Kitchen Garden January 2017 preview

STARTGROWINGVEG 16 PAGES OF ESSENTIAL ADVICE

ONION & GARLIC BULBS

worth over

£8

WWW.KITCHENGARDEN.CO.UK | JANUARY 2017

DOWN-TO-EARTH ADVICE FOR GROWING FRUIT & VEG

Love your weeds

WE SHOW YOU WHY

Rotate your crops Grow tasty heritage spuds Try 41 new fruit and veg Tips for beginners

REVELIN REVEL IN REDCURRANTS with our 3-page guide

FEED THE

BIRDS CELERIAC TOP TIPS

VEG TO SOW NOW

NEW YEAR NEW RECIPES

GREAT READER OFFERS  RAISED BEDS ON TEST  MAKE A GARDEN LINE  SUCCEED WITH LEEKS

CONTENTS

EXPERT ADVICE TO HELP YOU GROW GREAT FRUIT AND VEGETABLES

10

24

✪ ON THE COVER

YOU

@GrowWithKG

YOUR PLOT

6 ON THE VEG PATCH

KitchenGardenUK KitchenGardenMag /kitchengardenmagazine FOR OUR CONTACT DETAILS TURN TO PAGE 15

Harvest kale, sow onion seeds, buy seed potatoes, check stored produce, prune fruit bushes, sort netting and fleece

10 IN THE GREENHOUSE

Chit potatoes, sow khol rabi, protect crops from the cold, harvest salad leaves, hunt down pests and diseases, clean greenhouse glass, invest in a mini greenhouse, plant greenhouse fruit

12 WHAT’S NEW?

62

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

NEVER MISS AN ISSUE...

20 QUESTION TIME

£20

ON PAGE 22 HAVING TROUBLE FINDING A COPY OF THIS MAGAZINE? Just Ask your local newsagent to reserve you a copy each month

4 | JANUARY 2017

Regular Gardeners’ Question Time panellists Bob Flowerdew and Anne Swithinbank answer your fruit and veg growing conundrums

24 BRITAIN’S MOST PASSIONATE PLOTTERS

Meet more of the winners in our annual competition to find Britain’s keenest fruit and veg gardeners

94 DIARY DATES

Great things to do and see this month

95 LAST WORD WITH THE KG FORUM

We dip into the wealth of knowledge to be found on the KG forum. This month the topic of discussion is whether supermarket garlic is suitable for planting

98 NEXT MONTH

Some highlights to be found in your February issue plus details of great free gifts

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JANUARY 2017

90 RECIPES

Scan this, and we’ll tell you!

✪ More great recipes from

our resident chef Anna Pettigrew to help you make the most of your seasonal veg

Pg 90

54 80

40 GET GROWING 16 ON THE PLOT WITH THE THREE MUDKETEERS

Learn what the KG team have been up to this month and pick up some great top tips

28 MAKE IT! A GARDEN LINE ✪

KG editor Steve Ott explains how to make a simple gadget to keep your sowing and planting on the straight and narrow

30 GET INTO HERITAGE… POTATOES ✪

In the first of his new series Rob Smith reveals his favourite heritage potatoes for flavour

34 TAKING CARE OF THE FUTURE AT EMR

Gardening expert and former head gardener at Ryton Organic Gardens, Sue Stickland visits East Malling Research in Kent – home of British fruit breeding

40 VEG AT A GLANCE – LEEKS ✪

KG’s Tony Flanagan offers his advice on getting the best out of this winter favourite

44 IN FROM THE COLD ✪

Keen veg grower Ben Vanheems explains how you can get an early start and offers some ideas for January sowings www.kitchengarden.co.uk

49 TIME TO TRY SOMETHING NEW KG editor Steve Ott selects his favourite new varieties from the 2017 catalogues ✪

54 LIVING WITH WEEDS ✪

Organic gardening expert and author John Walker encourages us to take a fresh look at weeds and to see the many positive things they can bring to our plots

58 A BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO CELERIAC ✪

Gardening guru Anne Swithinbank explains how to get the best from this tasty winter root

62 AT A GLANCE…REDCURRANTS

A KG pocket guide to growing these jewels of the fruit garden ✪

66 KEEP THOSE CROPS MOVING ✪ Joyce Russell explains why crop rotation is important and offers some tips on planning your own sowings

70 GROWING ONLINE

Our roundup of the best from the world of online gardening

71 NEW VARIETY ON TEST

Read our verdict on summer squash ‘Honey Boat’ from D T Brown

74 FEED THE BIRDS ✪

Advice from the UK’s leading bird charity to keep your garden birds fed this winter

WHAT TO BUY 61 WIN WOODBLOCX RAISED BED VOUCHERS WORTH £500!

Raised beds, boxes and planters – easy to assemble and come with a 15-year guarantee

78 READER OFFERS ✪

Claim your free onion and garlic bulbs worth £8.70 plus save on top yielding and blight-free potato collections

80 TRIED AND TESTED ✪

This month the KG team has been going up in the world by testing raised beds. Discover our best buys

84 GIVEAWAYS WORTH OVER £1457

Our giveaways this month include a great package of goodies courtesy of the Organic Gardening Catalogue and Mary Anne Rogers, tool kits from Wilkinson Sword, handy What Knot cargo nets and Johnsons seed tin collections

86 GARDEN STORE

News of the best new products and services to reach the KG offices this month

88 KG INSTANT SAVERS

Save up to 20% on a range of great gardening products with our exclusive deals

89 WIN A FANTASTIC PIZZA OVEN WORTH MORE THAN £250 JANUARY 2017 | 5

Illustrations: Let’s Face It

When you've finished with your Christmas tree you could shred it and add it to the compos compost heap, or spread the pine needles around the base of your blu ueberries to inccrease the ac cidity of tthe soil

“All for onions and onions for all”

The KG team offer chat, tips and gardening gossip

3 Mudketeers NEW YEAR, NEW FRUIT AND VEG

RIDDLE ME THAT

DIGITAL K IN

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THE DYNAMIC DIGGER

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H Having always grown sstandard shaped cucumbers, tthis year I thought I would Each year, the Mudketeers ttry a round variety called like to try something new, ‘‘Crystal Apple’. Veg that either something they haven’t doesn’t look like what it’s d grown before or a new su upposed to always intrigues me. Also variety. So what are their it’s a great ‘riddle me that’ for unsuspecting plans for 2017? friend ds and family: “What’s the size of a small apple, lo ooks like a melon and tastes sweet and juicy? juicy?” Thi This is when you get very excited about the mystery crop you are presenting and they – unless they are really into their veg – feign interest and even surprise when you reveal that it’s actually a cucumber!

‘Crystal Apple’ is a heritage variety dating back to EE MOR Australia in the early 20th century and is supposed to +S E G be very prolific. It’s a ridge cucumber type producing both male and female flowers (you leave the male flowers on). I intend to grow it outside, though it can be grown undercover if preferred, and as it has a rambling habit I’ll train it up a frame or trellis where it will no doubt become the ‘Crystal Apple’ of my eye.

(Sorry, couldn’t resist.)

The Mudketeers are always keen to try out something new, so how about this Kikka Digga, a digging attachment tool for spade and forks? It is designed to make digging less strenuous and spare the pressure on your back at the same time. It is quick and easy to attach. Instead of placing your foot on the shoulder of the spade or fork you place it on the specially designed footplate which pivots upward as you dig. Tony had the first go but sometimes forgot to place his foot on the footplate – much to Steve’s amusement. Emma found it quite easy to use and got quite a good rhythm going. It works by lifting and the soil loosens and breaks up, the blade is not twisted or turned. This is great if you have good loamy soil. Your technique might need adapting if you had a heavy clay soil. For more information go to kikkadigga.com. Available from eBay, Amazon or email info@kikkadigga. com. Price around £20.99.

www.kitchengarden.co.uk

YOU

YOUR PLOT

GET IN TOUCH by post, email or via our Facebook page:

QUESTION TIME GOT A FRUIT OR VEG PROBLEM? ASK KG FOR HELP

RAISINGTHEBED I have a wonderful raised bed I made out of railway sleepers. Could you please tell me what I do about soil for the coming season?

Do I add compost or could I mix in a grow bag?

I want to again grow dwarf beans, carrots, lettuce and leeks.

Sue Costar, Oxford

WITH BobFlowerdew& AnneSwithinbank KG EXPERTS & REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS TO RADIO 4’S GARDENERS’ QUESTION TIME

ANNE SAYS: You’ve already filled the bed and grown the above crops in there but need to know how to rejuvenate the soil between crops. I would treat the beds like no-dig ground and top-dress them with a minimum 9cm (3in) layer of well-rotted garden compost or manure during autumn or winter (but add it between and around crops too!) This adds structure, microbes and nutrients to the soil or compost and will help with moisture retention and root growth. If possible, dig out half the bed every three to four years, loosen soil in the base and top up with half soil and half good garden compost/growing bag mix. Supplementary feeding might be needed but your crops will

My problem is my onions. When I get to using them in the kitchen, the centre is always rotten – I grow from seeds and sets. To dry them I wait till the tops drop down, lift from soil and then dry them on staging out of the greenhouse. They look super and feel firm but when cut the centres are rotten.

Alan Cunningham, Leicestershire

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★ STAR ★

QUESTION WINS £25 VOUCHER

SWEET PEPPERS FEELING THE HEAT T

ROTTEN CENTRES

BOB SAYS: This is surprisingly common with shop-bought onions and usually worst in white/yellow varieties than red, particularly where late applications of fertiliser (after early June) or the season has caused the bulbs to continue or restart growing after a check or slowdown earlier on. It is most often found in those that produce a fat neck which itself can be caused by too deep planting – ideally onions are sat on top of the ground. Dressings of

art tell you that. Why not sta a wormery and use their rich compost and ‘tea’ as extra nourishment?

Treat your bed like a mini-allotment and practise crop rotation to avoid the build-up of pests and diseases.

Can you please tell me what happened to my m sweet peppers last year: under-watering g or too much sun?

Alan Keys,, Barrow in Furness

wood ash earlier in the season may decrease the incidence as will more aggressive drying with perhaps additional heat. Obviously, use up thick-necked onions first and only store those with thin shrivelled tops.

BOB SAYS: These are most often no more than scalded tissue caused by sudden increases in strong sunlight, especially where this is falling on damp or wet patches, though occasionally casionally they occur where slugs have been active. Certainly better growing conditions make for blockier walls and those fruits become less prone to this damage which seems to happen most often when growth is slow and the walls thinner than is desirable. Peppers are more damaged by over- than under-watering and their roots do not like to be hot either. Do not use black plastic pots in full sun without providing a foil reflector or similar. www.kitchengarden.co.uk

ASIMPLE GARDEN LINE

In the latest of our easy projects KG editor Steve Ott shows you how to make a handy garden line

A It is important that the drill is held as straight as possible. If (like me) you are not great at this you could use a drill stand if you have one or hold a spirit level or square block of wood next to the drill as a guide to help you.

garden line is an essential piece of kit for the vegetable plotter, being perfect for ensuring your lines of seeds and young plants are straight and well spaced. This garden line may not be elegant but it is very easy to make, requiring few DIY skills or tools. It can be made from reclaimed wood or wood that you may have lying around already, but in case you need to buy it from scratch I have given an indication of the cost.

If you don’t have the necessary screws the timber can all be glued together. You will need a 14mm wood drill (or one a little larger than the dowelling you have selected) to make the hole through the wooden block.

The wooden dowel on which the block spins passes through this. You will also need a 3mm bit to make the holes for the cotter pins and to secure the string to the stake.

KITCHENGARDEN

GROWINGGUIDE SOW:

January-April

HARVEST: AugustMarch

LEEKS If you’re looking for a crop that gives good value, look no further than the humble leek, says Tony Flanagan

GROWING ADVICE

If you find the roots of the young plants are quite long when you come to plant them, it’s fine to trim them a little so that they fit in the hole better.

Easy to maintain and available when fresh veg is relatively scarce, this member of the onion family is definitely one to make space for on the veg patch. With successional growing it is possible to have leeks available almost all year round Leeks also offer amazing versatility in round. the kitchen, b bringing their distinctive flavour to soupss, stews, sauces, savoury tarts, pastass, risottos and roasts.

SO OWING

L Leeks can be sown outdoors in March-April in a prepared seed M bed but it’s probably better b tto start them off in seed trays or modular cell trays indoors, o JJanuary-February.

Fill trays with multi-purpose com mpost and then sow the leek seeds thinlyy. Cover with about 1cm (½in) of fine compost and then water in gently.

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Celeriac might not be the handsomest of plants nor the most popular but it is relatively easy to grow and fairly problem free. So why not give it a go? Gardening expert Anne Swithinbank shows you how

A

round 15 years ago I was sitting on the panel of Gardeners’ Question Time along with two colleagues and the questioner asked why their crop of celeriac had failed. In quick succession, all three of us were forced to admit that we’d never grown it, though we were able to give some clues.

Needless to say, we diligently added it to our seed lists for the following year and I’ve been growing this useful veg ever since. Botanically, celeriac (Apium graveolens var.rapaceum) is a close cousin to celery (Apium graveolens var.dulce) but instead of eating the stalk, we are after the crisp white flesh to be found inside the swollen root (more strictly a stem). For some reason, celeriac has not been widely popular in the UK, yet it is not difficult to grow in our climate once you get the hang of it. By comparison to celery, it is hardier and easy to keep for winter use, less attractive to pests and diseases and there are no issues with stringiness. I know which I’d rather grow.

With common names like turnip-rooted celery and knob celery, we are not expecting a thing of beauty but the crop looks good on the plot. Celery-like foliage reaching to 30cm (12in) bursts from the crown of a rounded root just above the surface of the soil. This is a biennial, 58 | JANUARY 2017

so if left unharvested, the plant would send up a flower stalk in its second year. Much growing and swelling takes place in the autumn, so it pays to wait and begin lifting only in November.

What comes up is a pale, more or less roundtopped but rugged root with many fleshy roots squiggling out from the base like a troll’s beard.

LONG GROWING SEASON

Of Mediterranean origin, celeriac earns itself a mention, as selinon, in Homer’s Odyssey in 800BC but did not become a widespread crop until the Middle Ages. By the end of the 17th century it was widely grown throughout Europe and was introduced to Britain in the early 18th century, yet failed to persist as a favourite . The roots need a long growing season to develop, yet if you start plants too early and expose them to cold weather, they often respond by bolting, or running up to seed prematurely, before a sizeable root has formed. Growing celeriac was probably quite easy in the walled kitchen gardens of great estates, well equipped with glasshouses and staff. After their demise, struggling to raise this crop on an allotment with no glass during a spate of cold springs could

have been tricky and I can understand why my grandfathers weren’t growing it. Celeriac can survive droughts but won’t make much root unless given plenty of irrigation, again a problem on some allotments.

Most of us have probably eaten celeriac in celerie remoulade, a coleslaw-like treat for which the root is peeled, grated, marinated in lemon juice and combined with a mayonnaiselike dressing. The finely grated strands have an appetising texture and delicious flavour. There are many ways of cooking the root but the simplest is to cut chunks into soups and stews where it imparts a mellow flavour.

Celeriac contains only 14 calories per 100g and is a good source of dietary fibre. However, it is a diuretic, so pregnant women and anyone with a kidney disorder should eat it in small quantities.

www.kitchengarden.co.uk

kg practical gardeningadvice

KEEP THOSE CROPS MOVING

Circulating your crops from bed to bed, or crop rotation, is a valuable technique for reducing pest and disease problems that can seem a little daunting at first. Gardening expert Joyce Russell has some advice to make it simple Photos: Ben Russell

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here are many tips and tricks involved in maintaining a productive vegetable garden and more again for growing healthy plants year after year. Pests can build up, and soil structure plus nutrient balance will change over time, so the great crops of year one may be less great in years three and four. Crop rotation isn’t really a tip or a trick, but it is an important principle that all growers should know about. If used well, this principle can keep vegetable plots healthy through decades of cultivation.

Hats off to the gardeners who know this already, and here’s a bit of help for those who still want to learn.

Use dividers if it helps to give a clearer planting picture

WHAT TO BUY | RAISED BED KITS

PRODUCT REVIEWS

RAISEDBEDKITS

This Rowlinson multi-purpose raised bed has a natural timber finish and comes flat packed ready to assemble. It has been pressure treated to protect against rot and is guaranteed for 15 years. Dimensions: H: 1.2m (47in) W: 1.2m (47in) D: 0.3m (12in).

W M JAMES PRODUCT CODE: BX/DC WJ/BED-SAND PRICE: £60.90 www.wmjames.co.uk 80 | JANUARY 2017

RE MO IN

W M JAMES RAISED BED

&

D

GITA

If you don’t want to grow fruit and veg on a grand scale, raised beds are a great option and there are lots of kits on the market to get you growing straight away. Here are a few the KG team tried out

This was really quick and easy to assemble, just a matter of slotting the boards together.

The only tool needed is a screwdriver to attach the top boards. Good quality timber, good depth, suitable for a range of plants and a very attractive rustic effect overall.

Quality Durability Value for money

★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★

www.kitchengarden.co.uk

GET COOKING COOKING! Join Anna Pettigrew and welcome in the New Yearr with these January kitchen corkers, featuring carrotss, potatoes, spinach and savoy cabbage

Great for a light supper!

HARVEST FRESH FRUIT & VEG FROM YOUR GARDEN & PATIO!

Guide for beginner gardeners on growing their own food

When to begin What to grow first How to take those first steps to sowing

POTS OR PLOT PLOT? Your choice

FREE ONLY WITH

GROUND PREPARATION ✪ SOWING SIMPLE SALADS IN POTS ✪ LAWN TO LEEKS IN WEEKS ✪ GETTING AN ALLOTMENT ✪