Indholdsfortegnelse for November 2025 i Kitchen Garden

A year well-grown As autumn settles in, the pace on the plot slows but the satisfaction grows. There’s something deeply rewarding about this stage of the year – when the harvests are gathered, the jars are cooling, and we finally have time to look back at what worked and what didn’t. This month’s issue is full of ways to make the most of that pause. Martin Fish explains how to plant new soft fruit bushes for next summer’s harvest, while Rob Smith turns his attention to how to enjoy apples year-round, David Patch explains hazels, and Ben Vanheems helps you plan next year’s sowing list with confidence. If you’re still harvesting, don’t miss our feature on pickling and fermenting your gluts – it’s a brilliant way to capture the flavours…

Many fruits fall into the soft fruit category, and some of the best-known fruits we grow are gooseberries, blackcurrants, redcurrants and white currants, and now is a great time to get started with them. By planting a selection of soft fruit bushes in your garden or allotment, you can have a steady supply of tasty, delicious summer fruits that can be eaten fresh from the bush, frozen, bottled or preserved to enjoy all year round. Not only are they tasty, but they are also easy to grow, and the fruits are packed full of vitamins and antioxidants. WHERE TO GROW All soft fruit bushes grow best in a fertile, well-drained soil that has been enriched with well-rotted manure or garden compost to add plenty of organic matter. This acts as…

If you were to stroll through the gates of Hampton Court Palace on a bright summer’s morning, you might be drawn first to the grandeur – the soaring chimneys, the echo of Tudor footsteps, perhaps even the playful whispers of ghosts in the galleries. But venture further from the great fountains and manicured lawns and you’ll discover something humbler – and to our minds, far more magical: the kitchen garden. Here, cabbages reign more regally than kings, rows of sweetcorn stand like soldiers on parade, and time seems to slow to the rhythm of a gardener’s fork and spade. This is no ordinary plot – it’s a living tribute to the art of growing your own. HISTORIC LEGACY HELPED GUIDE RESTORATION The original Tudor kitchen gardens fed Henry VIII’s vast…

GREEN COVER Sow field beans into empty beds as a green manure to protect the soil. These relatives of broad beans are very winter hardy and, if left to produce pods in the spring, taste delicious too KEEP FRESH Keep ventilating undercover spaces as the weather allows, to reduce the risk of mildews and moulds. Remember to close them up again before temperatures fall at dusk TUCK IN Bring potted citrus, peaches, nectarines and figs under cover in a polytunnel or unheated greenhouse, or into a sheltered spot for the winter CLEAR AWAY Empty old containers of compost, and store the containers until needed next year. The spent compost makes an excellent mulch on beds, or use it to make a new veg bed for the spring The weather may…

BISHOP’S CROWN SUCCESS I thought I’d send a photo of the first harvest of Bishop’s Crown chillies from this year’s KG free seeds. They’re very prolific! I’ve still got lots of green ones, so I’ve hung an apple among the branches to ripen them. Luckily, I have some seeds left and will sow them again next year. Fantastic results! Lindy Robertson * STAR * LETTER WINS 25 VOUCHER Ed: A brilliant haul, Lindy. An apple releases ethylene, which can help colour up green chillies off the plant – keep them somewhere warm and bright (out of direct sun) and check daily. FUNNIEST VEG WINNER I’m a huge fan of Kitchen Garden and it’s been invaluable as a new gardener. I started tomatoes in my tiny courtyard in spring, which quickly escalated…

There is something deeply comforting about apples. They are the fruit that connects garden to kitchen in a way few others do, carrying with them memories of autumn harvests, the smell of pies cooling on windowsills, and baskets brimming with freshly picked fruit. For centuries, apples have been grown in Britain and across the world, each variety offering its own flavour, texture, and best use. Broadly speaking, apples fall into two main groups: dessert apples and cooking apples. KOREAN APPLE CHEONG SYRUP This traditional preserve is simple to make and transforms small apples into a fragrant syrup for teas and desserts. Appletini apples are small, crisp dessert apples with bright red skin and a refreshing, sweet-tart flavour Ingredients 500g (1lb) small apples, such as Appletini 500g (1lb) granulated sugar Method…

Inverewe’s spectacular coastal setting in north-west Scotland is both a blessing and a challenge. Shallow, peaty soils sit over rock, rain is frequent and heavy, and nutrients wash through before young roots can grab them. Regeneration plantings also have to contend with a long legacy of Rhododendron ponticum – dense thickets that cast deep shade and litter the ground with leaves and woody debris containing allelopathic compounds that can suppress germination and slow establishment. Clearing those thickets creates new light and space – but it also leaves a mountain of woody material. Burn it, and you lose most of the carbon to the atmosphere; compost it, and you need space, time and constant turning, with a large share of carbon and nitrogen lost on the way. THE SIMPLE, SMART IDEA…

Our nation has a longstanding love affair with apples. Before the arrival of exotic fruits such as bananas and pineapples, apples were a key part of our diet. They were eaten fresh, cooked and, of course, made into cider. Much of the rich tapestry of our culture is interwoven with the humble apple. While we have lost many of our brilliant heritage orchards over the past few centuries, apples remain an important crop here. The UK is responsible for producing and consuming half of the world’s cider. For a tiny country representing only 1% of the global population, that’s a big boast. Barney Butterfield, founder of Sandford Orchards in Devon, estimates that the UK grows around 80% of cider apples worldwide, as most other countries make cider from scraps or…

TOOL TO TREASURE Marshalls Garden’s exclusive Heart Shaped Trowel is ideal for planting seedlings and young crops, removing weeds and hand digging. It has a stainless steel blade with a pointed tip for easy entry into hard soils, and an ash wood handle that is crank-shafted for comfortable use, protecting your knuckles. It is part of a range of quality gardening gifts designed by Kent & Stowe in partnership with the Imperial War Museum, to pay tribute to the civilians of Great Britain who were called upon to ‘Dig for Victory’ during the Second World War. Price: £14.99 plus £5.95 p&p marshallsgarden.com SUBSCRIBER SAVING: £5 off until November 30, 2025 PATIO PLANTERS Agriframes’ decorative planters offer an easy and effective way to add impact to a patio or entrance, with…

(AGM is the RHS Award of Garden Merit. Under RHS garden trials these varieties performed particularly well) SAVE OVER £19 & 20% ON SELTED SEDS REVIEWED BY Which? Best Seed Suppliers February 2025 SAVE ON KINGS SEEDS! 20% OFF ALL PEA AND BASIL SEEDS Kings Seeds is offering KG readers the exclusive chance to save 20% on all pea and basil seeds. To take advantage of this offer, simply visit: kingsseeds.com/kitchengarden and enter the code KGNOV25. Offer expires November 30, 2025. SAVE 20% EASY TUNNELS Give winter crops a head start and keep pests at bay. Choose from three best-sellers – just £15.85 each, was £19.85 EASY NET TUNNEL Top-quality, high-density polythene netting (5mm mesh) protects from birds, insects, rabbits and other pests. Also makes an excellent windbreak as well…

This year’s Instagram Mammoth Onion Growalong did not disappoint! Hosted by Jenny Winnard (@jenny_ ourfamilyallotment), an amateur gardener from Wigan, the gardening community came together to sow and grow their mammoth onions, bringing joy and smiles to people across the country. Here, Jenny shares her top tips on how to grow your own mammoth onions. Of course, not every onion is destined to bea giant. Look for varieties bred specifically for size, such as Mammoth Red, Kelsae, Ailsa Craig or Mammoth Improved. The seeds used in this year’s Growalong were ‘Exhibition’ from Johnsons Seeds– strains developed over generations to produce bulbs capable of reaching record-breaking weights. START EARLY INDOORS Mammoth onions need a long growing season– often 130-150 days from transplanting. To give them enough time, start seeds indoors in…

It’s getting on for the end of the year. Christmas is almost upon us. The nights are drawing in and the temperature is distinctly cooler. Our allotment, and that of our fellow allotmenteers, is dormant. A few plants refuse to knuckle under winter’s onset. Winter vegetables huddle down, stubbornly awaiting the impending frosts, and the sky is bereft of birdsong. The sun is weak, and the heady days of spring and summer are a fading memory. It’s a far cry from the early months when, with a glint in our eyes, we strode purposefully down to our hallowed ground, picked up our hoes, spades, and rakes, and enthusiastically attacked the barren earth, hoping that this year would bring the bumper harvest, so beloved by gardening magazines. But it’s been a…

Get in touch by post, email or via our Facebook page: Facebook.com/kitchengardenmag LITTLE APPLES, BIG MYSTERY Q. Does the team have any ideas why my apples are so small this year? Keith Jack, Liverpool * STAR * QUESTION WINS £25 VOUCHER A. A few factors can lead to undersized apples, even on otherwise healthy trees. This year’s cool, wet spring and poor pollination conditions affected many fruit crops – fewer fertilised seeds mean smaller fruit. If the tree set a heavy crop early on, it may also have struggled to size them up, particularly if thinning wasn’t done in June. Lack of water during key swelling periods in July and August can compound the problem, especially for espalier-trained trees, which have limited root space. To encourage better fruit size next…

BETHANY NEELY FROM DEVON Bethany Neely has only been tending her allotment for 18 months, but you’d never guess it from the abundance of produce spilling out of her beds. From neat rows of carrots grown in sand-rich soil to baskets brimming with potatoes, beetroot and chard, Bethany’s plot is already delivering impressive harvests. Add in giant cabbages, sweetcorn standing tall and wheelbarrows full of squashes, and it’s clear this is a grower with a real passion for planning and care. Do you tend your plot on your own? Yes, I mostly attend to the plot on my own, but when I need a hand my partner, Mark, comes and helps me. He built each bed and the net frames for my plot. Do you have an allotment or garden…

BLENHEIM ORANGE A rich, dual-purpose apple with a nutty flavour that shines in the kitchen as well as fresh from the tree. Good keeper when stored carefully. KING OF THE PIPPINS Golden with a warm red flush, this slightly conical apple has a spicy, aromatic flavour. Good for eating and cooking, and a reliable cropper. EGREMONT RUSSET A traditional English favourite with its golden-brown russeted skin. Nutty, sweet and full of character, it’s one of the best for late autumn eating. CRIMSON NEWTON WONDER A sport of Newton Wonder with a deeper red blush. Large, late-ripening apples with a sharp tang when fresh, mellowing in storage. Excellent for cooking and adding depth to cider. ASHMEAD’S KERNEL Distinctive with its russeted skin and aromatic, almost pear-drop flavour. Improves in storage, developing…

Nuts are a fabulous addition to the garden – but where to start? Hazel is the name given to any member of the Corylus family. There are 18 different species, which are spread across much of the Northern Hemisphere. The nuts from all are edible, but we will be concerning ourselves with the two which are native to Northern Europe – Corylus avellana (cobnut) and Corylus maxima (filbert). Although there is a slight difference in the shape of the nuts, the terms cobnut and filbert are generally interchangeable, and both come under the catch-all name of ‘hazel’. MAKING A START Hazels will tolerate a very wide range of soils and sites – they will pretty much grow anywhere. But they tend to produce fewer fruit on heavy, damp sites, so…

SPICED APPLE & PARSNIP SOUP A warming bowl of autumn delights, bringing together the sweetness of parsnips and the tartness of seasonal apples Serves 4 Ingredients: 2 tbsp olive oil 1 onion, chopped 2 garlic cloves, chopped 500g (1lb 2oz) parsnips, peeled and diced 2 medium apples, peeled, cored and diced 1 tsp ground cumin ½ tsp ground ginger 1 litre (1¾ pints) vegetable stock Salt and pepper, to taste Method: 1. Heat the oil in a large pan, then soften the onion and garlic for 5 minutes. 2. Stir in parsnips, apples, and spices. Cook for 2-3 minutes. yo 3. Pour in the stock, bring to the boil, then simmer for 20 minutes or until tender. 4. Blend until smooth. Season to taste and serve warm. Garden note: Parsnips…