Innehållsförteckning för December 2021 från Kitchen Garden

WHAT TO DO IN DECEMBER ■ Crops such as leafy brassicas, chard, carrots and potatoes in pots growing in a polytunnel can be harvested as needed through the winter months. ■ Check herbs growing in pots, especially evergreen types that may need watering during sunny spells. ■ If you heat your greenhouse to give frost protection, get into the habit of checking the heater daily in frosty weather. ■ Cover young salad plants and delicate seedlings with fleece during spells of cold weather. ■ When you have cleared areas of the polytunnel, remove any weeds and start to prepare the ground ready for early spring sowing and planting. CHECK SEED STOCKS AND ORDER MORE! At this time of the year, I like to sort through seed packets – opened and…

COCK-A-HOOP WITH CUCURBITS Just wanted to share how good it is to experiment with different ways of planting. Last year I decided to trial underplanting my sweetcorn with butternut squash to make the most of space on my allotment. Unfortunately, this was not very successful and only produced a limited number of very small squash. This year I am using a different method. I have planted my butternut squash under and between hoops, which is allowing the plants to spread along the ground and I have trained them up and over the hoops, again saving space. What a difference! I am so pleased the plants are looking very healthy and are already producing a number of good-size squash (early August). Ann Stacey, Somerset ★ STAR ★ LETTER WINS 25 VOUCHER…

When we took on the plot in 2015 we discovered we were home to a very healthy cinnabar moth colony – as well as frogs, hares, wrens, robins, blackbirds and various ladybirds, hoverflies, butterflies and bees. We take a free-range approach to our allotment and work symbiotically with all the nature on it such as letting borage flourish for the bees. So when we discovered we had onion rot we knew we had to find a safe and organic approach to dealing with it. I found an item from 2010 on the internet suggesting using garlic granules to trick the rot fungus into detecting onions had been planted, it would then bloom, find no host and die. It seemed such a safe and obvious idea that we just had to…

The shorter, cold days of winter don’t lend themselves to growing a lot of vegetables on the plot but you can grow a wider range of them on your windowsill if you harvest them while still very small as seedlings or microgreens. HOW TO GROW Any container will do and shallow ones are best as you don’t require a great depth of growing medium. Recycle food containers such as the ones you get mushrooms or fruit in. Even microwave meal containers are perfect. It is often recommended that plant containers have holes in the bottom but for once this is a disadvantage. If you are careful with watering, these types of containers can be placed on a windowsill without having to be put on a separate tray. If you are…

POSH SHED BIG PLANTER This brand new planter from The Posh Shed Company comes in nine sizes. It has fully pressurised treated timber walls and a base that will not rot, made from recycled plastic board. www.theposhshedcompany.co.uk EMPATHY GROW YOUR OWN PACK This pack contains everything needed to grow delicious crops naturally. The pack contains Rootgrow, two packs of Tomato Starter, After Plant Tomato Feed, After Plant Grow Your Own and complimentary RHS bird feed. www.rootgrow.co.uk HOZELOCK BIOMIX Make your own natural and organic plant feeds in this Biomix. Just add the leaves of comfrey or nettles and water and seal the unit. There is no smell and you can mix the solution using the handle on the top. You extract the plant feed from the tap at the base.…

Go to your local garden centre on any day of the year and hopefully you will find a fruit section with an array of plants for sale. The selection may change slightly from season to season, but generally it stays much the same. This is what the vast majority of gardeners are used to – being able to buy and plant what they like at any time. But what about this mysterious ‘bare root’ option that you may have heard about or seen adverts for? Older or more experienced gardeners may understand the term, but there is a whole generation that has never bought plants that way, or even knows what it means. This month we will explore the differences, so whether you are planning to buy one blackcurrant bush…

PEAR AND MINCEMEAT CAKE A truly Christmassy tasting cake that is sure to get anyone in the festive mood SERVES 8 Preparation time: 20 minutes Cooking time: 50 minutes ■ 150g/5¼oz butter ■ 150g/5¼oz caster sugar ■ 2 eggs ■ 150g/5¼oz ground almonds ■ 150g/5¼oz self-raising flour ■ ¼ tsp almond extract ■ 225g/8oz mincemeat ■ 1 large pear, peeled and chopped ■ 2 tbsp flaked almonds ■ 1 tbsp icing sugar for dusting 1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/ gas 4 and line a loose-bottomed 20cm/8in cake tin. 2. Beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, roughly 3-5 minutes. 3. Add the eggs, ground almonds, flour and almond extract and mix together until just combined. 4. Add the pear and fold through. 5. Spread half…

USE AND REMOVE BOLTING VEGETABLES Autumn varieties of leek will bolt as we move into winter. Remove the central hard core and you can still use outer layers. Salad leaves get stronger as they put up flower spikes – use what you can before removing the row. TRIM TALL HEDGES AND OVERHANGING BRANCHES Light levels are low in the winter so do your best to let extra light in. Hedges are useful protection against winter winds, but they can rob nutrients from nearby beds. BUY SEEDS Start compiling a list of what you want to grow next year – check old packets first so you don’t duplicate ones that are still good to sow. Get online orders in early and check out seed racks in stores if you like to…

■ I like to check the greenhouse and polytunnel at night, especially when the weather is very cold or windy, just to make sure everything is okay. Not all greenhouses or polytunnels have mains electric or a light, but you can very easily fit battery powered lights that work well. They are not expensive, batteries last a long time and they give off enough light to allow you to check plants and the heater on dark nights. ■ Where green algae has built up on the side of the polytunnel, give it a good wash down to clean it off. This makes the structure look better and allows more light to the plants inside. ■ Mice and rats can be a problem in the winter, searching for food and warmth.…

★ STAR ★ QUESTION WINS 25 VOUCHER PEAS HELP ME For the last few years that I have had my allotment I can never seem to get a decent crop of peas. I only ever get enough to barely provide a decent meal for two, all season, yet I see other plotters going home with a full carrier bag! Ruth Stephens, West Yorkshire EMMA SAYS: The basic essentials for good crops are as follows. A reasonably fertile soil. Peas can make their own nitrogen via nitrogenfixing nodules on their roots, but still benefit from growing in soil to which a little general fertiliser such as Growmore, pelleted chicken manure or similar has been added prior to sowing or planting. It is important to choose the right variety and to vary…

The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) sounds grand, ornate and impressive, which it is, but a substantial section of the 70-acre grounds is dedicated to a flourishing kitchen garden known as the Demonstration Garden. Crops are grown in two areas that the public can explore at their leisure: an outdoor plot (10m x 36m) for hardy crops such as beans, peas, kale, purple sprouting broccoli, courgettes, beetroot, chard and leeks; and a polytunnel (20m x 4m) for year-round salads and herbs such as rocket, lettuce, spinach, chard, parsley and coriander. The kitchen garden doesn’t simply grow produce for the sake of it; it supplies vegetables, herbs and salads for the RBGE ’s on-site catering establishments (we’re talking a restaurant, cafe and staff canteen too). Crops are usually harvested weekly and…

It’s been six years since the first Norwich Seed and Plant Swap. In that time we’ve moved from a redundant medieval church, then to a local school building and now we’ve settled in a community centre. The first seed swap attracted just a few dozen gardeners and allotment holders while the last seed swap in 2019 was visited by close to 300 people. We’re now a central horticultural event in Norfolk. WHY HAVE A SEED SWAP? Lots of us have surplus seed packets lurking in boxes at home. Either we just decided not to grow them or we took just a few seeds from the packet and there were lots left over. At a seed swap you can bring along those extra seed packets and have a rummage about for…

We eat tomatoes every day. Can’t get enough of them. If there are any left over that we don’t manage to eat, Liz might make her curry tomato chutney. We’ll also take this opportunity to use our little gadget the dehydrator. After about 12 hours on there, the tomatoes are all dried out. We put them in olive oil and – bingo! – sun-dried tomatoes. We also freeze tomatoes to use in slow cooks during the winter. I usually grow several varieties and only sow a few of each tomato at a time as I want to stretch the season out and have fresh tomatoes for as long as possible. When it comes to showing, there are so many different classes for tomatoes: standard, plum, cherry, and so many different…

Herbal tea is a popular beverage around the world – it’s been used for hundreds of years, claiming health benefits along with a great taste. This warming drink can easily be grown yourself; all you need are a few different herb plants and a reusable tea bag. Making your own is better for the environment as not all tea bags decompose, it’s cheaper and you can get creative with mixing herbs to suit your taste! Drinking any herbal tea gives you time to sit down, relax and inhale the soothing fragrance. It’s even more rewarding if you’ve grown it yourself. I’ll be using lemon verbena, rosemary, fennel, mint and lavender that I’ve grown in my garden. GROWING HERBS Herbs can be grown from seed, bought as small plants from the…

How long have you been gardening, and do you have a veg patch at home or an allotment? I have been around food growing for my whole life, my grandparents had a vegetable patch and my aunt and uncle had a smallholding. I’ve always tried to grow a bit of my own food and as soon as I had my first garden I went mad, planting everything I could possibly imagine. I was an allotment holder for a time which I loved but nowadays I grow in my own garden and on my aunt and uncle’s smallholding where I have access to a large polytunnel, greenhouse and vegetable patch. Is your family keen to help or do you largely garden alone? I mostly garden alone or with my two children…

(AGM is the RHS Award of Garden Merit. Under RHS garden trials these varieties performed particularly well) FREE WITH EVERY ORDER AUTUMN SOWING SEED COLLECTION (IO PACKETS) Autumn is a key season for sowing a whole host of seed varieties. It’s the perfect time for preparing your plot in readiness for the following spring. The soil is still warm enough for early sowings of broad beans and peas while leafy crops such as pak choi, lettuce and herbs can be overwintered in a cool greenhouse. This bumper 10-packet collection of seeds to sow now includes one packet each of: broad beans ‘Super Aquadulce’ and ‘The Sutton’, pea ‘Douce Provence’, pak choi ‘Blizzard’, lettuce ‘Winter Density’, cauliflower ‘All The Year Round’, cress, basil ‘Mixed’, coriander and oregano and is worth £21.88.…

SMACK! One of my favourite comic sketches of all time has to be from the 1980s sitcom The Young Ones where Neil the hippie tries to explain to Rik, his cynically incredulous flatmate, the ‘timeless wonder’ of nature. Neil is positively euphoric: “We sow the seed, right, nature grows the seed, then we eat the seed,” as he throws unopened packets of seeds on to the ground. He repeats this mantra several times as Rik becomes more and more frustrated, evident in his heavily sarcastic: “The beauty of your plan Neil seems to rest on everyone being really into seeds,” before bashing Neil over the head with a spade. I suppose Rik has a point. Not everyone is into seeds, or nurturing a crop, or eating something home-grown that they…

(*Free gifts not currently available in NI or EU) NEXT ISSUE ON SALE 25 NOVEMBER PLUS WINTER PRUNING EXPLAINED GARDENING ON A BUDGET ESSENTIAL JOBS FOR THE MONTH FREE WITH EVERY ORDER* SPRING PLANTING ONION, SHALLOT AND GARLIC BULBS (*Free only with orders from reader offer pages) When can I get my next hit of kitchen Garden? Scan this, and we’ll tell you! To order your next issue of Kitchen Garden, head to classicmagazines.co.uk/pre-order-kg We will send it directly to you! No need to visit the shops to pick up your copy.…

■ ROT IN STORED FRUIT AND VEGETABLES Check all stores regularly and remove anything that has softened or started to rot. Apples soon spread problems from one fruit to the next and pumpkins with one small mouldy blemish can be liquifying from the inside out. ■ FROZEN GROUND Lift any beetroot, carrots and parsnips still left in the ground. They will be unusable if they slowly freeze and thaw. Avoid planting anything into frozen ground. Most things can wait for better conditions. ■ LEAF SPOT This affects members of the beet and brassica family and mostly during the colder months. It can be caused by a range of fungal and viral diseases. Remove affected large outer leaves and thin plants if they are crowded. New leaves will often be unaffected…

OUR SERIES FOR YOUNG GROWERS Hi! I’m Belle and I’m here every month to share lots of fun activities for you to do at home, on your own or with your family Would you love to see more mini-beasts in your garden? The best way to invite them into your outside space and help them stay safe and warm is to build them a home! Bug hotels make the perfect, welcoming home for ladybirds, woodlice, bees and other mini creatures. Different insects and mini-beasts need their own types of habitats, so by making lots of different ‘rooms’ or areas using a mixture of materials, you can make a home for many. Here is your step-by-step guide on how to make a bug hotel at home or at your allotment. YOU…

Climate change is (or should be) a constant concern for everyone and if there is anything we can do as gardeners to help reduce the problem, however small, it must be worth considering. Even better if we can save ourselves some money into the bargain. If you have just a little space in the garden or can set aside a small part of your allotment – perhaps in a shady place or one that’s not particularly suitable for growing edibles – then why not consider growing your own plant stakes and bean supports? The plants that really lend themselves to this, such as hazel, ash, hornbeam, willow, sweet chestnut, lime and of course bamboo, are all relatively fast-growing and easy – not at all fussy about soils and are not…

When it comes to growing your own fruit and veg, most of us must grow or have had a go at growing potatoes at one time or another. The fact they are easy to grow and you get a large harvest is a bonus for new gardeners, plus the fact you can get different flavours and colours when you grow your own compared with shop-bought ones is great for us all. If you have grown potatoes before, you’ll know there are first earlies, second earlies, maincrop and salad varieties; simply put, this is a guide to when you should plant the tuber and when to harvest your crop, with first earlies being the quickest to grow and crop, while maincrop ones take longer and are usually larger tubers. Now comes…

I bet you don’t think of gardening as life-saving work, but actually, eating your greens could save your life, and tending to the garden won’t do you any harm either! Green vegetables are the healthiest foods. They’re low in carbohydrate, good for weight control and can help prevent type 2 diabetes. Dark green vegetables contain carotenoids, vitamin C and other antioxidants, which reduce your risk of heart disease, cancer and cognitive decline. Salad leaves, kale and spinach are great sources of vitamins A, C, E and K, while broccoli, bok choy and mustard greens are a good source of B vitamins, important for cell function and good overall health. A GREAT SOURCE OF FOLATE Folate is abundant in leafy green vegetables. It’s famously important for preventing birth defects, but it…

Last month I wrote about the importance of using the winter months to give the soil and ourselves an opportunity to rest, recover and recharge. While I totally agree with this, I wanted to look at these colder times from a different angle – one that perhaps might be more preferred by you, especially if just the idea of resting and stillness gets you twitching. Many people notice their mood dip in these colder months. Perhaps for a variety of reasons too, from the weather to other things such as the darker nights restricting our time outside or making us feel anxious about being outside. It could be the lack of sunlight and less activity, stopping our happy endorphins from activating. Or perhaps it’s the stillness, the lack of change,…

SEED COMPANY CONTACTS DT BROWN & CO tel 0845 371 0532 www.dtbrownseeds.co.uk DOBIES SEEDS 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 KINGS SEEDS tel 01376 570000 www.kingsseeds.com MARSHALLS SEEDS tel 0844 557 6700 www.marshallsgarden.com 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 PENNARD PLANTS tel:01749 860039 www.pennardplants.com PLANTS OF DISTINCTION tel01449 721720 www.plantsofdistinction.co.uk THE REAL SEED CATALOGUE tel 01239 821107 www.realseeds.co.uk W ROBINSON &SONLTD 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 01244317165 www.shelleyseeds.co.uk SIMPSON’S SEEDS tel 01985 845004 simpsonsseeds.co.uk SUFFOLKHERBS tel 01376 572456 www.suffolkherbs.com SUTTONS tel 0844 922 0606 www.suttons.co.uk THOMPSON…