Kitchen Garden September 2025

Summer jamming Well, the mists may not have started yet, but the season of mellow fruitfulness is certainly upon us. Lunch at the moment is usually a heaped bowl of French beans with salty, chopped anchovies run through them, and I’m picking around 2kg of blackberries a day from the unkempt edges of my garden, and preserving them as fast as I can. Luckily, bramble jelly is a favourite in our house – and I’ve been testing jelly strainers (see page 63) – but so too is fruit in light syrup, which is stirred through yoghurt or porridge, used in fools and baking – or eaten straight from the jar with clotted cream… Preserving seasonal gluts is as old as time, and there’s something very satisfying about sitting back at…

GATHER UP Tender potted plants, such as outside chillies, aubergines and tomatoes, as well as scented pelargoniums can all be put under cover to extend their cropping season LIFT CARROTS Rub off any lumps of mud, twist off the foliage, and leave somewhere airy to dry for a while. Once dry, store in cardboard boxes or thick paper sacks in a cool, dark, frost and rodent-free space START ONIONS Plant autumn onion sets 2cm deep using a dibber, 10cm apart, in rows 30cm apart. After watering, feed with a liquid feed or a mulch of compost. Protect against birds HARVEST MELONS For many varieties, you can tell when they are ripe by the gorgeous melon fragrance. Another way to check is to tap the skin–it should sound hollow. Make the…

Summer crops are still producing harvests of tomatoes, cucumbers, aubergines and melons, but it is also time to start planting out transplants of the next season’s vegetables in the same space. Fortunately, interplanting (also known as intercropping) works brilliantly, making the most of valuable undercover space and increasing the productivity of your plot. Many summer cropping undercover plants, such as tomatoes, melons and cucumbers, will have had their lower leaves removed. Some crops, such as basil, will have come to the end of their lifespan and have been removed. This creates a lot of space under the still-growing plants to put in the new transplants. Plant in between the existing plants, using a dibber. Water in well, and keep the plants moist as they establish. You can also sow carrots,…

WOOLLY THINKING Plastic pots are out – wool is in! Wool Pots are a zero-waste, sustainable alternative made from British wool. Created by friends Graham Hull and Tom Lind, the idea came after a farmer friend highlighted the high cost and difficulty of disposing of raw fleece. At the same time, a report revealed that around 500 million plastic plant pots are dumped in UK landfills every year. Wool Pots are a win-win: they’re better for the planet, and for your plants. The woven wool allows more oxygen to reach the roots, supporting stronger growth. It retains water well – plants need around 20–30% less watering – and when you plant out, there’s no root disturbance. You simply pop the whole pot in the ground and it’ll break down naturally…

BUILDING SALVATION I have spent nearly a year in horticultural therapy after a serious mental health crisis. Little did I know how much this would change my life. I have learnt so much, but my favourite day to go is on a Thursday, when a retired carpenter indulges me in my woodwork projects! I have really enjoyed getting lost in making these projects, which have boosted my self-confidence and skills and, most importantly, hopefully encouraged increasing numbers of bugs to a new home. Here are two of my favourite projects so far. I got creative with a bug house using recycled materials and opted for a hexagonal look (way harder than I anticipated). I’ve recently completed a trug for my garden too. I’m proud of my creations and hope they…

Get in touch by post, email or via our Facebook page: Facebook.com/kitchengardenmag AUBERGINE ANXIETIES Q. Every year I grow quite a few aubergines. When they are growing strongly, some of the plants start to lose some leaves. It happens every year to about half the plants. It doesn’t seem to affect the crop and they buck up again very quickly, but then it may happen again. I find it very perplexing as all the plants are treated the same. It happens to soil-grown and pot-grown plants equally. I would love to know what you think. Cortina Grant, Hampshire A. Leaf drop on aubergines is common and is usually due to natural ageing, water stress or inconsistent feeding – especially in pots. Older, lower leaves often yellow and fall as plants…