Indholdsfortegnelse for February 2018 i Kitchen Garden

It may still be too chilly to sow outside in February, but there is certainly no need to be twiddling your thumbs. Outside, providing the ground isn’t actually frozen or snow-capped, you can continue the big spring prep of the soil, manuring, liming, digging and warming with cloches. If you are lucky enough to have a greenhouse or a polytunnel then, as you’ll see on Joyce Russell’s greenhouse growing pages starting on page 10, you can be busy even if the weather outdoors is rather forbidding. If you still can’t quite bring yourself to venture outside, why not get growing indoors instead by making a mini plot on the windowsill? Turn to page 60 to find out how you can grow 18 of the quickest, yet most nutritious crops possible…

WHAT TO DO IN FEBRUARY • Wash glass and polythene to allow maximum light inside the structure • Check that propagators maintain a steady heat before relying on them to raise plants • Sow tomatoes and peppers at the end of the month • Sow spinach and salad leaves directly in drills • Sow some leeks, beetroot and celeriac in cells for growing on outdoors • Prick out and pot on, so seedlings never suffer from crowded roots • Plant a few early potatoes at the beginning of the month • Provide support for peas and beans A NEW EENHOUSE • Consider where the greenhouse will fit in your garden. Avoid shady spots or where tree roots can grow to sap the soil of nutrients. Ideally, there should be a…

BLOSSOM END ROT This reveals itself as a brown to black patch at the base of the tomato and is due to a lack of calcium. This is caused by insufficient watering which means that calcium doesn’t reach the parts furthest away from the roots. It’s more of a problem with growing bag tomatoes. SOLUTION: Maintain a regular watering regime. Feed once a week. BLIGHT This is a fungal, airborne disease that will devastate a crop in no time. It occurs when the weather is humid. Brown patches on stems and skins quickly overtake the plant and kill it. More likely a problem in tomatoes grown outdoors but not exclusively so. Burn infected plants or dispose of them in the green waste bin. SOLUTION: There are a number of blight-resistant…

1 ‘SUGAR PLUM RAISIN F1’ – A brand-new breakthrough in tomato breeding, this variety gives you masses of very sweet, small red fruit which can be left to dry on the vine. When left on the vine eight out of 10 of the fruit will begin to dry, forming ‘sun blushed’ tomatoes, perfect to store in jars of olive oil. The fruits concentrate their taste and sweetness as they dry, becoming incredibly sweet, almost like a chewy sweet. Perfect for tomato lovers and kids alike. Available from www.dobies.co.uk (plants only, as they are so new). 2 ‘LIZZANO F1’ – This variety produces gorgeous bright red, baby cherry-sized fruit with a vigorous, trailing, semi-determinate habit. Abundant crops of sweet-tasting fruits. This variety is the most blight-tolerant tomato on the market. Available…

SOW: Feb-May HARVEST: Sept-Mar An established part of every traditional British Christmas dinner, parsnips often force people into one of two camps; those who can’t get enough and those who try to hide them at the side of the plate under the sprouts! For me, home-grown parsnips are a must-have and if there is a way of enjoying them for longer through the season, then I’d welcome it. Think of parsnips and you might think of the long, thick, frost-sweetened roots that have grown in the soil all year to be lifted in time for the Yuletide celebrations. However, using modern F1 varieties, it is possible to have smaller but very tasty roots from late August or September onwards from a spring sowing. GETTING STARTED Parsnips have a reputation for…

RAISING THE BED Watch TV presenter and gardening expert Katie Rushworth show you how to set up a raised bed vegetable garden http://bit.ly/2zbjfBi TWITTER VALENTINE VEG Steve Hammond Feb 14 Valentine’s Day, so please find enclosed one heart-shaped potato once found in the veg box FACEBOOK FAVES FUNNY FEBRUARY Paul Wyman to The Gardeners Calendar What a funny month February is, one minute the warmth of the sun hints at the promise of spring and the next we’re back in the depths of winter. It’s sooo frustrating. I find myself wishing the spring was here so I can get sowing the trays of veg to go into the allotments. SWEETS FOR MY SWEET If you’re looking for something sweet to keep your favourite person sweet for Valentine’s Day, why not…

GET STARTED Looking for an early start to your growing this year? Then take a look at Kings Seeds Early Starter Spring Catalogue. It contains an excellent range of veg plug plants, seed collections with different themes, bulbs for flowers and patio fruit trees. PRICE: FREE www.kingsseeds.com;tel: 01376 570 000 FUN TO GROW This Fun to Grow range from Suttons is an enjoyable and educational way to get children growing flowers, fruit and veg. Specially developed for 4-10 year olds, these packs have been designed to link closely with Key Stage 1 of the National Curriculum. The new kits include goodies such as a tape measure in the sunflower pack to record the growth of their flowers. PRICE: £1.99 PER PACKET www.suttons.co.uk;tel: 0844 326 2200 A TASTE OF ITALY Take…

FREE GIFTS DON’T MISS YOUR 3 FREE PACKETS OF SEEDS! ROB SMITH: GROW BROAD BEANS BY THE BUCKETFUL  FOUR PAGES OF TOP TIPS FOR SOWING SUCCESS THIS SPRING MADE TO MEASURE – DIY PLANTING AIDS FOR YOUR VEG STRAWBERRY-LOVERS’ GROWING GUIDE + MONEY-SAVING OFFERS TOUR ONE OF BRITAIN’S OLDEST & LARGEST WALLED GARDENS SUE STICKLAND: HOW TO HAVE AMAZING SALADS ALL YEAR LONG PLUS SAY GOODBYE TO POTATO BLIGHT GROW TASTY KOHL RABI DRIVEN BY THE SUN – DISCOVER THE SOLAR GREENHOUSE NEXT ISSUE ON SALE FEBRUARY 1…

10 MINUTE JOBS SPREAD COMPOST When you get a little spare time on the plot, start to dig out well-rotted compost from the compost heap or bin and tip it around the garden in piles where needed. If the ground is frozen hard, all the better to prevent making a mess. WASH POTS AND TRAYS It’s always good to start the growing season with clean pots and trays, so when it’s too cold or wet to garden, spend a little time in the shed with a bucket of warm, soapy water and give your plant pots and seed trays a good wash. CHIT POTATOES When you buy or take delivery of early varieties of seed potatoes, start to ‘chit’ them straight away to prepare them for planting in several weeks’…

PICTURE PERFECT Pictures paint a thousand words, they say – and none more so than in this beautifully designed book all about growing. Written by RHS expert Guy Barter and lavishly illustrated by Sam Falconer, FLORA offers a graphic guide to growing. This is not, however, a case of style over substance. There’s plenty of very useful information in this book that will be of value to the seasoned gardener as much as the gardening newbie. So, find sections on planning, planting, vegetables and herbs, fruit and vines and many of the practicalities that growing involves – soil care and compost making, for example. And it’s not just about edibles – there’s guidance on lawns, hedges, wild flowers, climbers, shrubs, trees, water planting and more. So if you’re looking for…

Sunflowers can have big blousy blooms and grow to many feet or have masses of smaller flowers on short stems. They will attract bees and other pollinators to your edible crops, too. SOWING Sow sunflower seeds from March to early May. Slugs love them so it can help to start the seeds off in small pots or cell trays, sowing one seed per cell in a good multi-purpose compost. They don’t need too much heat to germinate; place the pots on a warm windowsill or on a greenhouse bench. If starting in a greenhouse cover with netting to keep mice at bay. Once the seedlings are through, move them to a cooler place. A porch, cold frame or mini greenhouse is ideal and will stop them growing leggy. You can…

Every year at the first sign of a stuffy nose I head to my kitchen for help. I’ll mix up one of my signature tonics to quickly put me right. No, I’m not a doctor, or a nutritionist for that matter; nor do I plan on becoming either. I’m just a home cook – one who is fully invested in unlocking both the flavour and the medicinal potential of my ingredients. Using food as a medicine is part of a basic instinct for survival that we seem to have lost touch with. It’s a handy one, too, especially when life throws you one of its many curve balls, such as waking up with a sore throat on the day of an important meeting; overeating and feeling bloated (life’s too delicious);…

“Weight for weight, sprouts have many times the nutrient content of the mature plants” This can be a difficult month. Allegedly, a new season is under way, and gardeners are itching to get growing. Unfortunately, very little else is. It was February – a cold, dark, Scottish February – when I discovered seed sprouting. It’s the perfect therapy for frustrated green fingers, and gives you a garden within the comfort of your kitchen on days when the actual garden is less than enticing. You don’t need any special equipment – though upgrading to a proper sprouter is satisfying and inexpensive – and the process itself is child’s play. It is, in fact, an excellent project for children, offering both hands-on activity and instant gratification. Weight for weight, sprouts have many…

“A propagator is a real boon for raising seeds of tender crops or for early sowings of most others” It’s easy to take your eye off the ball in the depths of winter, allowing the weeks to slip by as spring advances. Before you know it, it’s time for the ‘big sow’ and you still haven’t bought your seeds or dug the plot! Don’t make that mistake; get yourself organised now and you’ll not only have your first choice of varieties, but all your tools and sundries will be close at hand so that everything goes into the ground or compost at the right time and gets the best possible start. HIGH-TECH SOWING Many gardeners like to start their seeds off in trays where possible, giving them an early start…

ALSO IN THE KG SHOP THIS MONTH LONG CROPPING STRAWBERRY COLLECTION (AND MINI COLLECTION) Three of the best strawberry varieties to extend your cropping season: • EXTRA EARLY STRAWBERRY – ‘MALLING CENTENARY’: Bred to mark the 100th anniversary of the leading East Malling Research Station in Kent. This variety has a superb flavour with uniform conical shaped fruit which is well displayed on the plant, making picking quick and easy. Fruiting from early to late June (earlier if grown under cloches). • MID-SEASON STRAWBERRY – ‘ELEGANCE’: Expect exceptional fruit quality with this strawberry. When we saw ‘Elegance’ in trials we were taken aback with the large number of heavy fruited trusses on strong, disease resistant, upright plants. It has a magnificent flavour. • LATE SEASON STRAWBERRY…

STRAWBERRIES IN HANGING POTS STEP 1: I’ve been growing strawberries in hanging pots for several years with great success and now is a good time to pot up young plants to produce a crop this summer. For healthy growth always use a good compost. I mix two-thirds multi-purpose and one-third John Innes together and to supply plenty of nutrients to the plants all summer long, I also add in a little slow-release fertiliser. STEP 2: In a 25cm (10in) container I plant three strawberries. These are runners rooted late last summer that have been grown in cell trays, but nurseries may still have bare-root plants for sale or pot-grown runners. Plant around the edge of the basket making sure the crown (large central growth bud) is at compost level. Too…

A MINER PROBLEM Could you please identify this infestation in my leeks and advise me on the best course of action for the future? The leeks grew really well and looked healthy from the outside, but when I cut into them, they were damaged and discoloured with small brown pupae lodged in channels inside. Am I right in thinking that this is the allium leaf miner? All my leeks have been affected on two separate, adjacent plots. Anne Cook, Market Harborough Steve Ott, editor, Kitchen Garden magazine STEVE SAYS: Your crop has indeed been infested with allium leaf miner, a relatively recent problem that has spread quickly to many parts of the UK. Unfortunately, there are no sprays available to UK gardeners and the best way…

The community garden in my local Welsh town has about 40 ‘micro-allotments’ – plots which average only about 1.2m x 3m (4ft x 10ft). They are gardened by local people (one per individual, two per family) who have to make those difficult ‘shall I grow it or not?’ decisions every year, but that doesn’t put them off. The plots are amazingly full, healthy, and varied to look at, and there is a waiting list for taking one on. As a volunteer at the garden, I frequently get asked for advice on choosing crops and I usually start by saying: “Well, it depends...”, because many different factors affect whether or not particular vegetables are good value for space. WHAT WILL FLOURISH? Soil, sun and shelter all determine what will grow well.…

Some of us are born to love curry – and I’m one of them. In fact, I could happily eat curry at any mealtime. I’ll ’fess up right now: there’s been many a time I’ve tucked into last night’s takeaway curry for an indulgent though admittedly unconventional breakfast. Cooking curry is like culinary meditation: perfecting the spice blend, lovingly caressing it with the wooden spoon then serving it up with all the trimmings, from chutney to raita. Each warming, taste-exploding mouthful is a joy, a welcome contrast to our sometimes stuck-in-a-rut repertoire. What you may not appreciate is just how many of the essential spices that make a curry can be grown right here in good ol’ Blighty. Imagine snapping off a thumb of your own ginger or grinding up…

1. FEED YOUR SOIL Improving your soil will improve your crops and therefore the harvest you will get from them. 2. SUCCESSIONAL SOWING Sow little and often. Avoid sowing a 6m (20ft) row of lettuce in one go. Sow a quarter or half of it one week then make a note to sow the remainder two weeks later. Also sow a few lettuce or other salad leaves in cell trays at the same time. If you have failures in the row you can plant up the gaps. 3. INTERCROPPING This is sowing or planting crops between other crops. Good examples include lettuce or radish between onions, parsnips or climbing beans and squashes between sweetcorn plants. Plant garlic in sunny corners of the plot that are unlikely to be sown with…

“The sweetness puts all other plums to shame, and even the well-loved ‘Victoria’ plum has been described as ‘insipid and bland’ in comparison” When choosing a new fruit tree to plant, there are certain things I always bear in mind, the first being: is the fruit expensive or hard to find in the shops (such as mulberries and quince)? No point in giving valuable garden space to fruit which can be bought cheaply and easily. Next, the fruit must be utterly delicious. It motivates me to do all the menial upkeep, like winter washing and checking greasebands, if I know the reward at the end is worthwhile. And finally, if there is a little history involved or a good anecdote, all the better. If there is one fruit that gives…

Even the smallest vegetable garden can function better if some plants are allowed to twine upwards to reach their full height. And flower borders always look nice with a frame or two to allow climbing plants to shine. Of course, you can buy metal, wooden, plastic and woven versions of frames in different shapes and sizes to fulfil these tasks, but how much nicer to make your own obelisk in a few simple steps. Make one to the size shown and it will fit neatly into any border. Make one with more canes, or shorter canes, or one that spreads over a larger plot of land. Once you have got the idea of how simple it is to make a beautiful obelisk, there will be little to stop your ambitions…

6 RASPBERRY ‘POLKA’ CANES Few things can top the sweet summer taste of fresh raspberries and now you can try a double crop of multi-award-winning raspberries for free*! ‘Polka’ is a medium to large variety, holding awards both domestically at the National Fruit Show and internationally, showcasing its exceptional fruit quality. Bred in Poland with ‘Autumn Bliss’ as one of its parents, the virtually spine-free canes will yield double the crop of that variety. It will crop up to two weeks earlier, from late July to October, even when in less desirable soils. Our specially selected canes are propagated from disease-free certified stock, and will have well-developed root systems when you receive them, so they will establish fast and give an excellent crop. Worth £12.95! Delivered in seven to 10…

DT BROWN & CO tel 0845 371 0532 www.dtbrownseeds.co.uk SAMUEL DOBIE AND SON tel 0844 701 7625 www.dobies.co.uk MR FOTHERGILL’S SEEDS tel 0845 371 0518 www.mr-fothergills.co.uk JUNGLE SEEDS tel 01491 614765 www.jungleseeds.co.uk EW KING & CO tel 01376 570000 www.kingsseeds.com SE MARSHALL & CO tel 0844 557 6700 www.marshalls-seeds.co.uk MEDWYN’S SEEDS tel 01248 714851 www.medwynsofanglesey.co.uk MOREVEG tel 01823 681302 www.moreveg.co.uk THE ORGANIC GARDENING CATALOGUE tel 01932 878570, www.organiccatalogue.com PLANTS OF DISTINCTION tel 01449 721720 www. plantsofdistinction.co.uk THE REAL SEED CATALOGUE (Vida Verde) tel 01239 821107 www.realseeds.co.uk W ROBINSON & SON LTD tel 01524 791210 www.mammothonion.co.uk SARAH RAVEN tel 0845 092 0283 www.sarahraven.com SEEDS OF ITALY tel 0208 427 5020 www.seedsofitaly.com SHELLEY SEEDS tel 01244 317165 SIMPSON’S SEEDS tel 01985 845004 simpsonsseeds.co.uk SUFFOLK HERBS tel 01376 572456 www.suffolkherbs.com SUTTONS tel 0844…

CARROPECAN CAKE WITH ORAN ICING A lovely and rich cake with plenty of flavour thanks to zesty oranges and sweet pecans. MAKES 12 SLICES Preparation time: 30 minutes Cooking time: 35-40 minutes 300g10ozsoft light brown sugar 300ml/10½fl oz sunflower oil 3 medium free-range eggs 300g/10½oz plain flour 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp ground cinnamon ½ tsp ground ginger ½ orange, zest of ½ tsp salt 300g/10½oz carrots, grated 100g/3½oz pecans, chopped FOR THE TOPPING: 150g/5oz full fat cream cheese 30g/1oz unsalted butter, softened 200g/7oz icing sugar ½ orange, zest of 50g/2oz pecans, chopped 1. Preheat the oven to 170C/fan 160C/ gas mark 3. Line a 23 x 33cm (8½ x 13in) tray with baking parchment. 2. In a large bowl, whisk the sugar,…

“I was at a very impressionable age and I was very surprised that you could actually grow food!” It’s no secret in the culinary industry that Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall is obsessed with where food comes from. His dedication to ecologically sourced meat and fish has spawned a host of TV series and books wherein the Hampstead-born foodie investigates the people behind the ingredients. That aside, however, there is one aspect of cooking that seems to ignite Fearnley-Whittingstall’s exacting passions more than any other – growing your own. “My mum and dad and I were living in London until I was almost seven years old,” the 52-year-old reminisces. “My parents made a decision to move out of the city and go and live in the country. We moved to a little rented…