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EDITOR’S LETTER
May marks a watershed in the garden for many of us – we can actually think about sowing all those tender veggies ready for planting out next month. So in this issue you’ll find advice on growing squashes and sweetcorn (we’ve even provided the seeds!), sweet potatoes as well as making a mini greenhouse for your tomatoes that should guarantee you some early crops. We also have some great advice from Ben Vanheems on feeding your pots and containers the natural way, while award-winning fruit expert David Patch explains how to get started with Asian or nashi pears. Veteran plotter Graham Strong continues his series on starting a new plot from scratch and our top team of Joyce Russell and Martin Fish bring you all the essential jobs for the month in the fruit and veg garden, whether you garden indoors or out. And speaking of gardening indoors – I offer some ideas on producing your own edibles on nothing more than a windowsill!
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6 ON THE VEG PATCH
KitchenGardenUK KitchenGardenMag @GrowWithKG /kitchengardenmagazine FOR OUR CONTACT DETAILS TURN TO PAGE 15
This month Joyce is sowing beans and brassicas, thinning beetroot and earthing up potatoes
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20 KG PROBLEM SOLVER
Our panel of experts help solve some of our readers’ gardening conundrums and tackle various issues with aubergines
12 WHAT’S NEW?
Meet the runner-up in our 2018 competition, Mireille Klinkenberg from the Netherlands, and find out what she grows on her plot
KG regular Martin Fish is harvesting early strawberries, potting up peppers, pruning vines and sowing coriander
The latest news, comment and advice from the world of kitchen gardening
Learn what other KG readers have been up to and pick up some great first-hand advice
£20
Discover the great features, money-saving offers and competitions we have lined up for KG subscribers in May
10 IN THE GREENHOUSE
14 YOUR LETTERS AND TIPS
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18 DISCOVER YOUR NEW KG SUBSCRIBERS’ CLUB
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32 PASSIONATE PLOTTER
45 GROWING ON THE WEB
We meet the Oldham family, who have a Dig for Victory garden in the North West
64 NEXT MONTH
Some of the highlights to be found in your June 2019 issue plus news of great free e gifts
74 FIVE GROW LIVE ✪
Launch of a brand new series following five gardeners around the country who are all growing the same crops
114 LAST WORD
Deputty editor Emma Rawlings comments on plastic in the garden and d how we can manage it www.kitchengarden.co.uk
MAY 2019
106
Resident chef Anna Cairns Pettigrew brings you more great seasonal recipes fresh from her kitchen.
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Pg 106
40 GET GROWING
74 60 VEG OF THE MONTH
Emma Rawlings offers her tips on growing winter squashes ✪
16 ON THE PLOT WITH THE THREE MUDKETEERS
66 GOOD ENOUGH TO EAT
22 GROWING ONLINE
70 WINDOWSILL WONDERS ✪
More gardening fun with the KG team as they get busy on the KG plot
Our pick of gardening social media and websites
26 UP ON THE ROOF ✪
Steve Neal visits the Skyline Garden in London
30 GROWING YOUR FREE SEEDS – KOHL RABI ✪ Your growing guide to great harvests
36 SWEETNESS FROM THE SOIL ✪
Becky Dickinson looks into growing sweet potatoes in the UK
40 SWEET & SAVOURY ✪
Veg expert Rob Smith has some top tips for growing sweetcorn
51 FEEDING TIME ✪
Ben Vanheems has some great tips on feeding your container-grown crops
56 DARE TO BE CREATIVE AND COLOURFUL ✪
Emma Rawlings makes some suggestions to help unleash your creative spirit on the veg plot www.kitchengarden.co.uk
Stephanie Hafferty looks at what you can conjure up with edible flowers
Make use of indoor space by growing crops on your windowsills. KG editor Steve Ott suggests good edibles to try
78 THE CULTIVATED PLOT
Gardening writer and photographer Graham Strong takes us through construction of the raised beds on his new allotment
WHAT TO BUY 94 TRIED AND TESTED – GARDEN TWINE
Don’t tie yourself in knots contemplating which string to buy. Read our guide to find out
82 REKHA’S GARDEN AND KITCHEN DIARY (NEW SERIES)
98 GREAT READER OFFERS – SAVE OVER £47 ✪
84 MAKE A TOMATO GROW STATION ✪
102 GREAT GIVEAWAYS WORTH OVER £1720
88 A TASTE OF THE ORIENT ✪
104 GARDEN STORE PLUS SUBSCRIBER SAVERS
Former contestant on BBC’s The Big Allotment Challenge, Rekha Mistry, takes us through her gardening month
Practical gardener Joyce Russell shows you a great way to give outdoor tomatoes a bit of extra warmth
Our fruit expert, David Patch, suggests we all try something a bit different – nashi pears
92 HERB OF THE MONTH
This month a KG pocket guide to growing rosemary, a classic herb with many uses
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111 GIVEAWAYS ENTRY FORM MAY 2019 | 5
GET GROWING
TASKS FOR YOUR VEGETABLE PATCH TCH IN MAY BY JOYCE RUSSELL Photos by Ben Russell
SOW BEANS
Sow climbing beans in pots, or where they are to grow, after frost risk has passed. Sow a few extra seeds to fill gaps. Be sure to use a strong structure to support plants as they grow. Runner beans are usually reliable croppers. French beans crop a little earlier and do very well in a good summer.
CLEAR PATHS
These are the routes around the garden that help you to work in a fast and efficient way. Don’t leave tools where you can trip over them and sweep any debris that might make a slippery surface. Make the garden as safe as you can and enjoy the tidy space.
LOOK AFTER ONIONS AND GARLIC
Bulbs start to swell now on autumn-planted varieties. Plants need plenty of water and no competition for nutrients. Don’t spare the watering on these beds in dry weather; hand weed regularly and the task will only take a few minutes.
PAY ATTENTION
Make a cuppa, take a slow walk around the garden and look at each bed. It won’t take long, but if you do this each day you will spot small problems, such as pest attack or disease, before they get out of control.
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JOBS FOR THE MONTH XXX
BRASSICAS FROM SEED TO SOIL STEP 1: Sow brassica seeds in April and early May. These can be started in small pots or tubs and they do best if started at a temperature around 15C (59F). If temperatures are too high, seedlings can be scorched or grow too fast and ‘leggy’. Sow a pinch of seed for each variety – most people only need a few cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli or kale plants; and most will germinate if seed is reasonably fresh.
STEP 2: Prick seedlings out when they have one or two true leaves and before they start to crowd one another in pots. There should be no competition for nutrients and no major disruption to growth. Put seedlings 10cm(4in) apart in a deep tub or container filled with garden compost. Large containers can be divided for different varieties, just be sure to label each section.
STEP 3: Plants grow quickly and can be ready to plant out after four weeks in the large container. They can wait a little longer if a bed needs to clear, or put them in a holding bed in the garden so growth isn’t limited. Lift the rootball at planting time and put into a prepared hole filled with compost in the garden bed. Allow 60cm (24in) between plants and scatter a little lime if soil is acidic.
BOLTING RHUBARB Rhubarb can get off to a good start earlier in the year and you may think you will be eating fat fleshy stems for months. But turn your back for a moment and the next thing you see is a bursting thick flower spike pushing up from the centre of the clump. Old plants are more prone to bolting than young ones and stress conditions, such as heat and drought, will push plants to flower. Keep beds shaded if possible and water well. Nip out any flower spikes as soon as you spot them and, if the problem persists, consider dividing clumps and planting a new bed before plants grow shoots next spring.
SOW NOW
Sweetcorn, pumpkins, courgettes, French beans, runner beans, spinach, Swiss chard, kohl rabi, basil, calabrese, cauliflower, carrots, turnips, peas, salad leaves.
PLANT NOW
Sweetcorn, pumpkins, tomatoes, basil and French beans after frost risk has passed. Summer cabbage, Brussels sprouts, leeks.
THIN BEETROOT Rows may be crowded at this point. If you want to grow reasonable sized roots then you need to remove some seedlings so the remaining ones have enough room to swell and grow well. Work your way along each row and choose the strongest seedling in each clump. You may need to hold it in place while you remove smaller seedlings from around it without disturbing the chosen one. Leave 5cm (2in) between each plant in the row if you want to grow 5cm (2in) diameter roots. Leave more space if you want to grow tennis ball or larger roots. Firm soil back around the row of plants and water well.
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HARVEST
Early peas and mangetout, broad beans, spring cabbage, sprouting broccoli, Swiss chard, kale, spinach, salad leaves. First courgettes and strawberries from a cold frame. MAY 2019 | 7
GET GROWING
NET SOFT FRUIT
■ HARVEST BROAD BEANS Pick pods before they get too big and enjoy the beans while they are small and delicious.
■ GREENFLY These pests can distort small plants. Look under curled leaves and squash greenfly if there are only a few. An organic soap spray will kill them off or use a spray of water to dislodge them – repeat every day until plants are clear. ■ PREPARE BEDS Dig some well-rotted manure into pumpkin and sweetcorn beds. These are greedy plants that will reward you with bumper crops if you feed them well. ■ MOW AND MULCH Cut grass before it produces seed. Use the clippings to mulch between rows of peas, beans and potatoes. Make sure soil is damp before you put a layer of clippings on top. ■ CARROT CARE Use insect-proof netting to protect from carrot fly. Thin rows when seedlings are around 15cm (6in) tall – it’s hard to predict losses before this stage. Keep beds weeded and watered if you want to grow good roots.
8 | MAY 2019
Cu urrants and raspberries start to flower this month. Unless bush hes are in a permanent cage, you should cover soft fruit with netting to keep birds off. Do this now, and use net of a large enough mesh to allow bees easy access to the flowers. If you try to pull net over bushes when fruits are ripening, then you are likely to knoock berries off.
WATERING May can be a hot month and soil soon dries out. Raised beds will dry out faster than those on the flat, while sandy soil dries faster than heavy clay. Shallow-rooting plants will suffer if the surface of the soil dries out, deep-rooting plants can draw up water from lower levels. It always makes sense to start watering before deep cracks appear in the soil. At this stage, water can run straight into the cracks and it takes a lot of water to wet everything thoroughly. Water early in the morning or in the evening – this allows time for good soakage and reduces the amount lost to evaporation in the midd dle of a hot day. Use a waterin ng can for young plants and small seedlings. A hosepipe helps to water a large garden, as do automated watering systems (provided water supplies can sustain this).
PLANTING OUT
Get pot-raised plants into the ground as soon as the weather permits. They will grow a good root system that is better able to tolerate temperature and moisture fluctuations. Fill a planting hole with compost, provide a stick for support or to mark the planting point, firm the plant in and water well. You may need to provide some temporary covering for tender plants.
C CLEAR FLOWERING BRASSICAS B Sprouting broccoli and kale may be in full production at the beginning of the month. Keep picking hard if you want to prolong the cropping period. These brassicas start to flower and aim to set seed – once this happens there is little you can do other than pick what you can and lift the plants. Tip: the flowers attract pollinating insects so lay the lifted plants round apple trees to improve pollination.
EARTH UP POTATO PLANTS Seed potatoes are usually planted 15-20cm (6-8in) deep. They push up strong shoots and by the middle or end of May these can be 20cm (8in) tall (or more, depending on planting time). Potato tubers grow just
under the soil, but if they poke through close to the surface, they will turn green on exposure to light. This isn’t much of an issue if you grow early varieties and dig plants while potatoes are tasty and small. With later and maincrop varieties, or with early ones that are left to grow large, you need to pile on more soil in a process known as earthing up. Work along each side of a row and use a
spade to dig up soil. Pile 8-15cm (3-6in) around each plant and try not to allow gaps where light can reach. You may need to use your hand to slide soil from the spade and to pat it down exactly where you want. Firm soil gently so you don’t damage plants and try not to cover leaves. More potatoes grow as the stems grow. Keep an eye on things and if potatoes start to poke through, you may need to earth up a little more in a couple of months. If soil is in short supply, pile grass clippings along the row and cover these with a thin layer of soil.
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■ As tomato plants start to make strong growth, tie the main stem at regular intervals to a cane for support and pinch out small side shoots growing in the leaf joints. ■ Sow curly kale seed in plug trays to produce young plants for growing on in the polytunnel to provide you with fresh greens in late summer. ■ Harden off veg plants such as beans, courgettes and sweetcorn that are destined for the garden. ■ Coriander is prone to running to seed very quickly, so sow in pots every few weeks to give you a steady supply through the summer. ■ Thin rows of carrots, beetroot and spring onion seedlings to allow the remaining plants room to grow. The thinnings can be added to salads.
10 | MAY 2019
WITH MARTIN FISH
SALAD LEAVES THROUGH THE SUMMER A polytunnel provides the perfect growing conditions for lettuce and salad leaves, and with just a little planning it’s possible to have fresh leaves for much of the year. Although it’s good to be able to have a few fresh leaves in the winter, the main salad eating time is from now through to autumn. To maintain a constant supply, sow seed every few weeks. I tend to start the plants off in cell trays to produce strong plants for planting out in the border. Where space is limited, sow the seeds in trays or pots of compost. If you sow a pot every two or three weeks, you’ll have a plentiful supply of fresh leaves to pick as needed. www.kitchengarden.co.uk
JOBS THIS MONTH
POT PEPPERS INTO FINAL POTS Chilli peppers and sweet peppers that are growing in small pots can be transplanted into their final pots anytime now or when the flower buds start to develop at the top of the plant. Although they can be grown in the border, they can become very large, so I prefer to grow them in pots around 30cm (12in) across, which keeps them bushy and compact. Multi-purpose compost is fine and after potting, water the compost to settle the roots. Stand the pots in good light and keep the compost moist, but not wet, to encourage the roots to grow out into the new compost. When the first flowers open, start feeding once a week with a tomato fertiliser.
■ Basil is a great summer herb that thrives in warm weather, but sulks when it’s cool! To give it a good start, sow the seed cell trays in a warm greenhouse for protection. When established, pot the seedlings into larger pots, or plant into the polytunnel border to grow on through the summer.
PLANT CUCUMBERS IN WARMTH
HARVEST EARLY STRAWBERRIES
The first strawberries of the season are always a special treat and growing them in a greenhouse or polytunnel means you can start harvesting them a few weeks earlier than outside. They grow particularly well in hanging baskets, pots or troughs and being undercover the fruits are protected from birds and rain splash. As the fruits swell and start to develop, feed weekly with a high-potash fertiliser and keep the compost moist. Don’t be tempted to pick the fruits too early though! It’s better to wait a few extra days until the fruits are fully ripe and a deep red colour. Allowing them to ripen on the plants means they will develop a much better and sweeter flavour!
To grow and establish cucumbers need warmth, day and night. They hate fluctuating temperatures and if the night temperature drops dramatically, the plants often collapse, especially if the soil around the base of the stem is wet! With that I mind, don’t plant cucumbers until the weather is settled and warming up. If growing in a border, prepare the soil by mixing in some compost and plant on a slight mound to prevent water standing at the base of the stem. A small pot buried by the side of the plant allows you to get water to the roots, while keeping the soil on the surface dry. Alternatively, grow in large pots, but still create a mound to plant on.
PRUNE SIDE SHOOTS ON VINES As the weather warms up grape vines growing undercover will start to make vigorous new growth. To maintain some sort of order, it’s essential to prune over the summer months. This not only prevents your greenhouse or polytunnel becoming totally overgrown, it also maintains the trained shape of the vine and diverts energy to the developing grapes. Pruning is simple and on shoots that are fruiting, cut the stem two leaves after the flowers or embryo bunches of grapes. Stems that are not flowering can also be shortened back to two leaves or removed if growth is crowded. From the pruned stems new growth will be made, so you will need to repeat the pruning again in a few weeks. www.kitchengarden.co.uk
■ Keep an eye open for pests in the greenhouse such as aphids on salads, tomato plants or seedlings. If spotted squash them with your fingers or spray with an organic insecticide. ■ In moist, warm growing conditions weeds can germinate and grow very quickly and smother vegetable seedlings. Weed through the beds regularly either by hand or with a hoe. ■ How and when you water can help to reduce slug damage in the polytunnel. Watering in the morning and keeping the foliage dry means the soil surface is dry by nighttime, making the conditions less favourable to slugs that prefer it cool and damp. ■ Although we’re busy planting summer crops, it’s time to think ahead to what you want to harvest through autumn and winter. Make a list of what you want to grow and get the seeds ordered ready for sowing later in the summer.
MAY 2019 | 11
YOU
YOUR PLOT
ALL THE LATEST NEWS, PRODUCTS & FACTS FROM THE WORLD OF KITCHEN GARDENING
One of the conclusions of a team from Bristol University researching urban provision for pollinators is that towns and cities need more allotments. The study set out to identify important land uses for pollinators in urban areas, identify key forage plants, and propose strategies to improve pollinator conservation in towns and cities. The team undertook a detailed study of pollinator abundance and plant use at 360 sites in four cities – Bristol, Reading, Leeds and Edinburgh – over two years. The sites covered nine land uses, including allotments and residential gardens, as well as other urban green spaces and built-over areas. Bee numbers and flower abundance were both found to be higher in allotments and gardens than in any other land use. For more on this visit http://bit.ly/KGallotments
OPEN DAYS AT CHURCH GARDENS
Brand new for 2019, Blackcurrant ‘Black’n’Red’ is a variety which has been bred by fruit tree supplier Lubera. It produces very sweet, medium-sized fruits and is mildew resistant. The change in its leaf colour over the season makes it a particularly attractive option. The leaves of ‘Black’n’Red’ turn green in the spring, and then dark red when they grow older and are exposed to enough sunlight. The red foliage stays on the plant from summer to late autumn, getting darker with more of a wine colour. For more information: www.lubera.co.uk (Tel: 0845 527 1658)
Picture: Lubera
In the April issue we featured the third place winner of our Passionate Plotter competition, Kay McHugh and her family from Church Gardens at Uxbridge. Her garden is the original walled gardens of the Harefield Place estate and has been lovingly restored. They have some renovation work of the larger walled garden to do so they are now starting to open the garden to the public to raise funds to rebuild the walls. Note that the correct dates for the open days are April 22 and May 27, and a National Garden Scheme Open Day on August 26. It is also possible to organise a private guided tour of the garden for smaller groups by contacting churchgardensharefield@gmail.com
DO YOU HAVE SOME HOT STORIES FOR OUR NEWS PAGES? SEND THEM TO TFLANAGAN@MORTONS.CO.UK 12 | MAY 2019
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WHAT’S NEW?
This year’s National Children’s Gardening Week is scheduled for May 25-June 2, celebrating all the fun that children can enjoy through gardening. If you’re looking for resources and ideas about what you can do with your children, or if you just want to register an event you are holding, visit: www.childrensgardeningweek.co.uk National Children’s Gardening Week is the brainwave of Neil Grant, managing director of Ferndale Garden Centre near Sheffield, who is also BBC Radio Sheffield’s garden expert and co-presenter of its weekly garden phone in.
Dobies has extended its Rob Smith range of seeds and plants to include Tomato ‘Ruby Falls’. This grows in compact columns, so a good choice if you have limited space in the greenhouse. There’s also Cucumber ‘Merlin’, a heavy yielding seedless variety, and Pepper ‘Confetti’, a sweet pepper that does not require support and grows well in containers. To see the full range, go to: www.dobies.co.uk/ rob-smith.htm
INSECT DECLINE THREAT TO NATURE According to a report recently published in the journal Biological Conservation, more than 40% of insect species are threatened with extinction, with butterflies, moths, wasps and bees among those most affected. The main reason, the report says, is due to habitat loss as a result of intensive farming practices and the use of synthetic pesticides. The review concludes that ‘unless we change our ways of producing food, insects as a whole will go down the path of extinction in a few decades’ which, in turn, will have catastrophic consequences for the planet’s ecosystems.
APRIL FOOL! Well done to those of you who spotted our April Fool story in the last issue. No, there is no Royal Society for the Promotion of Ethical Standards on Allotments (RSPESA) and no spokesperson for this non-existent organisation. There is no fine as yet for bad behaviour and no Allotment Etiquette Awareness course! Maybe there should be?
WALLED GARDEN OPENS ITS GATES
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Copyright: Waddesdon Image Library
The walled garden on the Eythrope Estate at Waddesdon in Buckinghamshire is opening its gates to the public through a series of public tours that start in May. These exclusive events will offer a glimpse into a garden that has, until now, been kept intensely private. The four-acre walled kitchen garden is an example of a contemporary, large scale working private garden. Whilst many kitchen gardens were scaled down or abandoned after the two world wars, Eythrope has been lovingly restored to its original function.
The garden supplies vegetables, fruit, herbs and cut flowers for the Rothschild family as well as Waddesdon’s restaurants, hotel and artisan food market. For more information visit: www.waddesdon.org.uk/whats-on
The Wildlife Trust is leading a £6.4 million programme to bring thousands of children closer to nature. As part of Nature Friendly Schools, teachers will receive training to link outdoor learning to the National Curriculum and pupils will experience wildlife through new nature areas in school grounds and visits to local nature reserves or parks. Nature Friendly Schools will improve school grounds with wildflower patches, sensory gardens and trails, container ponds and green spaces, so pupils can see nature close up. It will work with more than 300 schools in England with the highest proportions of disadvantaged pupils, starting this autumn. Its aim is to improve children’s mental and physical wellbeing, their concern for the environment, and their engagement with lessons. Find out more at: www.wildlifetrusts.org/news/ new-nature-friendly-schools MAY 2019 | 13
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YOUR PLOT
HOT TIP FOR GROUND COVER Thought you might like to know of my ‘hot’ tip when using ground cover fabric. I tend to lay fabric on cleared beds to keep weeds down and I therefore plant through it. This always used to mean cutting a ‘plus sign’ slit in it at each planting location. The downside of this is that neither woven fabric nor black polythene is always easy to cut, and you can be plagued with loose black plastic strands. So I now have a work around. I got two empty cans, a baked bean tin and a large catering size veg tin, and I screwed a fat block of wood on to the closed end of the tins (an 8 to 12in
piece of 3 x 2in) stud timber works well. I heat up the open end of the tin with a blow torch till it is seriously hot – then I push it down on the fabric at the planting site. The heated tin ‘cuts’ a pristinely neat circular hole through the fabric, and sears the edges at the same time, so no more straggly, irritating black strands or ragged polythene edges. The wooden block screwed to the tin is for health and safety: if you fix a 8 inch or 12 inch ‘handle’ on to the tin, you are thus keeping your hand well out of the way of the flame, and also avoiding having to handle a hot
tin! Since I know it sounds scary, you could also heat the tin up without holding the handle if you want, by laying it off the end of a bench, or across a breeze block. Simon Mayo, Hampshire TONY SAYS: That certainly does the trick Simon. However, just a general note to readers on health and safety: when working with potentially dangerous tools, take all necessary precautions and always use appropriate personal protection equipment.
CONTACT US WITH YOUR LETTERS AND TIPS: TFLANAGAN@MORTONS.CO.UK
WHAT DID HE SAY AGAIN?
A GREAT YEAR OF GROWING! Many thanks for all of the ideas and advice given in Kitchen Garden magazine. I have been a subscriber for just over a year now. I keep an allotment and I have a garden and last year was my first year with a greenhouse, so I have found the articles really useful and inspiring at times. Last year I grew celeriac and salsify for the first time, and we have enjoyed them roasted and in soups and stews. The ‘Marmande’ tomatoes were fantastic, as were the ‘Long Red Marconi’ peppers, helped along by the sunny summer and the new greenhouse! This year I am going to try the chilli peppers that came free with the January magazine, although I suspect that very few of them will pass my lips as my husband is a big fan. Catherine Green, Stockport
Send us your tips and pictures and if your letter is published you will get a £10 Dobies voucher. If you are lucky enough to have yours chosen as our Star Letter you will get a £25 voucher. Your voucher will be sent out with a Dobies catalogue and you can choose to spend your winnings on a fabulous range of seeds,
14 | MAY 2019
‘Long Red Marconi’
young plants and gardening sundries. You can get hold of a copy of the catalogue now by phoning 0844 701 7625 or go online to www.dobies.co.uk You can reach us by letter, email or via our Facebook page: FACEBOOK.COM/ KITCHENGARDENMAG
My son and his wife had just bought their first house. The garden was overgrown and I was tidying things up. While I was doing so, my eight-year-old granddaugghter said to her little sister: “I think Grandad d Peter’s had an accident.” “Why, what’s happened?”came the reply. “Well, I heard Grandma Pat saying he’s weed in the garden.” Peter Redmond, Andover
Email E il your letters l tt to tflanagan@mortons. co.uk or post to Letters, Kitchen Garden, Mortons Media Group, Media Centre, Morton Way, Horncastle, Lincs LN9 6JR
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YOUR VIEWS
GARDEN SANITY Thank you for your Parsley Plus article in your March issue and the free seeds! I only got into gardening in the summer and am now loving growing everything, especially anything edible. I’ve attached a picture of my little edible area in my garden. It seems to help me mentally so you are not only helping my stomach but my sanity! Kay Beirne, Gwent
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A MONSTER ROOT CROP Despite all of the help in KG, just look at the parsnips we grew from seed and dug up today! Sandra Huggins, Kirkcudbrightshire
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BEST-TASTING POTATOES PLUM PUDDING: My usual favourites for maincrop are ‘Picasso’ and ‘Orion’. Does anyone else have a favourite they would recommend? TIGERBURNIE: I like ‘Pink Fir Apples’, and my favourite winter tattie, ‘Rooster’. MONIKA: ‘Anya’ for salad potatoes, ‘Rooster’ for mash . WESTI: Re-ordered ‘Jazzy’ this year as I really liked the taste as small salad/new spuds – proper potato taste with several layers of flavour. They grew well into quite large oval tubers and the slugs didn’t like them too much either – bonus!
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KG is media partner with NAGTrust – helping to make Britain’s allotments better
KG and the National Vegetable Society – together helping the nation to grow better veg
NSALG recommends Kitchen Garden Magazine, the number one magazine for growers of fruit and veg
MAY 2019 | 15
This is a good time to take softwood cuttings of shrubby herbs such as rosemary and sage
Illustrations: Let’ss Face It
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The KG team offer chat, tips and gardening gossip
LOOK! NO SOIL! If you like to take cuttings, and particularly lots of ‘em, you might be interested in this Hydropod Cuttings Propagator that the Muddies received recently. This one has 80 cells but there are 20-120 cell options available, depending on how many cuttings you want to take. All you need to do is take a cutting, pop it in the Hydropod and let the seven-day reservoir of water do the rest, even if you go on holiday for a week. With this system, the base of the stems benefits from a constant spray of
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16 | MAY 2019
mist, so preventing root rot and fungal infections. Roots develop quickly and the vented lid provides warmth and moisture, preventing the cuttings from drying out. Extras such as a heater and growing lights are optional. To find out more about this product visit www.greenhousesensation. co.uk and type Hydropod Cuttings Propagator into the search box. If you are a subscriber you could win this Hydropod. Simply log on to our subscribers’ website www.mudketeers. co.uk and go to our subscriber specials and competitions page to enter.
SIMPLE MULTIPLICATION I’ve had vague attempts at a technique called multi-sowing in the past, but our new regular contributor Stephanie Hafferty is something of an expert at it, as she uses it in her capacity as a markett gardener to producee tender baby veg for restaurants. Having read her excellent blog where she mentions it (https:// nodighome.com/) I thought I’d give it another try. I’ve sown two types of beetroot and also spring onions using the technique which simply involves sowing several seeds to give a number of seedlings in each cell or a cell tray; five or six spring onions and five or six beetroot after thinning (all but the modern F1 hybrid beetroot produce several seedlings from each ‘seed’). Of course, you can do it with lots of other veg too. They have come up well and I’ll be planting them soonest – as they are, without splitting them up – with the intention of producing a number of baby veg to harvest. www.kitchengarden.co.uk
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