Kitchen Garden July 2023

Despite a slow start for many of us due to a chilly spring, harvesting of those first delicious spring-sown crops is well under way. July is now all about planning second sowings of quick-growing salads and nurturing tender crops that were finally planted out after the last frost of the season. In this issue our experts Martin Fish and Rob Smith bring you all the advice you need to grow bumper crops of French beans and salads while I persuade you to take a fresh look at turnips. Bear with me as they really are a super quick and easy crop to grow and despite what some politicians might tell you, not easy to find in the shops! Also in this issue Emma Bailey looks at 10 often-quoted garden hacks…

Warm July days power rapid growth and – we hope – plentiful harvests! Everything's coming thick and fast by now: salads, leafy greens, carrots and beetroot, beans, courgettes and possibly even the very first of the tomatoes. This is what home-grown dreams are made of! Sweetcorn still has a little way to go but will be approaching full height towards the end of the month. Look out for the male tassels at the top of the plants. Once you can see the tiny yellow stamens dangling free, give stems a tap or shake to dislodge clouds of pollen to drift down to the female silks below. Repeat every few days. This helps ensure good pollination and better filled corncobs. Clear ground of any spent crops then sow or replant with…

JOBS FOR THE MONTH KEEP SOWING Sometimes gardening can seem a bit like a treadmill – you have to keep plugging away at sowing (pun intended!) if you want a steady supply of fresh and tasty pickings a few months down the line. July is a crucial month because beyond this point it will be too late to sow many vegetables. If you haven't already done so, this is your last call for sowing leafy favourites such as kale and Swiss chard. Get them sown as early as possible so they reach a good size before it cools off later in the summer. Sow chard into module trays to plant out next month. Kale can be sown into modules or start the seedlings off in pots then prick them out…

WISE WORDS “Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.” (Origin unknown) “Have you viewed us on YouTube yet?” PEAS, PESTS AND SPUDS Steve has grown some peas of that old favourite ‘Onward' this year, but being a bit strapped for space has put some in a raised bed where they will be close to the kitchen door when it comes to picking. They will also be a good height for his ever achier back when it comes to tending to them. Poor old boy! Tony is getting down with the spuds. He always grows a few bags and bucketfuls of first or second earlies, though this year he has kept it simple and gone for the latter with ‘Charlotte’, one…

Grow your own RAINBOW CHARD! Hi! I'm Belle and I'm now here every month to share lots of fun activities for you to do at home, on your own or with your family Rainbow Chard is one of the most colourful vegetables you can grow. It's multi-coloured, easy to grow and the leaves taste delicious. YOU WILL NEED: Rainbow Chard seeds. ‘Bright Lights' is one particular rainbow variety. Multi-purpose compost A collection of 7-8cm pots or a container planter. Water in a watering can WHAT TO DO: 1. Fill the 7-8cm pots with your multipurpose compost. 2. Sow 1-2 seeds per pot, about 2.5cm deep. You could use your finger or a pencil to make a hole in the compost. 3. Cover the seeds up with the compost, then give them plenty…

GO PEAT-FREE The Wildlife Trusts have released a free handbook to help people go peat-free in their gardens and to recognise the importance of peatlands for nature and climate. The new handbook, Greener Gardening: Perfecting PeatFree provides tips and tricks for getting the most out of compost, a guide for making compost at home, and information about buying peat-free products. Greener Gardening: Perfecting Peat-Free is free to download at: www.wildlifetrusts.org/download-our-guide-going-peat-free VEG TIPS FOR KIDS As part of the university's Children and Young People campaign, Dr Clare Holley, a Loughborough senior lecturer in psychology, has shared some tips on how to overcome children's fussy eating and encourage them to eat more vegetables. “Children go through a phase between the ages of 2-6 years old where they become particularly fussy with all…