open yet. She just removed a few stems of the…

OUR SERIES FOR YOUNG GROWERS Get ready to start sowing your favourite seeds by making plant pots! With just a little bit of folding, we can make pots out of a variety of waste materials. YOU WILL NEED ■ Newspaper ■ Toilet roll or kitchen roll liner ■ Scissors ■ Rolling pin or jar WHAT TO DO Toilet or kitchen roll liner: 1. Lay the tube down on a surface, press down to flatten it. 2. Squeeze the two created folds together to flatten it again. 3. Open it up and you should now have a square instead of a cylinder. 4. At one end of the tube, cut 1cm slits into the folds of each corner to create four tabs, one on each side. Ask an adult to help…

CITY ALLOTMENTS MATCH FARM PRODUCTIVITY A citizen science project by the University of Sussex has found that urban growers in Brighton and Hove were able to harvest 1kg of insect-pollinated fruit and vegetables per one metre square, which is within the range of conventional farming. The researchers calculated that an average of £380 worth of produce per grower was thanks to insect pollination, with berries being the most attractive crop to pollinators. Over the two-year period, the volunteers recorded more than 2000 pollinating insects visiting their crops. Bees were the most common group of pollinating visitors, accounting for 43% of all flower visits. Surprisingly, flies were also important visitors, accounting for 34% of insect visits. The urban growers also used fewer pesticides in comparison to conventional farming. The most common…

UPCYCLED POTTING TABLE Among my new year jobs in addition to helping other allotment holders who are still recovering after the Storm Arwen damage, I promised myself I would build a potting table. With some recycled wood from my friend I set about the design and I must say that I am very very happy with how this has turned out. It’s 1.75m long x 55cm wide and 85cm high. I’ve never seen a potting table with an integrated space for a container to put compost in. Steve Watkin, Wingate TONY SAYS: Nice piece of craftsmanship, Steve, and a great bit of upcycling too! ★ STAR ★ LETTER WINS £25 VOUCHER ALLOTMENT FOOD BANK Alisoun Gardner-Medwin’s suggestion of allotment growers linking up with food banks (February issue) is a good…