Innehållsförteckning för May 2017 från Kitchen Garden

May means warmer soils for most of us and the prospect of filling the plot with young plants – either home-grown or bought in. In this issue I’ll be offering my top tips for success with your early plantings and in a separate feature starting on page 80 suggesting some second sowings that can be made now to keep your harvests coming into the autumn and beyond. Writer and broadcaster Martin Fish has a weekend project guaranteed to keep your carrots free from carrot fly, while Joyce Russell has a great idea for making a bucket garden that’s perfect for those with limited space. We all like to grow something new and community gardening enthusiast Wendy Pillar encourages us all to try oca, a colourful potato-like tuber with a lemony…

SOWING COURGETTES There is still plenty of time to sow tender vegetables such as courgettes. Although they can be sown directly into the garden, I prefer to raise them in cell trays or pots and plant out when the seedlings are established. Sown in May or June, the plants will quickly establish and produce a good crop through the summer and into early autumn when earlier-sown plants will have finished fruiting. WATER BASIL SEEDLINGS Basil is a good herb to grow and there are several forms available, all with their own distinctive flavour. One thing they all require is warmth and protection at the seedling stage to help them establish. Now the days are much warmer, the seedlings should grow without too many problems as long as they are watered…

THIS MONTH’S EXPERT PANEL: CRACKED PEARS I enclose a photograph of about half of the crop of pears, last October, from one of my two trees. Every year some are affected by this cracking but this is the worst it has been. The other tree is a different variety and is unaffected. Any idea what causes the problem? Colin Douglas, Moffat DAVID SAYS: There are two possible causes for the cracking. One is uneven moisture levels over the summer months while the fruit is ripening – a similar thing can happen to tomatoes as well. Mulch the tree in spring and water well in dry periods. A fungal disease called pear scab is another possible culprit; look for brown blotches on leaves and fruit. These marks on the fruit…

“Perhaps the most common reason behind many companion planting combinations is to thwart garden pests.” Companion planting – when one plant is grown with another for the benefit of one or both – is something gardeners have been up to for centuries. We’re told, for example, to plant marigolds with tomatoes to see off whitefly; or to set any number of bee-attracting flowers within our plots to boost pollination of our fruits and vegetables. A lot of companion planting is down to good, old-fashioned common sense. Nevertheless, there are many, many different combinations touted as a given. Some of these are rooted in years of first-hand success, while others are murky at best. Knowing what advice to trust is tricky and even the most regularly quoted companion planting combinations can…

NATASHA FIELD FROM CHIPPING NORTON, OXON Natasha is very focused on growing her own and has an ambition to grow £500 worth of produce a year Do you tend your plot on your own? I do. However, I also receive help from my disabled mother and five-year-old niece with potting on and watering. Do you have an allotment or veg plot in your garden? My veg plot is container based. I have an old bath, toilet and sink, as well as old recycled boxes, baskets, polystyrene boxes (my mother receives a monthly medication delivery in these, so it’s good to find a recyclable use for them), old buckets, laundry baskets, and cut-down feed tubs from the local farm. I have a small patio garden, and an alleyway where I have…

“Variety is the spice of life, and growing and tasting a vegetable that you just can’t buy is an adventure!” One of the things that appeals to me about unusual veg is that they broaden our diet. The modern Western diet is incredibly narrow, with most of our veg coming from just a few plant families. One of the few uncontroversial healthy eating recommendations is that the broader the range of plant foods in your diet, the wider range of micronutrients you get and the healthier you are. Plus, variety is the spice of life, and growing and tasting a vegetable that you just can’t buy is an adventure! It is also becoming clear that climate change is going to lead to more extreme weather, and drought, flooding and hot…

“I think the only sure way to protect the roots is to create an insect-proof barrier over the rows” Fresh carrots pulled straight from the garden taste wonderful and by sowing different varieties it’s possible to have baby carrots early in the season followed by main-crop roots right the way through until winter. They really are worth growing and as long as you have well-drained soil that isn’t too heavy they are not a problem to grow. That is of course as long as you can keep the dreaded carrot root fly off them. This is the main pest of carrots and in a heavy infestation the tiny maggots can ruin the crop. The culprit is a small black fly that is attracted by the scent of the carrot foliage.…

RHUBARB ‘POULTON’S PRIDE’ Exclusive to DT Brown, this is the first rhubarb to crop for up to 10 months of the year! Through natural breeding, this variety doesn’t go dormant in the summer like others, so it keeps on cropping! Deliciously sweet, rosy red flushed stems can be harvested from February (if forced) through to November! Rhubarb Poulton’s Pride – 1 x 9cm potted plant for £6.95 Rhubarb Poulton’s Pride – 3 x 9cm potted plants for £13.90 NEW FRAMBERRY A breakthrough in soft fruit breeding has created this wonderful new variety which looks like a strawberry and tastes like a strawberry and raspberry combined – just delicious! They grow like strawberries and are easy to maintain. Harvest from mid-June to mid-July Framberry – 1 x 9cm potted plant for…

BEN VANHEEMS Organic gardening expert Ben takes a close look at companion planting to encourage polllinators and to deter pests and the folklore surrounding it. What actually works and what is wishful thinking? GEOFF STEBBINGS Head gardener and gardening writer Geoff has spent several years developing a beautiful and productive potager in Ireland. In this issue he suggests things you can try on your own plot with beautiful results. JOYCE RUSSELL Joyce is fanatical about her polytunnel and greenhouse and each month brings us all the latest jobs for the month under cover where, beliveve it or not she is already harvesting cucumbers! MARTIN FISH As well as helping you to look after your carrots by building a carrot frame, Martin offers his usual roundup of all the essential jobs…

Enjoy the month of May – it can be one of the nicest in the greenhouse. There is so much promise in all those growing plants and so much pleasure to be had from picking delicious crops of potatoes, carrots, strawberries, courgettes and more. Keep an eye out for problems as the year marches on and deal with pests and diseases quickly before they spread. May is often a dry and sunny month, so keep on top of watering, but don’t flood the soil around small plants. SOW & PLANT IN MAY • Sow basil in rows directly in the soil • Sow more French beans and salad leaves • Sow pumpkins in large pots • Plant sweetcorn sown last month and sow more for a later crop • Plant…

RETROPANTS: We have just planted out a completely new strawberry bed as the old one had lost its vigour. Has anyone found a way to keep the fruits clean that actually works and isn’t just a hideyplace for slugs and woodlice? We’ve tried, over the past 25 years, straw (obviously), weed membrane etc. Nothing seems to work and so we end up with muddy strawberries. JEFF64: I think straw keeps them clean enough, re the slugs, woodlice, earwigs, ants, etc., on my allotment they don’t seem to touch them till they are ripe, so I pick them a day or two early and they ripen nearly overnight. TIGERBURNIE: I’m growing half of mine under glass in troughs off the ground. Done this once before and it worked well, will have…

Our Star Question winner will receive vouchers worth £25; the writers of all other questions printed will receive a £10 voucher. They can be redeemed against any products in the latest Mr Fothergill’s catalogue, which will be sent out with the vouchers so you can choose from the massive range of quality products including seeds and garden equipment. To receive a free catalogue, call 08453 710518 or visit www.mr-fothergills.co.uk Email questions to tflanagan@mortons.co.uk or post to Question Time, Kitchen Garden, Mortons Media Group, Media Centre, Morton Way, Horncastle, Lincs LN9 6JR . Please include your full address on letters and emails. We do not publish full addresses.…

A traditional potager is an ornamental vegetable garden where vegetables are grown with flowers and herbs, often in clumps rather than rows. It is in contrast to the tidy allotment where rows of veg neatly stride across the plot and flowers are often restricted to the edges or are purely for cutting. This is so much simpler to sow, hoe and harvest, when crops are in straight rows. So why bother to mix things up? The idea of a plot that is productive and beautiful is very appealing, although serried ranks of perfect veg have their own beauty too. My aim was to create a productive plot that was a feast for the eyes as well as the stomach. I used a wide range of flowers for various purposes, as…

POTATOES Potatoes are easy: simply pop one or two sprouted seed potatoes into each bucket. Half fill with compost so potatoes are well covered, then top up with more round the stems as they grow. It takes around 16 weeks to grow large enough potatoes to eat (depending on variety). You can test by feeling down into the compost without disturbing the plant. CARROTS Carrots can be sown thickly over the surface of fine compost. Scatter some fine compost on top and protect against slugs when the seedlings start to poke through. Plants can be thinned out when they are 10cm (4in) tall if you want to grow larger roots. You should get the same weight of carrot from close-packed fingerling roots if they are left unthinned. CLIMBING BEANS Climbing…

In the past cabbage may not have been top of the list of tastiest veg, especially with children, and this was due in part to the natural mustard oil aftertastes of older varieties. The raw taste of modern varieties, however, has improved considerably, with breeders selecting for ‘sweeter’ flavours. Many summer cabbages are delicious shredded up as a replacement for lettuce in summer salads and as a constituent of stir fries. Pest and disease resistances have also been incorporated into breeding programmes to great effect. This was the first AGM hearted summer cabbage trial since 2004, although some of the cultivars were in various AGM programmes for different maturity periods in 1993, 1998, 2002 and 2011. Elsoms Seeds, a Lincolnshire-based commercial seed company, hosted the AGM trial. Elsoms annually showcases…

We all do it – cram the veg plot full to bursting in March and April, often with far more of each crop than we can ever hope to eat, then wonder what on earth to do with all the produce during the summer. Panic over we then have empty soil again and little to show for it, or to eat, come the winter months. With some planning, however, it doesn’t have to be like this, and early summer is a good time to get your second batch of sowings under way with follow-ups as the season progresses. Of course, some quick-growing crops such as salad leaves can be sown at monthly intervals all summer long and you can even sow them between rows of slower-growing veggies such as brassicas…

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VEGGIE CHILLI WITH CORIANDER A real taste sensation, this veggie chilli is easy to prepare and great for midweek dinners. Add plenty of coriander, it really makes the dish. SERVES 4 Preparation time: 20 minutes Cooking time: 40 minutes 150g5ozblackbeans soaked overnight, then cooked for 1 hour. Olive oil for frying 1 large onion, finely chopped 2 cloves of garlic, minced 1 red pepper, diced 1 yellow pepper, diced 2 sticks of celery, finely chopped 1 tin of tomatoes 2 tbsp tomato puree A large bunch of coriander, chopped 2 tsp smoked paprika 1 tsp cumin seeds, crushed 2 tsp oregano ½ tsp chilli flakes 1 tbsp hot chilli sauce 1 tsp cinnamon 1 vegetable stock cube, dissolved in 100ml water ½ lime, juice of Rice to serve 1.…

I was emptying a compost bin. Near the top I found two bits of clay pot and a nearly new hand fork (nearly new when it went in anyway)! My other half uses a trug when she is pottering around weeding etc. and often drops tools into it. It then all gets emptied out into the compost. Have you ever found a long-lost gardening tool or anything else unexpected in the compost heap? Steve Ott, Kitchen Garden editor I once had some manure delivered from a farm that had lots of baler twine and several dead piglets in it. I‘ve not got it from him since. Plum Pudding, Stocksbridge, S Yorks Retrieved secateurs before it was too late. Quite an expensive pair so I would have…

10 MINUTE JOBS HARDEN OFF TENDER VEG Tender vegetables that have been started off undercover can be gradually hardened off over the next few weeks in a cold frame to prepare them for planting out in the garden once the danger of frost has passed. On cold nights close the frame to conserve heat. PROTECT POTATOES In many parts of the country there is still a chance that we’ll get some night frosts through May. To protect soft growth such as potatoes pushing through the soil, I like to keep some garden fleece to hand to drape over plants if a frost is forecast. WATER NEWLY PLANTED CROPS Check any newly planted vegetables or fruit bushes to make sure the soil around their roots is moist at all times. May…

CARROT FLY The first eggs of the carrot fly are laid in May so make a frame (see p76), put a 60cm/2ft barrier of fine mesh around your carrot rows or sow a resistant variety such as ‘Flyaway’. LATE FROSTS Don’t be caught out by late frosts so keep an eye on the weather forecast in your area. Cover up using horticultural fleece or keep cloches in place till risk has passed. BLACKFLY Broad beans are prone to blackfly infestations so when the first pods start to form pinch out the growing tip of each plant by 5-7cm (2-3in).…

• ‘ROUGE CRAPAUDINE’ – (Supposedly the oldest known beetroot, dating back more than 1000 years) Carrot shaped with extremely dark, cracked skin. Very sweet and the true taste of beetroot. It has lighter-coloured leaves which are delicious added to salads when young or cooked like spinach when older. Available from Dobies of Devon www.dobies.co.uk • ‘BULL’S BLOOD’ – (1840) The darkest-leaved variety available, ideal to use in contrasting bedding or as baby leaves in any number of ways. Nice firm roots with a good taste and size. Available from Mr Fothergill’s www.mr-fothergills.co.uk • ‘AVON EARLY’ – (Date unknown) An early, prolific and fast-growing round-rooted type; Garden Organic’s founder Lawrence Hills states in The Vegetable Finder that it matures in about 10 weeks. Excellent sweet flavour; both juicy and crunchy when…

TOMATOES Tomatoes can produce good crops outdoors in a reasonable summer. Choose outdoor varieties as young plants. Grow one to a bucket. Peppers need lots of sunshine so if growing outdoors place against a sunny wall. One per bucket is ideal. COURGETTES Courgette plants don’t grow quite so big when in a container. Sow two seeds per bucket and remove the weakest if both grow, or buy in a young plant. BEETROOT Grow young plants in groups of three or four, allowing 10cm between each cluster. ROSEMARY Grow one rosemary per bucket. Chives, marjoram, thyme also one per bucket. For basil and parsley, plant several to a bucket. STRAWBERRIES You could plant two to three strawberry plants in a bucket. Feed them when fruit is swelling and roots won’t have…

I first learned to love growing things after working on a magazine about gardening and finding out that the best way to discover more was to get my hands dirty. I’m still very much of the experimental/lovingly neglectful style of gardener, but when we had our son, William, four years ago, I felt determined that he would be a fresh-air boy (he always took naps outside whatever the weather) who would play outside as much as possible and hopefully learn to love, and love to learn, in the garden. But my dreams of outdoor adventures combined with fruit and vegetable growing felt stymied by the size of our garden; a rear garden of 70sq m, a drive of 24sq m and a front garden of 64sq m (minus what we…

TOOLS FOR PERFECT POTTING The new Spear & Jackson Three-Piece Stainless Potting Tool Set is the perfect trio of tools for potted plants, ideal for digging, weeding, loosening soil, aerating and transplanting. Take care of your indoor plants, window boxes, pots and planters, vegetable patch and smaller garden plants with this set, which includes a hand trowel with a serrated edge, a transplanting trowel and a three-prong cultivator to handle the majority of planting tasks. Each tool measures approximately 22cm (9in) in length, making them ideal for working in small areas. The stainless steel heads ensure rust resistance, and each tool has an ergonomic natural wood handle for added comfort, and a stainless steel hook for easy storage in the garden shed. This attractive potting set is also a perfect…