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ESSENTIAL JOBS FOR THE MONTH
DELICIOUS RECIPES FOR YOUR HOME-GROWN VEG
No. 265
October 2019
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EDITOR’S LETTER XXX
This can be a lovely month in the garden. The weather can often be mild and sunny and there are lots of harvests to gather and to turn into all manner of delicious pickles, pies and frozen goodies for the quieter months ahead. To inspire you we have bags of advice from our top team. Ben Vanheems has some great advice to help you fill your winter store cupboard to bursting point and we have lots of mouthwatering recipes to help you get the best from your late season pickings from top cooks, Anna Cairns Pettigrew, James Hillery and Jane Hickling. That’s not to say that you should be hanging up your trowel for the winter – far from it! There is still lots to do to ensure the homegrown fruit and veg keeps flowing. Apart from our usual jobs for the month outside and under cover, you’ll find advice on growing salads, including some more unusual types, and also prepping your greenhouse (or polytunnel) for the colder months. Have you had a good year for fruit this year? Certainly in my part of the East Midlands it has been a good year for apples and pears, but if you’d like to get even more from your trees, turn to page 82 where award-winning writer David Patch brings you his guide to essential tasks to complete now to give you your best harvests ever in 2020. PS: The deadline for entering our super Plotter Competition 2019 is looming. Turn to page 26 to discover more, including how to enter, either by post or online.
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EXPERT ADVICE TO HELP YOU GROW GREAT FRUIT AND VEGETABLES
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6 YOU
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YOUR PLOT
6 ON THE VEG PATCH
KitchenGardenUK
Essential tasks in the veg garden this month with organic veg growing expert Joyce Russell
KitchenGardenMag
10 IN THE GREENHOUSE
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Martin Fish is busy in his polytunnel and greenhouse as he picks the last of the tomatoes, sows a fresh crop of French beans and plants winter brassicas
12 WHAT'S NEW?
The latest news, comment and advice from the world of kitchen gardening
14 YOUR LETTERS AND TIPS
Learn what other KG readers have been up to and pick up some great first-hand advice
18 CONNECT WITH YOUR KG SUBSCRIBERS' CLUB
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ON PAGE 24 HAVING TROUBLE FINDING A COPY OF THIS MAGAZINE? Just Ask your local newsagent to reserve you a copy each month
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Discover the money-saving offers and competitions we have for KG subscribers in October, including a chance to win a cordless hedgetrimmer from Cobra worth over £257!
20 KG PROBLEM SOLVER ✪
71 GROWING ON THE WEB
We chat to Jayne Hickling, founder of the Allotment Cooks website, and pick up some great recipes from her online community
78 LIVING THE GOOD LIFE
Susie Kearley meets a self-sufficient family in Buckinghamshire
92 NEXT MONTH
Our panel of experts help solve your gardening problems; this month beetroot, potatoes, plums and more
Some of the highlights to be found in your November 2019 issue plus news of more great free gifts
26 PASSIONATE PLOTTER ✪
106 LAST WORD
Take part in our easy-to-enter competition and you could win some great gardening kit worth more than £2100!
This month, KG reader and forum member Chantal O’Sullivan on how her polytunnel has helped her to grow better crops www.kitchengarden.co.uk
OCTOBER 2019
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GET GROWING 16 ON THE PLOT WITH THE THREE MUDKETEERS
This month the KG team are tasting some new and unusual cucumbers and using predators to kill red spider mites
22 GROWING ONLINE
Our pick of the best gardening websites, blogs and vlogs
30 THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX In this issue KG regular Rob Smith brings you some great ideas for adding different flavours to your salad bowl
34 BRINGING THE HARVEST HOME ✪
44 54 MEET THE REAL WORLD WIDE WEB
Resident chef Anna Cairns Pettigrew brings you more great seasonal recipes this month based on beetroot, turnip and spinach ✪
Keen organic gardener Julie Moore explains why garden soil is so essential and offers advice on keeping it healthy and productive
60 MAKE A WINTER HOME FOR WILDLIFE ✪
As the days get shorter and temperatures fall, spare a thought for your garden wildlife, says Stephanie Hafferty
64 GREENHOUSE GOALS FOR WINTER ✪
Veg expert Ben Vanheems has some top tips for making sure your summer season’s pickings last well into the winter months
Whether you want to continue to grow crops in your under-cover space this winter or simply to prepare it for the season ahead, KG’s Emma Rawlings has all the advice you need
40 THE LATE SHOW
68 LET THE SOWING CONTINUE
In the latest update on progress on their new plot, Graham and Sally Strong gather in the late harvests, plant autumn onions and sow green manure
44 FRUIT TREES IN TRAINING
Gardening writer Wendy Pillar travels to West Dean Gardens in Sussex to see a wonderful collection of trained fruit trees
50 AN EYE FOR A PIE ✪
Former Bake Off contestant James Hillery brings you some of his favourite fruit pie recipes www.kitchengarden.co.uk
Middlesex plotholder Rekha Mistry shares her top tasks for October
75 WEEDKILLER WOES ✪
Stephanie Hafferty looks at the continuing problem of weedkiller contamination to plots around the UK, the reasons behind it and what to do if you suspect your crops are affected
82 FRUIT TREES: WHAT TO DO THIS AUTUMN
Nurseryman David Patch explains how to prepare your fruit for winter and the best possible crops in 2020
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WHAT TO BUY 53 WIN A FABULOUS HALLS GREENHOUSE WORTH OVER £1000! 86 PRODUCT ROUNDUP – GARDEN FORKS
With winter soil prep in mind, staff writer Tony Flanagan and the KG team look at the pros and cons of a range of popular garden forks
90 GREAT READER OFFERS – SAVE OVER £9!
Claim your free* garlic bulbs worth £11.90, plus great savings on onions, garlic and shallots (*just pay p&p)
94 GREAT GIVEAWAYS WORTH OVER £1454 ✪
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96 GARDEN STORE PLUS SUBSCRIBER SAVERS
News of some great new products and services and a chance for KG subscribers to bag a bargain
103 GIVEAWAYS ENTRY FORM OCTOBER 2019 | 5
GET GROWING
TASKS FOR YOUR VEGETABLE PATCH H IN OCTOBER BY JOYCE RUSSELL PHOTOS BY BEN RUSSELL
REMOVE FALLEN LEAVES
Allocate 10 minutes a day to raking and removing fallen leaves and you will keep on top of the task. Use the leaves as a mulch to cover empty beds through the winter, or pile into a wire-sided container to make leafmould.
LIFT PUMPKINS
Lift and store pumpkins before the first hard frost, by which time the skins should have cured (hardened). Fruits can be spread on the ground in a frost-free shed or they can last for months if spread in a cool room in the house.
BRING OUT CLOCHES
Bring out the cloches and covers if you want to protect rows of onions, garlic, cabbage, spinach, etc through the winter. You can extend the cropping season of some summer crops like salad or beans if you cover them before cold wet weather sets in.
COVER MANURE
Put strong plastic covers over piles of manure and weight the edges down well. You don’t want half of the goodness to wash away before you are ready to use the manure. Piles will break down through the winter and can be dug into beds in early spring.
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JOBS FOR THE MONTH XXX
LIFT & STORE CARROTS
STEP 1: If you have grown lots of carrots then it is important to lift and store them well. Choose a dry day and pull each plant gently while easing the root out carefully with a fork. Spread plants out in the sun until any soil is dry enough to rub off.
STEP 2: Cut the tops to 2-3cm (¾-1in) long and take a good look at each carrot while you are handling it. Put any roots that are split, or lightly damaged, for immediate use. Dispose of any that are badly slugged, rotted, or riddled with carrot fly grubs.
STEP 3: Put sawdust (or clean potting compost) in the base of a dustbin and put a layer of carrots on top. Alternate the layers until the bin is full and carrots are covered. Store the bin uncovered in a shed. Dampen the contents slightly from time to time so roots don’t dry out.
SOW NOW
Winter lettuce and spinach beet in pots to plant out when big enough. Mizuna and rocket in containers near the house or in drills under cloches. Autumn sowing varieties of pea such as 'Meteor' and 'Kelvedon Wonder' and broad bean 'Aquadulce Claudia', 'The Sutton' etc
LAST OF THE COURGETTES There may have been more courgettes than you could possibly want through the summer months, but there comes a time when you realise that what you have taken for granted is about to come to an end. This is the moment to look at those tatty and dishevelled plants and, if the weather is kind, you may squeeze a few more fruits out of them. Ignore the bigger leaves and look at the growing point. If there are small fruits and flowers and some healthy young leaves, then cover the plant with a raised porous cloche and you may get fruit until the end of the month.
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PLANT NOW
LOVELY LEEKS
Autumn varieties are ready to lift and use now. Winter varieties can mature early too, if the last months of the year are mild – a late flush of warmth can lead to soft growth that makes plants more likely to rot when cold weather hits.
Aim to use leeks as they come ready and don’t obsess too much about when each variety is supposed to be ready to lift. Do make a note of which ones grow and taste best and how long they stand in good condition through the winter months. Grow your favourites again next year and try staggered sowings, or sow a little earlier or later, if you want to harvest leeks over several months.
Spring cabbage, garlic, autumn onion sets, spinach, winter lettuce
HARVEST
Pumpkins, carrots, tomatoes, parsnips, beetroot, peas, beans, pak choi, Swiss chard, spinach, swedes, peppers, salad leaves, turnips, lettuce, courgettes, apples
GET GROWING
WATCH OUT FOR WIND ■ There’s a saying that the devil blights fruit left on trees after the end of October – I’d be more worried about birds and wasps destroying the fruits or gales tumbling them down. Pick any apples remaining on trees before they are damaged.
■ Lawns may get a couple of mows in October. It’s a good idea to put clippings on empty beds to provide some protection against winter rains. Weed the bed first and cover the lot with a sheet of black polythene. Worms will pull grass into the soil underneath.
■ Lift and store potatoes, swedes, beetroot, parsnips and carrots before hard frosts do damage. Slugs can destroy roots too – they like tasty veg as much as we do! Undamaged roots should store for several months in a cool, dark, dry place.
■ Get plants into the ground as soon as you can. Small plants raised in pots take a couple of weeks to settle into an outdoor bed. Mild weather can make the process easier; cold wet weather slows growth down. Small plants need to put on some growth before the winter.
8 | OCTOBER 2019
We often get strong winds in October and there are sure to be some more in the following months. Stake tall plants, trim overhanging branches, repair damaged structures and weight down anything that is likely to flap loose.
PROLONG THE CHILLI SEASON
Outdoor chilli peppers won’t produce much from the end of September, but you can prolong the cropping season by bringing a plant indoors. The easiest way to do this is to grow a plant in a container and simply move this indoors as temperatures fall back. It is also possible to dig round and lift the entire rootball of a plant growing in border soil. Put this in a container and water well.
WASH POTS
Wash all used pots and containers before you store them in a shed. It’s much better to do the job now than to be faced with a pile of dirty pots when you want to sow fresh seeds next spring. Plant labels can be re-used too, so give these a scrub and let them dry off before storing in a jar in the shed.
GET MORE FROM BEANS Plants that produced delicious small pods in September will start to churn out large, tough monsters instead. You can decide to give up the battle and remove the lot to the compost heap, but first consider what these plants still have to offer. Remove all pods from the plants and shell out any beans. Spread the beans out on a tray or large plate and leave them to dry on a sunny window ledge. It only takes a few days for beans to start to harden, but leave them long enough that the core is fully dried, too. Fully dried beans store well in screw-top jars and they make an excellent addition to soups and stews. Leave the bulbous roots of runner beans in the ground rather than pulling everything up. The roots will continue to fix nitrogen for a short while and a few may grow new shoots next year. Runner beans are tender perennials – in a sheltered place with a little warmth, some plants will crop very well in year two.
CARE FOR THE COMPOST HEAP There is plenty of plant material to put on the compost heap as beds are cleared. Remember to alternate layers with layers of cardboard or brown stemmy material. You should also add layers of manure or sprinkle in some urine or a compost activator. All of these will help to create a good balance for the heap to heat. It also makes sense to bag up any compost that has broken down to a brown and crumbly mix. This can be used as needed in the winter or it will be ready for when you start growing next spring. Bagging up in this way keeps lots of nutrients in the compost; it can also clear the space in a two-bin system for you to turn an unrotted heap. Use a fork and flip material from one bin to another – in doing so you add lots of air and can also add layers of manure, etc. Cover the turned heap
so it stays damp, but not waterlogged. Check from time to time and don’t let the contents dry out if you use a sealed bin. Compost heaps work more slowly in cold weather, but there will still be plenty of microbes and insects doing their work at different levels in the heap. www.kitchengarden.co.uk
■ There is still time to plant or sow a selection of salad crops that will be ready to harvest over the winter months, but hurry. ■ Keep harvesting crops such as lettuce, courgettes, beans, aubergines, peppers, spinach and herbs. ■ For an early crop of broad beans next year, sow the seeds now in the soil or pots. Dwarf varieties that grow to 45-60cm (18-23in) are ideal for growing under cover. ■ Start planting garlic directly into the borders to allow it time to establish a strong root system before winter. ■ Any tender vegetables that are growing outside in pots can be brought under cover for a little extra protection.
10 | OCTOBER 2019
WITH MARTIN FISH
ENJOY THE LAST TOMATOES OF THE SEASON If the weather is fair during October, the fruits of tomatoes will continue to ripen and in a mild autumn they may even carry on into November. My aim is to try and get the vast majority of the fruits to ripen by the end of October. One reason is because we’re not fans of green tomato chutney, but mainly because in November I like to have a tidy in the polytunnel. The secret to ripening the last of the fruits is to keep the atmosphere as warm and dry as possible. If cold and damp, they’ll stay green and rot. Keep the roots just moist, remove the last of the foliage and close doors and vents mid-afternoon to retain warmth. www.kitchengarden.co.uk
JOBS FOR THE MONTH
LAST CHANCE TO PLANT WINTER BRASSICAS There is just about time to plant some winter brassicas to give them time to establish before the weather really cools down. Young plants are best but if you haven’t grown any or can’t get hold of some, I’d still risk sowing a few seeds of leafy brassicas such as green and purple kale, which will produce tender leaves that can be used in winter salads and stir-fries. Young plants, however, will soon settle in and by the end of the year will be large enough to start picking from. The advantages of growing leafy brassicas this way is they are protected from extreme weather and pests such as pigeons and rabbits, which can be a real problem in the garden.
■ As squashes and cucumbers finish, it’s a good idea to clear them out straightaway and add the long growth to the compost heap. This not only helps with the autumn clear-up, it helps prevent fungal diseases developing and gets rid of any aphids and other pests.
FLORENCE FENNEL READY TO HARVEST
FINISH PICKING GRAPES
Florence fennel is an interesting vegetable to grow. The leaves can be eaten in salads and the swollen base works well when cooked with a cheese or herby sauce. To grow well it likes plenty of warmth and moisture with no checks in growth. I find that sowing early in the season often results in the plants bolting, so I hold back and sow in July for an autumn crop. Seed can be sown directly into the soil, but I prefer to raise plants in cell trays. If well watered as they grow, by now they should have produced a swollen base ready to harvest. I grow the variety ‘Amigo’, which has slightly flattened bulbs and is bolt resistant.
A polytunnel or greenhouse provides the ideal growing conditions for grape vines, especially if you are growing dessert varieties that need a longer growing season. Even without any artificial heat, the extra protection extends the growing season at both ends of the year, allowing the bunches to develop and ripen. In my greenhouse I grow a ‘strawberry’ vine (Vitis ‘Fragola’), which has deep pink fruits with the flavour of strawberries! We start to pick as they ripen in September, but they hold well on the vine into October and with age get much sweeter. The last of the crop is usually juiced, which is delicious, but one year I’m going to have a go at making wine from them!
AUTUMN FRENCH BEANS
Freshly picked French beans are delicious and although plants growing in the garden have finished by now, we can still enjoy them from the polytunnel. July sown seed will grow quickly and pods will be ready to pick from late September and through October, and if you are really lucky, you may even get some in November, weather permitting. Dwarf varieties such as ‘Safari’, ‘Ferrari’ or ‘Tendergreen’ are ideal because they don’t take up as much space and you can grow them directly into the soil or in containers. If you grow an early crop as well, it means you can enjoy freshly picked beans for around six months of the year from the garden and polytunnel. www.kitchengarden.co.uk
■ If you still have peppers growing, cut back on watering so that the compost is just moist and keep the leaves dry, otherwise grey mould can be a problem on the plants and fruits. ■ We can often get windy weather in October, so make sure doors, windows and vents are secured to prevent damage to the structure. If you do need to ventilate, where possible do it from the leeward side to reduce wind buffeting into the greenhouse or polytunnel. ■ Make sure you keep on top of weeding as many weeds are over-wintering host plants for a range of garden pests and diseases. Regular weeding also stops seeds developing and adding to the problem in the future. ■ As you gradually start to empty out pots and containers, brush off loose compost and keep them all together so that you can give them all a wash in the winter when you have more time.
OCTOBER 2019 | 11
YOU
YOUR PLOT
ALL THE LATEST NEWS, PRODUCTS & FACTS FROM THE WORLD OF KITCHEN GARDENING
NEW SWEET PEA COLLECTION Sweet peas have been grown at Easton Walled Gardens, near Grantham, for more than 100 years and now a collection of seeds containing the best heritage, scented and modern varieties can be purchased online or direct from the Easton Walled Gardens shop. Decorated in a pattern designed by the garden’s owner, Ursula Cholmeley, The Easton Collection is available in fully recyclable tins which reflect colours found in arts and crafts motifs of the Edwardian era. To purchase online go to: www.visiteaston.co.uk/shop
PATIO PERFECT Seeds of a new tomato variety produced by avid tomato breeder, Simon Crawford, are now available from Pennard Plants. ‘Veranda Red’ is a dwarf variety producing cherry tomatoes, and is ideal for smaller patio pots. As a compact bush variety it requires no supports or the removal of side shoots and has good resistance to disease, including blight. Simon Crawford has been working on this concept since breeding ‘Red Alert’, which was introduced in 1983, and ‘Tumbler’ in 1990. He said: “This is a significant breakthrough in adding flavour to this class of dwarf bush tomatoes. I am pleased with the outcome and hope that gardeners will enjoy this variety during the coming
NASA scientists are currently planning to send chilli plants up to the International Space Station – these will be the first fruiting plants to be grown there, following on from lettuce, Chinese cabbage, mizuna and red Russian kale. Chillies were chosen because plants need to be easily pollinated and be able to function in a high carbon dioxide environment. The variety that has been chosen is ‘Española’, a chilli developed in New Mexico in the 1980s and which is grown at high altitudes.
years.” Seeds are available from www.pennardplants.
com (search under Seeds – Heritage and Heirloom).
DO YOU HAVE SOME HOT STORIES FOR OUR NEWS PAGES? SEND THEM TO TFLANAGAN@MORTONS.CO.UK 12 | OCTOBER 2019
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WHAT’S NEW?
ARE ALLOTMENTS THE FUTURE? Should the UK leave the EU, bringing people back on to the land and reorienting subsidies to small-scale, sustainable farming could help solve the current environmental crisis, says a new briefing paper from the Food Research Collaboration. The paper, written by Professor Dave Goulson at the University of Sussex, points out that allotments can produce abundant food while supporting a healthy, biodiverse environment, showing that the two need not be mutually exclusive. The paper argues that getting more people involved in small-scale farming, primarily aimed at growing mixed fruit and vegetables for local consumption, would not only enable people to eat healthy food with minimal packaging, but it would also provide a route into employment in a time
Hundreds of school children from across the South East took part in a ‘Grow Your Own Chips’ competition run by Squires Garden Centres. Back in March the teams at Squires showed them how to plant their own pot of potatoes and how to look after them. Then in July the children went back to their local
when more and more jobs are becoming redundant due to automation. For more on this visit: https://foodresearch.org.uk
The UK’s biggest vegan festival VegfestUK makes its return to the Olympia London for the seventh consecutive year on October 26-27. There will be talks on a variety of subjects such as health, veganic growing, fitness and environment, alongside cookery demos, a living raw zone, a children’s area, and a free gifts stall, with more to be announced. It is anticipated the festival will play host to 325 exhibitors and 200 speakers, plus a multitude of new products and special offers. For more information and tickets visit: www.london.vegfest.co.uk
Pupils from St Mary’s School, Frensham, at the weigh-in
Squires centre to get their potatoes weighed, and find out who had grown the most.
Once the weigh-in had taken place, all their potatoes were turned into chips in Squires Cafe Bar.
TASTE OF AUTUMN, RHS GARDEN, HYDE HALL October 4-6: Celebrate delicious regional produce and the RHS Harvest Festival Show, including the Autumn Fruit and Vegetable, Giant Pumpkin and Autumn Ornamental Plant competitions. www.rhs.org.uk/hyde-hall APPLE FESTIVAL, RHS GARDEN ROSEMOOR October 5-6: A great day out for all the family, with Morris dancing, folk music, storytelling and a cider bar, plus apple displays, identification, tasting, tips and talks, children’s activities and trails. www.rhs.org.uk/rosemoor TASTE OF AUTUMN, RHS GARDEN WISLEY October 16-20: Discover the garden’s almost 700-strong collection of apples, with apple www.kitchengarden.co.uk
VEGFEST 2019
tasting, identification and pressing, plus local artisan food and drink products to buy. www. rhs.org.uk/wisley FAMILY PUMPKIN CARVING WORKSHOPS, RHS GARDEN ROSEMOOR October 25-27: Join in with singalong activities and pumpkin carving with loveable Halloween characters Fizz the witch and Jack O’Lantern. www.rhs.org.uk/rosemoor
What is the best way of watering your hanging baskets? Well, the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) is about to find out. The charity’s garden water scientist has been trialling 10 different watering techniques between July and September at its John MacLeod Field Research Facility, close to RHS Garden Wisley. The trial includes the use of four drip irrigation systems, two sub-irrigation systems where water from a watering can is delivered to the roots instead of the soil surface, and four manual watering methods, including with and without run-off captured and reapplied. Though the trial is using petunias as the plant in focus, the results, which are due to be released in October, will no doubt have implications for those who grow fruit and veg in hanging baskets.
OCTOBER 2019 | 13
YOU
YOUR PLOT
THE ‘TOGETHER GARDEN’ I work for Creative Support, a national not-for-profit organisation supporting a range of people, including those with a learning disability, mental health issues and older people. I’m a keen gardener and earlier this year I set up a project at Webb Lane Allotments, near our head office in Stockport, for the people we support. We have four raised beds and are hoping we may get another plot next year. The welcome we’ve received from the
other allotment holders has been heart-warming. They’ve given us plants and planters, helped us dig the beds, cut back the hedge and are always around for a chat and helpful advice. Brian has been along to every session. His enthusiasm is infectious and has decided to call our plot ‘The Together Garden’. I think that’s a great name for the safe, inclusive, community space the allotment is fast becoming. Sally Wheatman, Stockport
Sally (left), Brian (centre) and support worker Ian (right)
CONTACT US WITH YOUR LETTERS AND TIPS: TFLANAGAN@MORTONS.CO.UK
SWEETCORN WITH A LOT OF BOTTLE! Like many of your readers I recycle many of the plastic containers I accumulate, but I find plastic drinks bottles hard to cut up. I’ve found the answer with milk bottles, which are very easy to cut with a sturdy pair of scissors. Here they are protecting tiny sweetcorn plants on my exposed allotment site. Earlier in the season they helped my brassica plants to cope with the wind. With just the bottom cut off they are great for directing the water for the cucurbits straight to the roots, and an old bit of cane keeps them in place and marks the spot for when the plants grow large. Irene Davies, Ashford
TONY SAYS: Yet another good recycling idea, Irene. I had something pecking at my sweetcorn this year so I shall bear your tip in mind next time round.
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 | OCTOBER 2019
PURPLE PALACE I have recently been fortunate enough to acquire a second-hand aluminium greenhouse which we painstakingly dismantled, moved and rebuilt. It was a little tired-looking so I decided to give it a good clean with wire wool and with a coat of paint it turned out beautifully. The result – not a ‘green’ house but a ‘lavender’ house. The previous owner and many of our neighbours loved it and all were so impressed with our upcycled purple palace! Diane Rafferty, Dumfries TONY SAYS: What a beauty! Fit for a gardening queen indeed! When do you move in?
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
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 XXX
HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW?
This is my first full season and I’ve been enjoying the fruits of my labour. My grandson Adam pulled his first carrots in the summer that he seeded a few months ago. I’ve been eating spinach all winter, lettuce since spring along with radish and spring onions aplenty. Now my peas are almost ready, we have been picking broad beans and mangetout daily and wait eagerly for toms and cucumbers. I’m experimenting with cucamelons, which are fast taking over the greenhouse. As a disabled gardener it’s so helpful having a little helper to plant my seeds and do a lot of the more difficult tasks and I’ve enclosed a picture of him with tonight’s pickings. Mark Boss, via email TONY SAYS: Well, that looks like a cracking harvest Mark, and what a helper! Every plot should have one!
EDITORIAL Tel 01507 529396, Fax 01507 371075 EDITOR: Steve Ott, sott@mortons.co.uk DEPUTY EDITOR: Emma Rawlings,
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WONDER WEED
I loved the foraging article on eating weeds by Wendy Pillar (August issue). However, there is one weed that was, in my opinion, far nicer than dandelion and nettle and yet also prolific around. It was so nice I dug up my perpetual spinach which had gone to seed anyway and am replacing with lamb’s quarters, or fat hen as it is also known. Busy weeding after the rainfall during May and easily pulling up unwanted weeds, I noticed one which looked familiar and which I felt sure was edible. They were growing in just about every part of the plot. I picked enough tops to make up a veg with our dinner and cooked it lightly like spinach, dressed simply with a knob of butter: it was delicious, tender, non-bitter and my husband, who isn’t keen on spinach, loved it! Jane Jones, Cheshire TONY SAYS: I’ve never tried this Jane but you’ve inspired me now to go and look for it on my plot and give it a try!
PEAR PROBLEM JEFF64: For three years now I have only had a couple of pears on the tree after blossoming, plenty of blossom and plenty of fruit but it all falls off. Can anyone tell me why? The tree is about five years old. GEOFF: At five years old it is on the borderline of when you would expect a pear to bear fruit, I think four to six years is often quoted. ‘Conference’ is one of the pears that is usually listed as self fertile but does better if there is another pollinating variety nearby. KG STEVE: Your tree is still young and you wouldn’t expect large crops for a few years yet. Hopefully, it will gradually build up as the tree matures. As Geoff says, it will set fruit on its own, but would be better with a partner to aid pollination. Mine is a lone tree and while it usually sets well, some of the fruit is a bit misshapen due to incomplete pollination. I might treat it to a friend in the autumn.
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OCTOBER 2019 | 15
YOUTU B UR
When harvesting cabbages, cut at the base rather than uproot. Cut a cross in the stem to stimulate a further growth of leaves
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SURPRISE SQUASH This year Steve has been experimenting with various cucumbers and a new courgette and brought the first fruit along to the KG plot. Two were heritage Italian melon cucumbers from Seeds of Italy that Steve was inspired to grow after regular KG writer Sally Cunningham wrote about them in KG back in July. Another was a horned melon from plants that Tony had sown in the spring. And, finally, a striking new and exclusive courgette called ‘Summer Holiday’ from Mr Fothergill’s. The two melon cues, the round ‘Carosello Tondo di Manduria’ and
16 | OCTOBER 2019
long-fruited ‘Tortorello Barese’ were a hit for their great flavour, which Steve says makes them preferable to most standard F1 cues. The courgette which is round and ideal for stuffing was also flavoursome with a nice hint of citrus. The conker-like horned melon (also called jelly melon or horned cucumber) was also a surprise; the hard spines on the outside means that it needs careful handling, but the strong, tangy flavoured flesh, reminiscent of a pomegranate in texture, made it worth the prickling the Muddies received from it.
CALLING THE RED ARMY I’ve been growing some different cucumbers this year – Italian heritage melon cucumbers. Early on there were signs of powdery mildew but I seemed to get over that by picking off the leaves as soon as they were seen and taking care not to wet the leaves more than necessary. However, it wasn’t long before a new menace struck – red spider mite. Despite their size this pest can quickly sap the plant’s energy and reduce crops and quality, yet cucumbers are sensitive to many sprays. So I decided to call in some help in the form of a predator, Phytosieulus persimilis. This little fast-moving red mite comes by post as adults in an inert carrier – 1000 per tube – and is simply sprinkled over the leaves where they soon spread out in search of their tiny prey. Happy huntingg I say! y
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