Innehållsförteckning för September 2023 från Kitchen Garden

“Have you viewed us on YouTube yet?” SAVING, SOWING AND STRETCHING Steve’s tomatoes and peppers have done well this year despite a lack of sunshine in July. This year he is trying several varieties he hasn’t tried before as well as some old favourites. He likes to grow open-pollinated types so he can save the seeds. At the moment, it’s all about training and trimming to ensure the plants keep the fruit swelling and ripening rather than producing unwanted growth. Tony’s runner beans are doing well but they’re getting a bit straggly at the top. So he’s been doing his stretching exercises (who needs a gym when you’re gardening?). Lopping off the straggly tops should encourage more growth below and more beans! The plants have definitely benefited from the July…

PLOTTER OF THE MONTH GET GROWING MICHAEL BUXTON FROM SHEFFIELD Michael has proved that even in smaller spaces you can adapt and grow great vegetables. Do you have an allotment or a veg patch in your garden? I have a small plot at the side of my driveway which was covered in ivy, laurel and conifers and that prevented sunlight getting to the grass so looked a bit of a mess. After I cleared it, the sun is now on the plot all day and having walls on three sides helps prevent wind damage and also helps to retain heat. I also have a greenhouse at the side of the house, but it is in the shade most of the summer as it is on a north-easterly facing wall. However, it…

GET GROWING COMPOSTING Q&A There always appears to be an element of magic to composting. The process of taking all those materials that you would otherwise discard and turning them into lovely, brown, crumbly compost never ceases to amaze me. However, I do come across instances when things don’t quite go to plan. The good news is there is no need to give up, as the situation can usually be rescued once you realise what the problem is. Here are some of the most common composting woes and how to rectify them. I HAVE CREATED A SLIMY, SMELLY MESS This most commonly occurs when people put a pile of moist material such as fresh grass clippings or vegetable and fruit peelings in a pile with nothing much else. The mix has…

FOOD DISCOVERY GET GROWING The Country Trust’s central mission is to connect children from areas of disadvantage to the real working countryside, bringing food, farming and environmental experiences to those who are least able to access it.The beginnings were simple. The charity started taking groups of children from urban areas to farms for day visits in 1978 and this remains the core of what it delivers today, with a team of Farm Discovery co-ordinators spread across the country offering funded visits to eligible schools. The Country Trust has expanded, specialised and adapted over its 45 years, offering residential experiences and even developing a ‘farm in a box’ programme to bring the farm into the classroom when visits weren’t possible during the pandemic. This year the trust is celebrating 10 years of…

ROYAL SUSSEX TRADITIONAL TRUG Handmade in Sussex from a combination of sweet chestnut wood and cricket bat willow, this trug uses local and sustainable materials. This style of trug was first developed by Thomas Smith of Herstmonceux, Sussex in the 1820s. It was a reinvention of earlier trugs which up to this date were very heavy. SUSSEX TRUGS www.sussextrugs.com TEL: 01323 871640 PRODUCT CODE: N/A PRICE: £65-£120 * Prices correct at time of publication KG VERDICT Available in eight sizes, this trug has been beautifully crafted and comes with a fascinating history, with Queen Victoria ordering some as gifts for her family when she attended The Great Exhibition at Crystal Palace in 1851. Light but also securely constructed, and with an open, rectangular design, this is an excellent trug to…

SEED SAVING GET GROWING On the Norwegian island of Svalbard, 400 feet beneath a mountain and encased in rock, lies the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. It’s one of the most protected places on Earth, chosen for its geological and climatic stability to keep its precious contents safe. So, what is so critically important that it deserves such a fortress? Seeds, of course! It contains around 1.1 million seeds of around 6000 different plant species contributed by seed banks worldwide. The purpose is to preserve these seeds in case something catastrophic should happen on Earth. “One seed was recently germinated after being preserved in Arctic ice. It was estimated to be 32,000 years old” Seeds are the foundation of all life on Earth. They’re the embryonic form of a plant, encasing a…

GET GROWING HYDROPONICS Geoff Hackett has been featured in Kitchen Garden magazine before – he won a special commendation after entering our Passionate Plotter competition in 2018. His veg plot in his garden in Tyne and Wear (Hebburn) is only 4m by 5m yet he packs so much into this small space. In time Geoffwanted more growing area and so his only alternative was to use the vertical fences around his plot and a home-made hydroponics system. We asked Geoffa few questions about his set-up. Is your set-up based on hydroponic principles? The vertical system is a water-only hydroponic set-up, using an electric pump to deliver the nutrient water at set times and durations using a simple household plug-in timer. Did you buy kits or design and create the whole system…

PERFECTLY PRESERVED The L’Equip FilterPro Digital Food Dehydrator was the first to introduce clean air drying technology. A filter cleans incoming air for better food hygiene, and its unique air pressure stabilisation system ensures consistent drying. It comes with two deep and four regular trays, and more can be added to expand its capacity. Supplier UK Juicers rates it as the most reliable model in its range, offering the best long-term value for money – as well as being one of the most economical to run. Price: £199 www.ukjuicers.com Tel: 01904 757070 SUBSCRIBER SAVING: 25% off the L’Equip FilterPro until September 30, 2023 MULCH ON A ROLL New Organic Biodegradable Paper EcoMulch from Mulch Organic is a sturdy paper mulch formulated with strong reclaimed cellulose fibres to provide effective weed…

LAST WORD So, we love our neighbours don’t we? But friendly neighbours can turn into unfriendly fiends, especially when it comes to borders, trees and hedges. Take the couple who came home one day to find their hedge cut down and a fence put up in its place! According to the Criminal Damage Act 1971 it is a criminal offence (no pun intended) for a person ‘without lawful excuse’ to destroy or damage property belonging to another – including hedges. Extreme scenarios aside, there are a number of laws that many of us are capable of inadvertently breaking – and even may have unwittingly done so, budding criminals that we are! As the old maxim goes: ignorance of the law is no defence against the law! This following piece of…

MAKE THE MOST OF TOMATOES This is the last month of real abundance for fruiting crops like tomatoes. Make the most of the plenty by picking regularly and checking under leaves for any hiding fruits. If you haven’t already done so, pinch out the growing points of tomatoes to stop them growing any taller and remove any yellowing leaves – all efforts should now be on ripening the fruits that have formed before cooler temperatures bring the shutters down. There are many ways to process gluts. My preferred method is to make passatas or tomato sauces incorporating garden-grown garlic, onions and perhaps a chilli or two. Just yum! Sauces can be frozen in portion-sized packets or bottled into Kilner jars. It’s also worth dehydrating plum tomatoes. If you don’t have…

THE MAGIC ROUNDABOUT One of the University of Warwick’s picturesque roundabouts has been crowned Roundabout of the Year and will appear in The Best of British Roundabouts Calendar 2024. The roundabout has been recognised for its impact on promoting biodiversity and protecting the local ecosystem. Integrating nature into urban spaces with a diverse patchwork of interconnected habitats, the university has been proactive in providing suitable habitats for plants, insects and animals to enable them to flourish amid the challenges of climate change. Dr Dave Chandler, a lecturer in entomology and ecology at Warwick’s School of Life Sciences, commented: “Even in small spaces, such as roundabouts, the planting of diverse flowers attracts insects and other pollinators. They are a crucial resource for the many species of bees and other insects that…

GET GROWING Of all the edible plants I grow, tomatoes are right up there at the top of the list. I love the taste of home-grown tomatoes and I thoroughly enjoy growing them. My first experience of growing tomatoes was when I was 13 years old. My uncle built a makeshift greenhouse out of old wood and polythene in my grandma’s garden, and we grew half a dozen tomato plants that produced an abundance of fruit. I’ve grown them ever since and every spring I look forward to sowing seeds. SOIL CONDITIONS To grow well, tomatoes need a well-drained but moisture-retentive soil, whether growing under cover in a greenhouse or polytunnel or outside in the garden. Tomatoes like plenty of moisture when growing, but they don’t like to be saturated.…

BUDGET GARDENING GET GROWING In September, I look at the weather forecast with more eagerness than at any other time of year, hoping for gorgeous golden autumn days. Sunshine will help the squash to fully ripen, and the storage beans pods to dry crisp and brown. Harvesting, storing and preserving is in full swing: jars of preserves stored everywhere (even under beds!), bunches of herbs drying from hooks and sacks of spuds under the stairs. We have enough jam and chutney to feed the whole village for a year. SAVING SEEDS As harvests are gathered in, it’s an excellent time to save some seeds to grow some of next year’s crops for free. Beans and peas are easy to save. If they haven’t dried fully on the plant, open the pods…

KG CELEBRATES ORGANIC SEPTEMBER What do you think of when you think about organic gardening? For many, the idea of gardening in an organic way can seem inaccessible. A luxury you can’t afford, or at best an expensive hobby for gardeners with palatial veg plots and wheelbarrows of know-how. But organic gardening is for any size of garden and any kind of gardener. The only prerequisite is a love for nature and the environment – and a feeling that small steps can help protect it. As this bumper feature will demonstrate, organic gardening is also for any size of wallet. The cost of living crisis has made everyone think more carefully about what they spend their money on. And food shortages have brought home how precarious the food system is…

NEW SERIES It seems to appear out of nowhere – a strange bubbling froth dripping from your plant stems. Disturb this froth, and you’ll find a little green froghopper nymph nestled within. Despite being known as ‘cuckoo spit’ – as its appearance often coincides with the first call of the cuckoo in May – the foamy stuff has nothing to do with saliva. The majority of sap-sucking insects (including aphids) feed on the sugary sap from the phloem, a plant tissue that takes the foods made during photosynthesis from the leaves to the rest of the plant. Froghoppers, on the other hand, feast on the nutrient-poor sap from the xylem, which transports (mainly) water from the roots to the leaves. In order to survive on xylem sap, the froghopper nymph…

Autumn is when some gardeners like to ‘put their plot to bed’ and then rest up for the winter. However, the veg garden can still be productive during the autumn and winter with some crops still in the ground and some to sow. It is good to have a ‘tidy’ but not be too perfect in your clearing up because leaving certain areas unkempt and uncut can provide the perfect winter home for some of our important garden creatures. COMPOSTING There may be plenty of crop debris to remove now. Crop leaves such as yellowing brassica leaves, lettuce that has gone to seed and bean crops that are withering on their supports can be removed. Crops gone past their best can usually be put into compost bins – but if…

BLUEBERRIES GET GROWING Gardening – like much of life in general – is about the art of compromise. Given unlimited space, time and money we would all be thrilled to have extensive top fruit orchards, cages filled with soft fruit and polytunnels or greenhouses bursting with tender exotica. The limits reality places on us mean that, in practice, hard choices have to be made. If there’s only space for one tree in the garden, should it be apple, pear or plum? Or perhaps a damson or quince? Well, this month let’s look at a fruit that should be high up on everyone’s list of fruit to grow – blueberries. Hardy, relatively easy to look after, suited to pot culture and with fruit that is delicious, packed full of healthy nutrients and…