Innehållsförteckning för March 2020 från Kitchen Garden

Itching to open those seed packets? Your March issue includes all the advice you need to help you get your new season’s sowings under way. As well as our essential jobs for the month section starting on page 6, where we have advice on planting potatoes, we also feature a selection of top class cultivation equipment that can make preparing and maintaining your seed beds so much easier (Page 74). On page 56 KG regular Ben Vanheems resurrects a traditional technique for growing greenhouse crops and gives it a modern spin, while on page 30 you’ll find my growing guide to tasty tomatoes. Gardening experts Colin Randel and David Patch bring you the very best varieties of dwarf beans and fruit for the show bench while organic gardener Stephanie Hafferty…

STEP 1: CHITTED SEED POTATOES Seed potatoes grow best if they have short, strong, green shoots when you plant them out. Put some early varieties in egg boxes with the sprout end up and leave them in plenty of light. Do this for a couple of weeks and you should have seed that is ready to plant by mid to late March. STEP 2: A BIT OF MANURE Choose a fine day to start planting. If your soil is dry, then plant in a trench with some compost or manure at the bottom. If soil is wet, then it works well to plant in a raised ridge – start out by laying manure on the surface and put potatoes 30cm (12in) apart on top. STEP 3: BURY WITH SOIL Pile…

■ Very often the space under benches becomes a bit of a dumping ground for pots and trays, so if you’ve not already done it, have a good tidy up and group different sized pots and trays together to make it easier to find what you are looking for. ■ As more plants are being grown, make sure watering cans are always topped up so that the water has time to acclimatise to the ambient temperature under cover. For watering newly sown seeds and seedlings, I prefer to use mains water as water from butts often contains fungi and bacteria that can damage seedlings. ■ A maximum-minimum thermometer is very handy to see exactly how cold it’s been overnight or how warm it’s been during the day. Ideally, reset it…

Send us your tips and pictures and if your letter is published you will get a £10 Dobies voucher. If you are lucky enough to have yours chosen as our Star Letter you will get a £25 voucher. Your voucher will be sent out with a Dobies catalogue and you can choose to spend your winnings on a fabulous range of seeds, young plants and gardening sundries. You can get hold of a copy of the catalogue now by phoning 0844 701 7625 or go online to www.dobies.co.uk You can reach us by letter, email or via our Facebook page: FACEBOOK.COM/KITCHENGARDENMAG 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…

The seeds of sunflowers are a nice size for children to handle and there are many varieties to choose from. The traditional tall sunflowers with single blooms that have dark centres and radiating yellow petals are the ones to go for. These are sold in most garden centres. There are some named varieties that include ‘Russian Giant’ or ‘Titan’. Suttons Seeds sells a Fun to Grow range that includes sunflowers. The packet includes bug stickers and a paper tape measure which adds to the fun.(www.suttons.co.uk) HOW TO SOW AND GROW Sow sunflower seeds from March to May. Ideally sow in small pots (7.5cm diameter ideal) first. You can sow them direct in the ground from April but they are quite vulnerable to slug and snail attack. Pot-grown ones stand a…

This month Guy Barter, chief horticultural adviser for the RHS, focuses on a disease that often affects young seedlings WHAT IS IT? Damping off is caused by the fungi Fusarium and Rhizoctonia, or the ‘fungus-like organisms’ Phytophthora and especially Pythium. Patches of seedlings collapse and die, or seeds fail to emerge. SYMPTOMS Rotting at the base, followed by toppling of seedlings in patches is the commonest sign, but often seeds rot off below soil, never to emerge. Fungal mould is frequently present. Damage usually starts where sowing is thickest or on over-watered areas, spreading to destroy all seedlings. It is important to sow thinly. Indoor sowings are more vulnerable than outdoor ones as light levels are lower and airflow can be limited, leading to excess humidity. Windowsill sowings have less…

There is nothing I love more than growing my own vegetables in the kitchen garden; in fact, I can’t imagine my life without getting my hands dirty or tasty home-grown veg on my plate. This said, sometimes it can be a challenge to keep on top of sowing, thinning and planting your young plants; so what would you say if I told you there are vegetables you only need to sow/plant once and they will provide you with tasty and nutritious veg all year round, with some being able to be harvested 365 days a year? This isn’t a joke and you don’t need any special equipment – I’m talking about growing perennial veg! Perennial veg by their own description are perennial, meaning they will keep coming back and cropping…

It’s easy to take perennial kale cuttings as Rob demonstrates here. ■ Some people simply take a ‘branch’ from the plant and stick it in the soil. I prefer to take 20cm/8in cuttings. ■ Strip most of the larger leaves off and dip the cut end in hormone rooting gel/powder. Then simply pot them up into 10cm/4in pots and leave them in a semi-shaded spot until they are rooted. ■ By doing this you can increase the number of plants you are growing with ease. Simply plant out when rooted or you could gift them to gardening friends to spread the benefits of perennial veg.…

WHITEFLY: This pest often strikes from mid to late summer. Symptoms include tiny white moths that flit from leaf to leaf when disturbed and tiny scales under the leaves. Infestations quickly develop and give rise to sooty mould, which soils the leaves and fruit below. Introduce the biological control Encarsia formosa when the first whitefly is spotted. TOMATO BLIGHT: Often much more of a problem on outdoor plants where it spreads from potato crops. Infected plants should be removed and destroyed immediately. The fruit will not store. Choose blight-resistant varieties for outdoor growing; there are lots including some of the above.…

Amy also has a parenting blog (www.growingupwithnature.com) where she regularly writes about the benefits of gardening for children and how other families can enjoy it too, and inspiring families to get outside more! “We also feature lots of gardening and how to enjoy gardening as a family through growing food and helping the environment. I decided to start blogging a couple of years back after the birth of our first daughter Aria. I have always loved writing and it became my dream to combine the two, inspiring other parents to help bring more nature into their child’s life. As our family grew and gardening became a part of our daily lives, I started to incorporate it into my blog posts on Growing Up With Nature, from articles on how to…

■ Extra Fine – under 6.5mm ■ Very Fine – 6.5 to 8mm ■ Fine – 8 to 9mm ■ Medium Fine – 9 to 10.5mm ■ Larger pencil – over 10.5mm ■ Flat podded – 15 to 22mm In the shops, varieties in the ‘extra fine to fine’ range are most popular. They are a major export for Kenya, hence their alternative name of ‘Kenyan beans’. A darker green pod colour is associated with improved health benefits and is also more visually appealing to most shoppers. Waxpods have a more waxy texture than green cultivars with a more crisp ‘snap’. Waxpods’ colour range varies from very pale yellow through to a rich golden yellow, dependent on cultivar. Flat, broad podded, more widely known as ‘Roma’, are much more popular…

1 Start by sprinkling 100 grams of fertiliser over the top of the bale. Water it in thoroughly using a strong jet of water to blast the fertiliser down into the bale until it disappears from sight. 2 The next day soak the bale until you see water seeping from the base. Repeat days one and two – adding fertiliser one day and just soaking it the next – over the next four days. 3 On day seven the bale will have heated up a lot. Reduce fertiliser input to 50 grams per bale; water in. Repeat on days eight and nine. On day 10 apply a balanced fertiliser and water in. 4 The bale is ready once the internal temperature has dropped so it’s warm rather than hot. Cereals…

RAISED BEDS FOR DISABLED GARDENERS ■ If you have mobility issues make sure there is plenty of room around the bed for you so you can sit on a stool or in a chair. ■ You want the bed at waist or chest height to avoid too much bending over. ■ If the bed is permanent, don’t fill it all with soil. You only need soil in the last 12 inches so fill the rest with rubble (it will save you money). ■ Add corner posts to your beds to help you move and stop you from pulling the garden hose across it. ■ Make a bed that you can reach across without stretching. You can grow a lot in a 5ft by 3ft space. ■ Grow crops that come…

If you get really bitten by the show bug, you may get to the stage of selecting specific varieties which will do well on the show bench. For the vast majority of us, however, it will be more a case of making do with the varieties which we already have. The following are a list of great exhibition varieties which are also superb fruit in their own right. If you are thinking of putting in new plants, any of these will give you the chance to win first prize at your local show and enjoy the delicious fruit. ■ APPLE ‘CHARLES ROSS’. A classic early dual purpose apple, the fruit is almost always clean and uniform. Not only do these apples look good, they taste fantastic and cook well too.…

HAND TOOLS ■ CHILLINGTON TOOLS: www.chillingtontoolsonline.co.uk ■ BACKSAVER: www.backsavertools.co.uk ■ WILKINSON SWORD: wilkinsonsword-tools.co.uk ■ FISKARS: www.fiskars.com ■ SPEAR & JACKSON: www.spear-and-jackson.com ■ WOLF-GARTEN: www.wolf-garten.com ■ SILVERLINE: www.silverlinetools.com ■ BULLDOG: www.bulldogtools.co.uk ■ DRAPER: www.drapertools.com ■ BURGON & BALL: www.burgonandball.com ■ SNEEBOER: www.sneeboer.com ■ KENT & STOWE: kentandstowe.com POWER TOOLS ■ STIGA: www.stiga.com ■ COBRA: www.cobragarden.co.uk ■ THE HANDY: www.thehandy.co.uk ■ GREENWORKS: www.greenworkstools.com ■ MANTIS: mantis.uk.com…

Herbs are a fantastic and varied resource to access both in our gardens and sometimes by foraging. Many herbs and plants can have several uses that make them so vital as part of the garden. Most gardens have a few herbs for cooking such as basil and chives but if you want to explore expanding your herb collection you can create an amazing herb garden or herb spiral that has useful plants in it. You can even divide the herb garden by how you will be using the herbs. For example for cooking, mainly for medicinal or mainly for household cleaning or perfumes. Lots of herbs, of course, double up for eating and using for other things - I tend to have my herbs based in one area of the…

This unusual, compact raspberry has been bred specifically for container and patio growing. ‘Yummy’ is a thornless variety with a compact and bushy habit producing heavy crops of juicy, sweet, red fruit, lovely for jam or eaten fresh from the bush! Plants are easy to grow with no need for support and will produce delicious fruit in the first year. Supplied as a 2ltr potted plant. **You will receive this item FREE when ordering at least one additional product off the page.…

Call the credit card and debit card order hotline on 0845 371 0532* (open 8am to 8pm weekdays and 9am to 5pm weekends). Only orders above £10 by phone please. *calls cost 3p per minute plus your phone company’s access charge. Or send a cheque made payable to D T Brown Seeds to Kitchen Garden March Offers (KG20MAR), D T Brown Seeds, Bury Road, Newmarket CB8 7PQ. Items will be despatched within 10-14 days. Offer subject to availability, only one, FREE item per household. D T Brown reserves the right to substitute with a product of equal or greater value. Please note that you are only entitled to the free item when ordering at least one additional product off the page. ORDERING ONLINE? VISIT WWW.KITCHENGARDENSHOP.CO.UKADD ALL ITEMS TO YOUR BASKET…

WOOD CARE IN COLOUR Protek’s range of woodcare products is available in over 100 stunning colours, so it will not only protect all areas of exterior timber but also uplift your garden. Colour plays a key part in a stylish garden scheme that can be enjoyed all year round. All garden wood, from fences and gazebos to decking and summerhouses, requires protection. Why not revamp and protect a potting bench in an inspiring colour this year? Your garden plants, pets and wildlife will also benefit, as all Protek products are water-based and manufactured with environmentally considerate processes and raw materials. The Protek brand is lovingly produced in Somerset by a family firm which has been making timber preservatives and coloured treatments for more than 30 years. Protek products are available…

ASPARAGUS PASTA WITH WILD GARLIC PESTO Forage some wild garlic and make this quick seasonal dish of asparagus and penne pasta. SERVES 4 Preparation time: 10 minutes Cooking time: 20 minutes FOR THE PESTO: ■ 100g/3½oz wild garlic ■ 50g/1 3/4oz Parmesan, grated ■ 50g/1 3/4oz pine nuts, toasted ■ Olive oil ■ Lemon juice, to taste ■ Salt & pepper FOR THE PASTA: ■ 400g/14oz penne pasta ■ Olive oil for frying ■ 400g/14oz asparagus ■ 1 garlic clove, minced ■ 200g/7oz mushrooms, sliced 1. Thoroughly wash your wild garlic and place it in a food processor. Blitz for a few seconds and then add the Parmesan and process further. 2. Add the pine nuts and blitz again. With the machine still running, pour in enough olive oil to…

10 MINUTE JOBS WATER FROST OFF PLANTS Rows of peas and beans will slump under a hard frost and foliage may blacken. Water rows with cool water before the sun hits and you should reduce damage. Growing points may be spared even if some leaves are lost. POT ON BRUSSELS SPROUTS Prick out seedlings when they have two full leaves and put each one in an individual 12cm (5in) pot. Seedlings may seem small but they grow fast and enjoy a bit of root-room. Sow a few more seeds if you want to grow a later variety to spread the cropping season. TIDY HERB BEDS Remove dead stems and leaves from last year – new growth emerges from the base of chives, marjoram, fennel etc. Trim any broken or dead…

■ BEAT THE BOLT! Keep picking sprouting broccoli before the spears start to flower. Once the bolting process starts there is little you can do to hold it back, so pick as much as you can and enjoy the glut while it lasts. ■ PLANT ONION SETS Spring planting varieties are in the shops now. Look for firm bulbs that haven’t started to sprout. Plant into firm ground that is enriched with potash – wood ash and powdered seaweed are good sources. ■ FIRST MOW Lawns are probably a bit scraggly at this point, with some patches of grass longer than others. A mow in March will really tidy things up and you can use the clippings for a nitrogen-rich mulch. ■ MULCH FRUIT Fruit bushes and trees benefit from…

MARCH AT THE GARDEN MUSEUM As part of its winter events programme the Garden Museum in Lambeth, London has a number of talks and workshops that will be of interest to gardeners: Plot to Plate with Kathy Slack, on Sunday, March 8 (12.45pm-4pm) is a three-hour cooking masterclass on making food with seasonal crops. Herbs in the City, on Tuesday, March 10 (7pm), explains how growing your own herbs for use in teas, tinctures and bathing can improve your health and connection to nature in the city. From Shoot to Pod: the Power of the Humble Pea, on Tuesday, March 24 (7pm) is a workshop celebrating the power of the pea, learning how they can be used to make elegant, sophisticated drinks. Designing Your Herb Garden, on Tuesday, March 31…

PARSNIP CANKER Is there any way we can prevent canker forming on our parsnips? John Tyson, Cumbria Emma Rawlings, deputy editor Kitchen Garden magazine EMMA SAYS: Parsnip canker is a very common problem, especially in wet seasons or on heavy soils, so improving drainage can help. However, it is best to look for a canker-resistant variety to start with and there are lots in the seed catalogues now, including ‘Gladiator F1’ and ‘Avonresister’. Don’t be tempted to sow into cold, wet soil in spring, but wait until March/April when conditions improve, and take care not to damage the roots when hoeing or working around the crop. Other problems such as carrot fly may damage the roots, allowing canker an easy point of entry, so these should be controlled where you…

KG FACEBOOK GARDENING BUDDIES So which famous gardening celebrity would you like to team up with, given the choice? Here are some responses: ■ Michelle Obama for sure! Could not think of a more interesting and fun garden buddy. ■ I’d choose Michael Perry the Gardening Geek! He knows his stuff! ■ I would have to choose Monty Don. ■ Terry Walton, he’s my kind of gardener. Michelle Obama may seem an unlikely choice but she was very involved in the White House Kitchen Garden while she was first lady. Her book American Grown: The Story of the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens Across America was published in 2009. ELSEWHERE ON THE WEB RHS AWARD OF GARDEN MERIT  Ever wondered what the initialism AGM means? You’ll see this first…

There are other perennial veg such as sorrel (Rumex acetosa) and sea kale (Crambe maritima) which will happily grow year after year, but to me they have an acquired taste and are more of a novelty, making them great to grow if you have the space and want something a little different. Maybe not something I’d class as a staple in the kitchen garden. I want to grow perennial veg that I know I will eat, such as onions, kale and broccoli; and you’ll be glad to know you can.…

It’s official! Brits love tomatoes. When it comes to growing and eating them, we think they are tops and there is hardly a greenhouse, patio or veg patch that won’t be home to at least one tub or growing bag bursting with them. Surely, only the Italians can lay greater claim to their love of these sweet ripe fruits – but then they have the sunshine on their side, while we battle on no matter what the weather and how bothersome the blight. Look to the seed catalogues and you’ll be offered two basic types – greenhouse and outdoors – although some have roots in both camps. Greenhouse crops can be sown early – from January onwards – giving them a long growing season to ripen heavy crops and protection…

MOUNTFIELD Mountfield has been one of the UK’s leading lawnmower manufacturers for over 50 years and its lawnmowers, lawn tractors and garden care products all share a reputation for outstanding quality and reliability. Why not view all the ranges on the Mountfield website: www.mountfieldlawnmowers.co.uk WOLF-GARTEN The WOLF-Garten gardening tool collection offers the total solution for soil and cultivation, lawn care, tree and shrub care and general garden maintenance. The WOLF-Garten philosophy is to provide gardening tools and machinery of premium quality and performance. Tel. 01869 363674 www.wolfgarten-tools.co.uk HARROD HORTICULTURAL This company has been producing top quality garden products for 60 years and is innovative in bringing new designs on to the market. It offers an excellent mail order service and, as well as being renowned for its sturdy fruit and…

1 Use a hand fork to loosen the straw then dig out a hole using the fork and by pulling out the straw with your hands. Add a handful of compost to the hole. 2 Remove the plant from its pot and plant as normal at the correct depth. Push the straw back in around the sides and then water thoroughly. 3 Set supports into place for sprawling or vining plants like cues. Plant these towards the back of the straw bale so they don’t smother shorter crops. 4 Two of the planted bales. Straw has been banked up around the base of the tomatoes to encourage further rooting and sturdier, stockier plants.…

START A COUPLE OF COURGETTES Courgette plants aren’t frost-hardy but if you have a sunny window ledge it is easy to start off one or two early plants indoors. Sow one seed per 8cm (3in) pot of good compost and water lightly so the soil is damp. Put a clear plastic bag over the top of each pot and hold this in place with an elastic band. This makes a simple mini-propagator that helps to reduce moisture loss. Seedlings emerge in six to eight days. Plants grow quickly with plenty of light, water and warmth. Harden off and move outdoors to a cold frame or cloche after the last frost. SOW A FEW FLOWERS Sow some nasturtium and marigold (tagetes) seeds this month and you will have some help in…

WHAT TO DO IN MARCH  ■ As soon as seedlings of tomatoes and peppers are large enough to handle, prick out into small pots to grow on. ■ Start sowing outdoor veg in pots or plug trays to give them a head start when you plant out later in spring. ■ You can harvest early sown salad crops, chard and kale and enjoy them while they are still young and tender. ■ Sow dwarf peas, sugar snap or mangetout in large pots of compost to grow undercover. ■ Leeks sown in plug trays last month should now have germinated and when a couple of inches tall they can be thinned to a single seedling per cell. RHUBARB CARE If you lifted a clump of rhubarb from the garden in January,…

STOP THE ROT I read the letter from Tony Ryan in the January 2020 issue about onion white rot with interest as I also have this in several of my beds and have tried to minimise its effects in a similar but different manner to Tony. Once I was aware of it (when my onions literally fell over as the roots, and in many cases, the base of the bulbs, were completely rotted away, the fungus being apparent), I started trawling the www looking for a ‘cure’. I found a mycology paper (http://www.bcseeds.org/white-rot-2) wherein treating the ground with a garlic (not an onion) solution had shown some beneficial effect with the fungus ‘sclerotia’ germinating but then dying off, there being no actual alliums to infect. The ‘sclerotia’ apparently only germinate…

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.…

Steve is in the KG polytunnel demonstrating how to sow carrots in pots. You’ll need a deep pot (for deep-rooted carrots) such as an old florist’s bucket (drill some holes if necessary). Fill with multipurpose compost and then sieve compost over the top to create a fine covering. Steve is sowing ‘Early Nantes’, a fast-maturing carrot with long roots, though for shorter roots you could opt for ‘Paris Atlas’. Sow thinly, about 2½cm (1in) between seeds, though don’t worry if you’ve sown too thickly as you can thin out after germination. Sieve a light covering of compost over the seeds and water in. No heat is required – a coldframe or a sheltered spot with a polythene or glass cover over the pot will suffice. Keep well watered throughout the…

Another one of my favourite perennial veg to grow has to be perennial kales (Brassica oleracea var Acephala). These easy to grow plants are monster producers, growing to more than 2m/6½ft wide and almost as tall; yet don’t let this put you off as they can be cut back extremely hard and will provide you with delicious kale 365 days a year, even in the depths of winter. The one I prefer to grow is called ‘Daubenton’s Kale’ and it has slightly wavy green leaves, nothing like its curly leaved cousins; think of it as large cabbage leaf shaped, but tasting of kale. When the leaves are small and young they are tender enough to be used in salads, but let them grow and you can use them for stir-fry,…

■ ‘SUNGOLD’: A highly popular orange cherry type which is very sweet, prolific and delicious in a salad or lunchbox. (Kings) ■ ‘SHIMMER F1’: Brown-red, striped cherry tom producing sweet, almond-shaped fruit with a lovely complex flavour. Good blight resistance. (Suttons) ■ ‘HONEYCOMB F1’: A new orange-red cherry tom with a lovely sweet taste. (Suttons, Pennard Plants) ■ ‘SUPER MAMA F1’: A Roma type. Very prolific despite its size. Can be grown indoors or out and is great for sauces and soups. (D T Brown) ■ ‘COSTOLUTO FIORENTINO’: Italian heritage beefsteak. Great for sauces, passata and soups. (Mr Fothergill’s, Chiltern Seeds, Suttons) ■ ‘HONEYMOON F1’: Large pinky-red fruits produced in large numbers. Great for soups, passata or sandwiches. Good blight resistance. (Kings) ■ ‘OH HAPPY DAY F1’: A great variety…

Straw bales offer several advantages. Here are just a few of them. ■ WASTE NOT: Growing in bales makes use of a natural by-product that might otherwise go to waste. There’s no plastic wrapping and the nylon twine around the bales can be reused as super-strong garden string. ■ EASY DOES IT: Forget the usual digging, hoeing and bending associated with conventional growing. Bales need watering less often than containers and growbags too because their greater volume acts as a buffer, holding on to more moisture for longer. ■ BETTER BALANCED: Bales have more nooks and crannies that shelter spiders and other beneficial bugs. This means an on-site army of pest predators and generally cleaner, trouble-free crops with fewer aphids and whitefly. ■ SECOND LIFE: Once the bales are exhausted…

TAYBERRY ‘BUCKINGHAM’ FRUIT PLANT A spine-free ‘sport’ of the original tayberry. Produces vigorous, stout canes and very large berries (up to 5cm/2in long), similar to a loganberry but sweeter. The fruits are ready from late July onwards, but do wait for the fruit to turn from red to purple to ensure the best flavour. 2ltr potted plant only £16.95 BLUEBERRY ‘DRAPER’ FRUIT PLANT This large-berried blueberry is our early to mid-season favourite, fruiting from late July until mid-August depending on location. The bushes are highly productive and the large, firm berries have a crisp and sweet flavour which sets the mouth tingling. Extremely resistant to common diseases. 2ltr potted plant only £14.95 BLUEBERRY ‘PINK SAPPHIRE’ FRUIT PLANT Yes, a blueberry that is positively pink! The fruits start at a pale…