Innehållsförteckning för February 2024 från Kitchen Garden

With a brand-new gardening year ahead it's time to finish any preparations such as building beds, clearing the veg patch of weeds and mulching. It's also a time to search out any final packets of seeds for sowing and planting over the next few months. In this issue you'll find features that bring you all the information you need to get your season off to the best possible start. As I write this we have just come through another patch of very wet weather so, as organic gardening expert Stephanie Hafferty explains on page 6, it is best to hold off on any outdoor sowing until the soil drains and warms a little. Yet thankfully for those of us with itchy green fingers, many crops can be sown in seed…

PLOTTER OF THE MONTH GET GROWING SARAH SANDERSON FROM KNUTSFORD, CHESHIRE Sarah has had a small allotment for about a year and also been growing veg for about three years in her garden at home. Do you share your plot with other people? We are a family of six. The shopping bill can be quite something! So I challenged myself to grow most of what we eat in fresh produce. I also adore all things garden related, so in truth not much of a challenge! I'm lucky enough that my plot is one on its own. I also have space for my chickens there too – so have fresh eggs daily also. My plot consists of a greenhouse, four raised beds and lots and lots of containers. What do you find…

GET GROWING CARROT In the world of vegetables, root crops often occupy the role of humble sidekicks, rarely basking in the spotlight. Among these unsung heroes, carrots stand out as an enduring favourite, appreciated for their sweet, earthy flavour and vibrant colours. These resilient vegetables have graced vegetable patches and allotments across the land, each gardener nurturing their chosen favourites, be they small and slender, delightfully long, or totally round. But as with any garden, change is a constant, and the world of carrots is no exception. While the old favourites hold a cherished place in our hearts and kitchens, new and lesser-known varieties continue to emerge, each with their own merit and full of potential. There'seven a groundbreaking variety that defies convention, allowing you to sow in December for a…

GARDEN PLANNING GET GROWING From the very first moment you decide you are going to grow something, your mind will start spinning with ideas. What will you grow, where will you put it, how will you look after it? Soon the questions will start to outnumber the answers and before you know it you're ready to throw in the towel – or maybe the trowel! Unless… What if you were able to put these ideas down on paper, organise them and end up with a bank of resources that would not only relieve the pressure, but also provide an invaluable personal reference library? More often than not, when I have an idea I grab the first thing to hand, usually an old envelope, and frantically scribble something down until it looks…

LAST WORD I'm afraid the subject of this article is rather unsavoury but it's a subject close to the heart of the allotment fraternity; actually, not too close as you'll see in a minute. If I ask my wife Elaine what's the most important thing on our plot she'll smile sweetly and inform me that she is. Who am I to argue? Another view might be that the soil is equally vital to growth and our allotment compatriots are always willing to discuss the pros and cons of the brown stuffbeneath our wellies. We're fortunate that our soil is free draining so no lumpy clay but of course, free draining does allow the water and nutrients to slip away; a cause for concern when the rains fail and the water…

PRUNE APPLES Finish pruning apple and pear trees while trees are still dormant to ensure better crops and fewer diseases and pests. Stop pruning once the trees start growing again. CUT BACK RASPBERRIES Cut back autumn fruiting raspberries to ground level. Weed if needed, then mulch with garden compost. Pile the prunings in a corner to create an insect habitat. PREPARE BEDS Get beds ready for sowing with solarisation. Cover with a clear sheet of polythene which warms the ground, causing weed seeds to germinate; then hoe them off. GATHER TWIGGY STEMS Cut coppiced hazel and other twiggy stems to use as pea sticks, bean poles and plant supports. DON'T RUSH TO SOW! February is such an optimistic month, with early flowers heralding the spring to come. Every day there…

I love being able to look at bugs in detail, so I thought you might too. I love seeing their different colours, textures and learning how many different body parts they have. Getting up close to insects can be really tricky as they can run, jump and hide sometimes. Building a bug box will make it easier for you to be able to look at the bugs closely and safely. YOU WILL NEED: ■ Clear container, such as a plastic tub or jar ■ A lid or cover, that you can make holes in. You could use greaseproof paper or cling film, if your container doesn't have a lid ■ Elastic band (optional – for securing the lid if needed) ■ Collected natural materials from the garden. See if you…

YOU & YOUR PLOT POORLY PEARS PERHAPS? I have been planting various types of pear trees around my chicken coop area but they don't seem to be doing so well. As lovely as the colours are, the orange and reddish marks appearing on the leaves are concerning me. Gina Ciotaki, Kidderminster STEVE SAYS: Your pear trees are suffering from pear rust, a very common disease of this crop. It looks more damaging than it is although in some years if very prolific it can reduce the vigour of the tree. The disease spends the winter on certain juniper species and moves back to pears via airborne spores in the spring. So, if you have junipers within about 100m (320ft) it may be spreading from those. If they are in your…

GET GROWING FIBRE ART Emma Davies’ appreciation of the outside world is threaded through her work. Seeking something to do with her children during lockdown that wasn't associated with a screen at a time when life went online, the West Yorkshire mum stumbled on knotting and macrame. “When I started lockdown what kept me sane was knotting and making things. I taught myself macrame skills – it was so methodical and so relaxing,” she explains. “I love repetitive patterns so for me it did come quite naturally. I love the tactile nature of it, the feeling of string in my fingers and the texture. It's all about tension – you have to have the right pull, you have to fight with it a bit to get it to do what you…

GET GROWING HERITAGE APPLES In the borderlands of North Shropshire and Wales, there is a remarkable story of revival and reconnection with Britain's horticultural heritage. Meet Tom, a modern-day guardian of a forgotten legacy – ancient apple trees that were once thought extinct. Sparked by a serendipitous discovery on a relative's farm, Tom's captivating journey weaves together history, nature and the future of sustainable agriculture. Tom Adams’ seven-acre heritage fruit tree nursery is home to a diverse array of ancient fruit varieties – apples, pears, plums, cherries, damsons, medlar and quince. In addition, a newly established community interest company, Grow Weston Rhyn, headed by Tom, runs seasonal workshops on pruning, grafting, coppicing and tree planting, as well as school visits, where youngsters can pick fruit, watch a cooking demo using home-grown…

CAULIFLOWERS Of all the brassicas, cauliflower is often considered one of the most challenging to grow, simply because it likes a good rich soil and hates checks in growth. Having said that they are well worth growing because freshly harvested cauliflower (known as curds, which are actually the flower buds) are delicious and can be used many different ways. Traditionally, we had winter and summer varieties, and although these still exist, the many modern hybrids are much more flexible in their sowing times, which means it's possible to be able to harvest cauliflower for much of the year in a range of different colours! SOIL CONDITIONS A neutral or slightly alkaline soil is ideal and a good way to ensure this is to apply a dressing of lime to the…

GET GROWING PERENNIAL VEG Vegetable gardening is a labour of love. We must sow our seeds and carefully raise them in spring and throughout the year for continuous crops. We plant them out and hope they don't get eaten by all the hungry slugs. And then we must clear them away as they reach the end of their lives, and start all over again. But there is a shortcut, and it comes in the form of perennial vegetables. Incorporating a few perennial vegetables into your kitchen garden can cut out some of the work while still producing crops. You may want to set aside an otherwise unproductive area for perennials or include them alongside your other crops. Perennial vegetables carried me through a difficult spot in my life. A few years…

CARE OF SEEDLINGS GET GROWING Growing healthy transplants is essential for giving your plants a good start in life, but it does come with a few challenges. Here, I will show you how to navigate around these with some simple organic growing tips. CHOICE OF COMPOST Spending a bit more money on good-quality peat-free seed compost is a good investment. Seed compost is used in much smaller quantities than potting compost so a little goes a long way. A seed compost should have a fine texture, so it allows germination of smaller seeds. It should also wick the moisture evenly throughout so that seeds don't get trapped in dry pockets. Lastly, it should be relatively low in nutrients. Seedlings should not be overfed, and high nutrient concentration can actually inhibit the…

WORTH OVER £2599 NEW SEEDS FOR YOUR NEW SEASON The 2024 Suttons catalogue offers the company's trademark blend of irresistible new varieties alongside tried and tested favourites. Highlights among the vegetable introductions include tomato ‘Supersteak F1’, which produces massive, well-flavoured fruit that can easily grow up to an incredible 1kg (2lb 3oz). Beetroot ‘Golden Eye’ boasts both flavoursome roots and tasty leaves. Its compact tops are light green, with bright yellow stems and veins. Pepper ‘Mamba Sweet F1’ is distinguished by its captivating colour transformation and crisp sweetness. The prolific plants yield rich, dark-coloured fruit that gradually ripens to red. The darkest carrot to be found, ‘Black Nebula’ produces long, tapering roots in a striking black-purple, the colour penetrating the core and retained on cooking. The crunchy flesh has a…

SPICY BREADED CAULIFLOWER These crispy pieces of cauliflower are a great veggie snack, made even more tasty with the addition of a hit of spice. SERVES 2-4 Preparation time: 20 minutes Cooking time: 30 minutes FOR THE BATTER ■ 100g (3½oz) plain or gluten-free flour ■ 1 garlic clove, minced ■ ½ tsp dried oregano ■ 150ml (5fl oz) plant-based milk ■ Salt to taste FOR THE CAULIFLOWER ■ 150g (5oz) panko breadcrumbs ■ 1 cauliflower, cut into bite-sized florets ■ 2 spring onions, thinly sliced FOR THE SAUCE ■ 3 tbsp sriracha ■ 3 tbsp sweet chilli sauce ■ 1 tbsp maple syrup ■ 1 lime, juiced 1. Heat the oven to 200C/fan180C/ gas 6. Tip the flour into a large bowl along with plenty of seasoning and the…