TOMATOES
Fe atured cropsfor April ed s for
April is suchawonderful month in the garden and the time when keen and casual gardeners alike get outside and get stuckin, encouraged by longer days and,wehope, plenty of sunshine. But even if the weather lets us down we surely can’t help but be enthused by seeing things growing all around us, making the temptationto start sowing irresistible. Thisissue is packedwith ideas and inspirationto make youwant to get outside and start sowing the seeds that will fill your plot and yourlarder with lovely fresh vegetables this summer.Wehavegrowing guides for tomatoes, cauliflowers, asparagus, courgettes, broccoli, thyme and rhubarb. We also reveal the latest news on blight-resistant potatoes. You’ll find great money-saving offersonasparagus crowns, strawberry plants, cauliflower and tomato seeds, potting compost and plug plants, plus great prizes to win in our giveaways and even moresavings forsubscribers on our Garden Storepages.
Organic gardening experts Anton Rosenfeld and BeckySearle areheretooffer some great adviceonincreasing biodiversity in yoursoiland garden, enlisting nature’shelp to improve your harvests and reduce pests. Still on the theme of pest control, we bringyou around-up of some of thebest crop protection products that canhelp to ensureyou’ll enjoy moreof your tasty home-grownfood.
YOU YOUR PLOT
6 JOBS FORTHE MONTH
In the garden this month Stephanie Hafferty is growing potatoes under polythene, starting offcourgettes and other squashes and sowing companion plants
14 WHAT’S NEW?
Catch up on the latest news, events, and advice from the worldofkitchen gardening
16 YOUR LETTERS AND TIPS
KG readers sharetheir experiences andoffer their toptips for better crops
18 QUESTION TIME
Our team of experts answer your urgent gardening questions
24 KG TOP PLOTTER
We visit our runners-up Umar Yousef from Wales and ConnorLambert from Lancashire
56 NEXT MONTH
Highlights and news of your great free gifts for May
96 LAST WORD
We start our new bi-monthly series on the restoration of the
GET GROWING
12 ON THE PLOT WITH THE THREE MUDKETEERS
Join the team in their gardens as they plant redonions, sow parsnips andgrowthyme
30 MAKE YOUR OWN POTTING COMPOST ✪
Gardening expert Martin Fish offerssome great tips on creating your own compost mixes
33 BEYOND THE PLOT… CAULIFLOWERS ✪
Seed guardian Rob Smith looks at different ways of preserving your harvests
37 TOP TOMATOES EVERYTIME! ✪
Benedict Vanheems offers some growing advice to get your best harvest
42 GARDENING FOR RECOVERY
We talk to Rachel Green from Bridewell Gardens in Oxfordshire, which offers therapeutic activities for those in need of mental health support
46 SPRING FORAGING ✪
Jill Fish picks out three of her favourite plants to forage to make pesto and tworefreshing cordials
50 LARGO WALLED GARDEN –A NEW BEGINNING
Anna Cairns Pettigrew visits an historic estate in Fife whereits disused walled gardenis being brought back into productivity
Delicious recipes featuring rhubarb, asparagus and pak choi ✪ Pg 92
54 HOW DO IKNOW IF IHAVEA HEALTHY SOIL? ✪
GardenOrganic’sAnton Rosenfeld explains whatmakes ahealthy soil
Scan this and we’lltellyou! 58 92
58 HOW TO GROW ASPARAGUS ✪
Plus reader offer of asparagus crowns from Pomona Fruits
61 TRYMARVELLOUS MAINCROPS ✪
KG Deputy EditorEmma Rawlingslooksat growing maincrop potatoes and suggests some blight resistant varieties
64 ACHANGE IN PERSPECTIVE
Ecologist,authorand gardener Becky Searle explains howa smallchange inour attitude to pests can lead to better crops and help to supportwildlife
70 GIVE IT AGROW
In this except from her new book Martha Swales gives adviceongrowing cropsina cold frame
72 HERB OF THE MONTH ✪
This monthwetake alook at the fragrantand prettyherb thyme
75 ROOTING FOR RHUBARB ✪
David Patch looks at the history of rhubarb and explains how to grow it well
WHATTOBUY
59 SAVE £8 ON ASPARAGUS!
79 PRODUCT REVIEWS
This month we look at products to help protect against pests and the weather
82 SOW NOW…
Some growing tips for courgettes, broccoli and cauliflower ‘Romanesco’
84 MONEY-SAVING OFFERS ✪
Claim 20% offtomato and cauliflower seeds, plus save on strawberry plants and more
86 GIVEAWAYSWORTH £1449
Win prizes fromBritain's leading suppliers
89 GIVEAWAY COUPONPLUS SEED SUPPLIERS
90 GARDENSTORE PLUS SUBSCRIBERSAVERS
Achance for KG subscribers to take advantage of some exclusive offers!
FO RA PR IL
STEPHANIE HAFFERTY OUTLINESTHE ESSENTIAL TASKS FOR YOUR VEG PATCHAND PROTECTED CROPS
CUT ASPARAGUS
Asparagus season is such a joy.This delicious seasonal veg with ashort cropping period is harvested by cutting at ground level with asharp knife
PLANT POTATOES
Finish planting potatoes, including maincrop. Cover with alayer of compost, adding grass clippings as amulch to help keep in moistureifthe spring is warm and dry
SUPPORT
PEAS
Cut sticks to support peas as they grow.A strong framework pushed firmly into the ground can help to protect peas from very windy weather
EDGE BEDS
Maintain veg beds adjacent to grassy areas with a sharp spade or half-moon edger and remove any grass or weeds that are trying to sneak in
KE EP PLA NTIN G AN DH AR VE STI NG
Asthe days get warmer and brighter spring is in full swing in the kitchen garden. It’s abusy and optimistic time keeping up with all the sowing, pricking out, planting and harvesting. It’sexciting to be looking forwardtoa bountiful summer after the long winter months.
It’stime to enjoy the bright, fresh flavours of earlysowings of radish, lettuce and pea shoots. Keep harvesting overwintered cropsincluding brassicas, leeks and kale. Leave some to go to flower to feed pollinators and also attract beneficial predators. Cut any crops that have finished at ground level, leaving the roots in the soil(this feeds the soil life) and chop up with aspade into small pieces, beforeadding to the compost heap.
SEP BY SEP
CLEAR GROUND USING POTATOES AND POLYTHENE
STEP 1: Growing potatoes through polythene is asimple and thrifty wayto clear ground to make anew veg bed. Cut the grass and weeds back, then placea seed potato every 30cm (12in) in rows across the area to be cleared. Place a small amount of compost on top of each potato. If you don’twant to grow spuds this also works with squash.
STEP 2: Once youhave done that, cover with asheet of oldblack polythene –old compost sacks cut open can be reused for this purpose. Secureitwithheavy weights such as large stones. Next carefully cuta cross shaped hole on the top of each little mound for the potatoes to grow through. This also lets rainwater through to the potatoes beneath.
STEP 3: The potato foliage will grow over the polythene, making the area look moreattractive. As the spuds grow the polythene kills offthe weedy grass while also keeping light offthe tubers. When it is time to harvest remove the foliage then pull back the polythene. Once the potatoes areout the bed will be ready for planting other crops.
■ COLD TEMPERATURES It’s still several weeks until the last frost dates for most of the UK. Heavy frosts, icy winds and hail (or even snow) can damage tender new plantings and emerging seedlings. Cover plants with 30gsm horticultural fleece to help protect them from the worst of the weather. Protect emerging potato leaves with alayer of card under the fleece if frost is forecast.
■ CUTWORMS These are moth caterpillars which live in the soil. Most often agreyish-brown colour,they emerge in the spring, feeding on the base of plant stems including root vegetables and lettuce. If aplant suddenlydies a cutwormmay be found beneath it.Remove to a wild area of the plot. Usually cutworms arenot ahuge problem withnumbers kept in balance by predators including beetles and birds. Moths areavital part of the ecosystem and food chain.
■ WOODLICE Although woodlice areuseful nutrient recyclers, turning rotting wood into soil, they also eat young seedlings and plants. Check under trays in the greenhouse for colonies of woodlice and relocate to a wild area in the garden.
TRYGREEN MANURES
Green manures arean excellent way of increasing biodiversity in the garden, feeding the soil and helping to keep weeds at bay.They areideal forsowing in beds with perennials such as fruit bushes, trees or perennial kale. Herethey can go to flower,attracting bees, butterflies and other pollinators. Phacelia, buckwheat, crimsonand Persian clover areideal green manures forsummer sowing. While it is best nottouse green manures with newlysown or planted annual veg, once they become established sowing green manures can help protect the soil from extremes of weather.Inthe autumn either cut down and compost, or leave forthe winter frosts to kill
SOW NOW PLANT NOW
Basil, beetroot, broad beans, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots,cauliflower, celeriac, celery,coriander, courgettes,cucumber, dill, Florence, fennel, kohl rabi, leeks, lettuce, mangelwurzels, onions, parsley,parsnip, peas, radish, salad leaves,shiso, spinach, salad onions, summer squash, winter squash, tomato, turnip Globe artichoke,beetroot, broad beans,calabrese, cauliflower,onion sets, oca, peas, potatoes
HARVEST
Asparagus, springcabbage, chard, kale, leeks, parsnips, rhubarb, sproutingbroccoli, salad leaves,springonions
STARTCUCURBITS
It’stime to sow warmth-loving courgettes and summer and winter squashunder cover,ready for planting out in May. These cucurbits arenot frost hardy andshould be planted outside after the last frosts,socheck the date for your area –hereinWales it is mid-May
Fill large sized modules or small potswith peat-free compost. Sow one seed per module or pot, cover with compost and water.Place in awarm sunny spot, such as agreenhouse or windowsill, to germinate. Keep awatch out for slugs, which love to eatyoungsquash plants. If using modules pot on when the roots start appearing from the bottomofthe module. Keep in afrost-free place. When it is time to plant out either harden offfor aweek or so by bringing them outside during the day and then back inside in the late-afternoon, or plant out and cover with a layer of horticultural fleece. Keep an eye on the weather forecast and cover withfleece or acloche if low temperatures are forecast at night.
GOOD COMPANIONS FOR YOUR CROPS
Whether you’regrowing in apolytunnel, greenhouse or other under cover space adding companion plants willhelpyour crops to thrive. Sow seeds into modules to plant out as transplants, either in the ground or beside potted plants. Companionplants can help to deter pests, attract pollinators and even improve the flavour of their neighbours.
Basil is atraditional companion for tomatoes. It helps to deter pests and is said to improve the flavour of the tomato fruit. They arealso perfect companions in the kitchen, adeliciouscombination.
French marigolds have anatural insect repellent, which helps to deter whitefly Ihave always grown marigolds in the polytunnel and greenhouse among the tomatoes and have never had aproblem with whitefly
Calendula attracts beneficial predators including hoverflies, which prey on aphids. It is also an edible flower, lovelyinsalads, and auseful herbal ingredientfor making salves. No summer veg patchshould be without borage. The attractive blue flowers attract pollinators and predators, which help to pollinate crops and also reduce pests. It is said to improvethe flavour and health of strawberries. An edibleflower you can also add to salads and drinks.
THREE DIFFERENT WAYS TO SOWSEEDS
STEP 1: How seeds aresown depends on factors such as time of year, space and the hardiness of the plants. Theeasiest waytosow is directly in the ground, usually in rows. Make agroove in the soil, sprinkle the seeds, cover and water Alternatively,scatter sow by sprinkling the seeds on the surface of the soil.
STEP 2: Sowing into seed trays or modules under cover means that youcan start sowing earlier,before the ground outside haswarmed up enough fordirect sowing. Thisisespeciallyuseful for crops that takelonger to grow in our climate. Planting out as transplants helps to reduce the risk of the plants being eaten by slugs.
STEP 3: Larger seeds can be sown into pots. This saves time, because thereis usually just the one step unlike sowing in amodule, when some plants such as tomatoes will need to be potted on before planting out. This does take up morespace, which can be difficult for anything requiring heat to germinate.
THE KEY JOBS FOR AP RIL BEGINNING WITHBEANS
For much of the UK thesoil in early April is not quite warm enough for direct sown beans other than broad beans to thrive.Ifitistoo cold and wet, then the beans willrot. Direct sown beans arealso at risk of mice and other rodents. Instead, start dwarf French, climbing French and runner beans in deep modules –such as loo roll tubes –under cover.Fill the trays with peat-free compost, tampdown and water
Sow one bean per module. Place somewhere warm and light to germinate and grow.Plant out into their growing position when they are about 6cm (2½in) tall, once danger of frost haspassed. On cold nights tuckupwith some fleece as extra protection.
We can’tknow what the weather will be like, so it is agood idea to successional sow beans to ensurea healthy crop.
■ Sowleeksinrows20cm(8in) apart in anursery bed. Make groove 1cm (¼in) deep and water.Sow the seeds thinly,cover with soiland leave to grow on. Plant out into their final growing place when they arepencil thickness. Alternatively,multi-sow leeks in modules, five to six seeds per module, and plant out in their final growing place when 20cm (8in) tall.
■ Keep ventilating greenhouses and polytunnelstoreduce mildews and helpkeep plants healthy. Opening the windows and doors daily also enables pollinators and beneficial predators to access the under cover spaces.
■ Warmer days means moreweed growth. Keep hoeing, weekly if possible, to help prevent weeds from becoming established in the veg patch. Ahand hoe is ideal for weeding in between smaller plants, whereas along handled oscillating hoe is excellent forwhizzing up and down the beds and can be done from an upright position.
■ Bright sunshine can frazzle seedlings growing under glass. Use shade cloth, or an old sheet, to protect the seedlings for afew hours if the dayisespecially warm and bright. Don’tleave on all of the time however as this couldcause stunted growth and legginess.
“Aside fromthe garden of Eden, man’s greattemptation took place when he frst received hisseed catalogue”
“Have you viewed us on YouTube yet?”
(Henry Wadsworth Longfellow,19th century American poet)
ONIONS, LETTUCEAND PHACELIA
Steve has been busy planting thered onions he has overwintered in cell trays since planting in October. They have formed very nice roots whichwill hopefully give thema headstart andthey should romp awaynow they areinthe newly-enriched soil to which Steve has added alittle controlled-release fertiliser.
Tony has been digging in his green manureplants that he sowed last August in some of his veg beds, including this one which was sown with phacelia. The plants survived the winter and have kept weeds at bay. Once dug in they will return vital nutrientstothe soil, ready for sowing/planting crops later in spring.
Emma has sown some ‘Marvel of Four Seasons’ lettuceseed into aWestland Gro-SureVisiroot tray These come with abase tray and a propagator lid. They areunusual in that they are made of atransparent RPET materialthat lets yousee the root development through the tray, giving you abetter idea of when the plants need tobetransplanted. They arenice and tough, so although they areplastic they shouldbereusable for some years.
THE MAGIC OF MULTI-SOWING
3M udketeers
Like many gardeners Iliketostart most of my veggies offincell trays beforeplanting out as Ican better protect them from pests in this way.The ‘pests’ include afamilyofthree foxes that spend lots of time playing around my veg plot! But with some crops, such as spring onions, beetroot and salad leaves, Iliketosow asmallpinchofseeds in each cell and to plant them out as asingle‘plant’. This gives me morepickings from the available space and extends the harvest as Istart by harvesting afew young plants, allowing the rest to grow on. And as we know the youngest, most tender crops arethe tastiest!
STATION BOOST FOR PARSNIPS
In last month’sissue we mentioned aParsnip Grow-Along this year.All the teamare growingparsnipsindifferent waystosee if we can getsomereally long roots. Why not grow along with us andthensenduspicturesofyour parsnips later in the year? For mine, Ibuilt acontainer out of stout poles then wrapped some weed membrane and cardboardaround. Theidea is it should be easier to access the roots when they areready to harvest
TRAVELLING IN THYME
Ifilled the container with soil and Ihavestation sowed. Youcan see in the inset pictureIhave sown fiveseeds in the middle and marked whereIalso sowed. Ihave sown roughly five seeds per station to increase the chance of getting atleast one plant in each. Iwill thin out theseedlings toleave one good plant per station.
In Shakespeare’sMacbeth they talk about looking into the seeds of time and predicting whichgrain will grow and which will not. That seems rather apt in my case, though it’s‘thyme’ rather than ‘time’ I’m referring to. Isowed some thyme seeds afew weeksago and sadly germination was moremiss than hit. Thatsaid I did manage to prickout afew seedlings which now seem to be coming on slowly but surely They’ve gone abit leggy,soI’m just giving the tops agentle snip to encourage thick growth. It might seem hardly worththe effort when you could get ayoung plant from the garden centreoreven the supermarket. But where’s thefun in that? Or the challenge? Nurturing the tiny seeds into acheerful mass of beautifully aromatic foliage might seem along road to travel but there’sdefinitely asense of satisfaction at the end. Allyou need with thyme is alittle patience.
TA STY TO MATO ES
Hi! I’m Belle and I’m hereevery month to sharelots of fun activities for you to do at home, on your own or withyour family
YOU WILL NEED:
■ Tomato seeds –any variety of your choice
■ Seed or multi-purpose compost
■ 7.5cm pots or trays with small cells
■ Water in awatering can
■ Clear plastic bags –optional
WHATTODO:
1. Fill up your pots with the compost.
Grow your own cherry tomatoes to eat straight offthe plant or big tomatoes to turn into tasty sauce. Thereare many different varieties of tomatoes to choose from including red, yellow,green and purpleones! Youcan grow short, bushy,trailing plants that areperfectfor containers and smallspaces, or tall plants which aregreat to grow in the ground with bamboosupports.
2. Lightly firm the compost and sow your tomato seeds 5-8seeds per pot, or if using small cell trays one seed per cell.
3. Cover the seeds with asprinkling of compost.
4. Using your watering can,gentlywater your pots so that the soilisdamp.
5. Tomatoes love warmth and sunshine, so place your pots on atray on a windowsill insideorinagreenhouse. You could also put the pots in abag. Within two weeks you shouldsee your seeds beginning to sprout above the surface
6. When the plants areabout 3-4cm tall gently liftthem individually using something like aspoon under their roots and while holding their leaves. Put into small pots of fresh compost, one plant per pot. Keep warm and in June you can plant them outside in asunny spot either in alarge pot, hanging basket (if growing the small bush types) or direct in the ground.
7. Water the compost when it feels dry to touch.
8. As your plants grow you will see flowers form. Tomatoes will grow from these, so look out for the fruits as they start forming.
9. Tomatoes start green then ripen in the sunshine and change colour
10. Pick them when they look the right colour for the variety you have chosen.
RHS MALVERN SPRINGFESTIVAL
The four-day RHS Malvern Spring Festival returns to theThree Counties Showground, Malvern, from May 8-11, 2025. This year’s Festival Theatrewill once again host apackedprogramme of talks, interactive demonstrations and advice from horticulturalists, TV gardening personalities and leading chefs, including Alan Titchmarsh, Raymond Blanc and Rachel de Thame.
Husband and wife team Martin and Jill Fish will host ThePotting Shed Theatre, bringing tothe stage morethan 45 years of experience working in horticultureand experimenting in the kitchen with homegrown ingredients. Martin and Jill will welcome guests including garden designer,grower and winner of numerous RHS gold medals Jon Wheatley; head of horticultureat Garden Organicand former head gardener of WestminsterAbbey Chris Collins; and leading UK floral designer Jonathan Moseley
For moreinformation and tickets visit:https://rhsmalvern.co.uk
NU RSERYW ITH TH E GOLDEN TOUCH
‘Cornishgold™’, aunique pearwith arich history,has been launched by tree growing nursery Frank PMatthews. Originating in Launceston, Cornwall, the ‘Treburrow’ pear, as it wasfirstknown, stood in thekitchen garden of ahistoric farmhouse and for centuries thrived unnoticed, bearing fruit with amellow sweetness and outstanding juicing qualities. In 2015, DNA testing confirmed that it was unlikeany other known variety.
Determined to preserve this remarkable pear forfuturegenerations FrankP Matthews took grafts from the original tree, carefully propagating them into what is now known as ‘Cornishgold™’ –named forits radiant golden fruit and deep Cornish heritage. This variety is self-fertile, meaning it does not requireapollinating partner to produce fruit, and is highly resilient, thriving even in exposed locations
DID YO KNOW?
ASPARAGUS PEE OR PEA!
The bad news is that asparagus can make your urine smell funny because of asparagusicacid. The good news is that only certain people(genetically) can smell it. Asparagus pea, however, is alegume producing winged pods and attractive redflowers
LOOKING FOR ‘GARD ENE R’S ECSTASY’? TRYT HE WA LE SS EE DH UB
‘Cornishgold™’ is available from selected garden centres and online stockists. Formore information visit: www. frankpmatthews.com
Anew online shop has been launched by Wales Seed Hub, aco-operative of small-scalegrowers,all using environmentally friendly methods and each producing just ahandful of varieties for seed.
The growers work together to licence, packet and market the seed to produceover 60 varieties of vegetableherbs and flower seeds. Some are traditional Welshvarieties, some are garden favourites and some areunusual varieties
difficult to find elsewhere. The tomatoes available come in a variety of sizes, colours and shapes –including the large meaty ‘Warsaw Raspberry’ and the Welsh varieties ‘Gardener’s Ecstasy’ and ‘Graham’sTom Thumb’.
Thereare peas to span the seasons -fromthe quick-to-crop mangetout ‘Sweet Horizon’ for summer salads to aWelsh soup pea ‘Boddington’s’ (it makes the best ever mushy peas!). To see the full range visit: www.seedhub.wales
Thumb’
YOU YOUR PLOT
POTAGER PROUD
Iread with great delight the article by Emma Rawlings on potager gardens (February issue) and wondered if you might be interested to see aphotograph of the garden that Imade when we moved intoour house from what was abareslabbed backyard. Because space waslimited hedging wasn’tanoption, so our beds are bordered usingPVC gravel boards with capped corners, which I thinklook very effective.
Terri Alsop, West Midlands
TONYSAYS: What afantastic job Terri!Productive but pleasing on the eye too
CO NTACT US WITH YOUR LETTERS AN DT IP S: TFLA NAGAN
CREATIVE IDEA TO FEED BIRDS
Inspired by our January reading of Kitchen Garden and its focus on sustainability,mysix-year-old son and Idecided to get creative with ahome-made bird feeder We looked around the house for items we couldrepurpose and settled on an old ladle. By adding some fruit and seeds we created asimple, yet effective, feeder to support birds on ourallotment during the colder months. My son decorated the apples with sunflower seeds and Ipushed them through the ladle handle. To makeiteasier,Ifirst turned a knife through the centreofthe apples afew times beforesliding them onto the handle. And then we added some moreseeds to thespoon.
Marlena Stepniak, Tipton
CHITTING PRETTY
When my Dad retiredhis oldwooden desk was falling apart and was to be taken to the tip, but the compartmentalised drawers werestill good and sturdy.Inow use them forchitting my potatoes. The compartments keep the varieties separate and the wood is nice and breathable. It seems to work well. Also found was arandombox of small wooden spoons which wereunwanted –these have made great plant labels. Waste not want not, Iguess.
Jade Marie Mort, Hampshire
TONY SAYS: So the moral of this story readers is… never throw away your old drawers!
Send us your tips and pictures and ifyour letterispublished youwill get a£10 Dobies voucher.Ifyou arelucky enough to have yours chosen as our Star Letter you will get a£25 voucher.You can choose to spend your winnings ona fabulous range of seeds,young plants and gardening sundries all available on
the Dobies website, or you can gethold of a copy of the 2023 catalogue now by phoning 0844 701 7625 or go online to www.dobies. co.uk
Youcan reach us by letter,email or via our Facebook page. Search: @KitchenGardenMag or via our Instagram page:@growwithkg
Email your letters to tflanagan@mortons. co.uk or post to Letters, Kitchen Garden,Mortons Media Group, Media Centre, Morton Way, Horncastle, Lincs LN9 6JR
HAIL SCOTLAND’S RICH HERITAGE
Gardeners in Scotland can sometimes feel unnecessarily disadvantaged. We areconstantly reminded thatour late frosts can cause havoc and we need to delay seed sowing for several weeks later than dates recommended for further south. But Scotland has arich heritage in growing fruitand vegetables and remains at the forefront of research and developmentofnew varieties. Our summer daylight hours are long and our cool weather favours some the best known varieties of fruit and vegetables. Aglance at some of the names points to their Scottish origins. My allotment is close by the farm wherethe famous ‘Musselburgh’ leek wasbred. ‘Pentland Brig’ is one of the tastiest kales and is named after the Pentland Hills close to Edinburgh. ‘Arran Pilot’ is one of the most reliable early potato varieties. When it comes to soft fruit, the east of Scotland is still aprimelocation for raspberries and strawberries. Blackcurrants, bred at Scotland’sJames Hutton Institute, arenamed after Scottish mountains. ‘Ben Hope’ is one of the favourites on my allotment.
Jenny Mollison, East Lothian
EDITORIAL
Tel07738 455014, Fax 01507 371075
EDITOR: Steve Ott, sott@mortons.co.uk
DEPUTY EDITOR: Emma Rawlings, erawlings@mortons.co.uk
STAFF WRITER: Tony Flanagan, tflanagan@mortons.co.uk
PRODUCTION: Sue North
PUBLISHER: Tim Hartley
DESIGNER: Charlotte Fairman
ADVERTISING
Tel01507 529529, Fax 01507 529499
GROUP ADVERTISING MANAGER: Sue Keily,skeily@mortons.co.uk
ADVERTISING TEAM LEADER: Tania Shaw,tshaw@mortons.co.uk
ADVERTISING: Mason Ponti -mason@talk-media.uk –01732 920499 Karen Davies -karen@talk-media.uk-01732 442144
SALES AND DISTRIBUTION MANAGER: Carl Smith
HEAD OF MARKETING: Charlotte Park
PUBLISHING DIRECTOR: Dan Savage
COMMERCIALDIRECTOR: Nigel Hole
GENERAL QUERIES AND BACK ISSUES
Customer Service:Tel 01507 529529
Telephone lines areopen: Monday-Friday 8.30am-5pm 24hr answerphone help@classicmagazines.co.uk www.classicmagazines.co.uk
ARCHIVIST: Jane Skayman, 01507 529423, jskayman@mortons.co.uk
SOWING PARSLEY
PRIMROSE: Inever have muchluck getting parsley to germinate although I sow some pots of it every year
ALAN REFAIL: Isow flat-leaf parsley in ahalf seed tray.Heated propagatorin spring, on the bench otherwise. Through in 10 days.
JOHN: Isoakthe seeds in asaucer of water fora coupleofdays before sowing. Once or twiceaday Ireplace the water as it becomes yellow.Then I sow in the normal way and germination is usually good.
TONY HAGUE: IgrowItalian giant parsley from Seeds of Italy. Needs no special treatment. Notonlydoes it survive the winter,itself-seeds prolifically so youneed never sowit again!
SUBSCRIPTION: Full subscription rates (butsee page 28 for offer):(12 months 12 issues, incpost and packing) –UK£83.88. Export rates arealso available –see page 28 formoredetails. UK subscriptions arezero-ratedfor the purposes of Value Added Tax.
DISTRIBUTION
Seymour Distribution Ltd, 2East Poultry Avenue, London, EC1A 9PT.Tel 0207429 4000
PRINTING William Gibbons &Sons, Wolverhampton PUBLISHED Monthly by Mortons Media Group Ltd, Media Centre, Morton Way, Horncastle, Lincs LN9 6JR. Tel01507 523456, Fax 01507 529301 THE TALKING KG Kitchen Garden is available on audio CD or USB at very reasonable rates to anyoneunable to read normal type. Details from the Talking Newspaper Association of the UK on 01435 866102. ISSN 1369-1821
©Copyright Mortons Media Group Ltd. Reproduction in any manner,inwhole or part, without prior approval in writing is prohibited. Thepublisher cannot accept responsibility for errors in articlesoradvertisements, or for unsolicited manuscripts, photographsor illustrations. www.kitchengarden.co.uk
ADVERTDEADLINE: April 1, 2025
The famous ‘Musselburgh’ leek
YOU YOUR PLOT
GOT A FRUI T OR V EG PRO BLEM? ASK FOR HELP
LACKLUSTRE LEMON LEAVES
to cope down to 0C and the
This winter Ileft our lemon tree out in our unheated garden room as it is supposed to be able to cope down to 0C and the temperaturenever got any lower than that. However,the new leaves in autumn, which always start offpale green, have never gone darkgreen as you see at the top –and now the dark green leaves arestarting to lose colour around the edges and go pale, as you can see in the middle of the photo. What’s wrong?
can see of What’s
Priscilla Roberts, Bristol
STEVE SAYS: It’sworth noting thatalthough citrus can be quite hardy they may lose some leaves in winter if temperatures are low for a sustained period. However,fromthe symptoms in the pictureIbelieve your citrus may be suffering from anutrient deficiency,probably of iron.
noting that although citrus can be quite they may lose some
Lemons and other citrus areadapted to grow in slightly acidic soil and although they aretolerant of arange of pH levels, if the pH goes too much above neutral (pH7) they may suffer from iron and zincdeficiencies since these elements become unavailable to the roots if thereistoo much lime in the compost.
Youcould consider checking the pH with asimple meter,but it may just be easier to give the plant adose of sequestered iron which you will findin various products in your localgarden centrefor feeding lime-hating plants such as rhododendrons. These can often also be applied as foliarfeeds and should give results in arelatively short time, although recovery willtake longer in winter when growth is slow
Make sureyou water yourplant with rainwater or cooled,boiled water, especially if you live in ahardwater area.
, Mortons Media Group, Media Centre, Morton Way, LN9 6JR.
Star Question winners receive a voucher worth £25, and £10each for the others. These can be redeemedagainst any products in the latest Mr Fothergill’s range, which can be viewedonline by visiti www.mr-fothergills.co.uk. Email questions to tflanagan@mortons.co.uk or post to Question Time, Kitchen Garden,Mortons MediaGroup,MediaCentre, MortonWay Horncastle, Lincs LN9 6JR. Please include your full address on letters and emails. range, which can viewed online visiting www mr-fothergills.co.uk.
LATE TO CHITTING
I’ve been very busy and left the box of seed potatoes I’d ordered and have only just started to get them into boxes tochit today.Would you advise removing the longer shoots?
Steve
Watkin, Wingate
TONY SAYS: Not ideal. The shoots on your potato tubers look healthy but will just be alittle fragile when you come to plant, so you’ll need to handle with carewhen covering them to avoid breaking them off. Otherwise, thereshould be no problem. Give them as much light as possible to reduce furtherstretching and don’tdelay when it comes to planting.
on your tubers look to care when them to avoid them off. there should be no
MULCH ADO ABOUT CHIPPINGS
We recently pruned severalapple and pear trees and chipped the branches through ashredder.I used this on my borders andon top of my vegetable beds as I thoughtitmay work as amulch. However,Isince read that as the woodchip broke down it takes nitrogen out of the soil and can seriously stunt plants.
HOTTIPS FOR ‘HOTLIPS’
Ihave been propagating by cuttings salvia‘Hot Lips’ and have been toldthe leaves and flowers can be incorporated into salads, so areedible. What areyour thoughts?
Michael Ellard, Norfolk
STEVE SAYS: Thereismuch conflicting advice as to whether this ornamental salvia is edible. Some say definitely not, while other sources suggest the flowers can be used in drinks and salads, more as agarnish than amain ingredient. I suspect that, as with most things, used in moderation the
There is much whether this is
flowers areunlikely to cause any problems.
The leaves have been used in teas but arerather too bitter (I am told) to eat as a salad ingredient, even if you weresoinclined.
Ican’tfind any evidence that anyone has come to harm by eating salvia ‘Hot Lips’. However,itdoesn’talways follow that because aplant is edible it is necessarily worth eating. My personal advice would be to use your salvia cuttings around the garden for their amazing ornamental value and to grow some of the many familiarand established salad crops, which will be far tastier and morenutritious to eat.
Shiv Panchalingam, Reading
EMMA SAYS: Any form of woodchips, whether from abag chipped branches from your apple tree, will tend to cause adropinnitrogen
levels in the soil asbacteria and fungi work on them to break them down. This can be reduced by applying somegeneral fertiliser containing nitrogen, such as dried blood or blood, fishand bone, prior toadding amulch It canalso be helped by adding additionalnitrogen-richfertiliser in the form of liquids or the same solid feeds after applying and allowing the rain to wash it into the soil. So thereisnoneed to remove the chippings.
from a bag or branches
Ialso wouldn’tbe too concerned about adding any fertilisers until the weather warms and plants areactivelygrowing in the spring.
