Innehållsförteckning för January 2025 från Kitchen Garden

It's a wonderful prospect – the thought of a brand-new gardening year ahead. Seeds ready to sow, planting plans made or being mulled over on chilly winter evenings and the veg patch being prepared. To help you get ready for the new season we have some great features and new series starting in this issue. Our own Tony Flanagan has been trawling the seed catalogues and brings you the first of two roundups of the best new varieties to hit the shelves. Ben Vanheems offers some great advice to beginners, drawing on his own experiences starting out growing his own. Give us a tune! More about Steve's tromboncino on p12 Deputy editor Emma Rawlings has some colourful ideas to brighten your plot this season as well as to make it…

HARVEST DISPLAY Last autumn, as the allotment was giving us the last of the year's produce, I took the opportunity to create a display of what I've harvested. Even with the disappointment of the cabbage white butterfly getting under the netting and being overrun with caterpillars and a poor potato harvest, the allotment has given us so much pleasure this year. Our chillies, peppers, courgettes, sweetcorn, garlic, beetroot, onions, ‘Desiree’ potatoes, celery and swedes have all been enjoyed. Our pumpkin patch has been amazing with an abundance of different varieties: ‘Crown Prince’, ‘Turk's Turban’, ‘Golden Nugget’ and the green wartyone, my favourite. Steve Watkin, Wingate TONY SAYS: What a fantastic display of veg, Steve. Your crop runneth over! STAR LETTER WINS £25 VOUCHER TRES BON! We grew a new variety…

NEW SERIES In January, when the weather is often too cold and wet to be out in the garden, we can get on with a few indoor jobs to make sure we are prepared for the growing season ahead. One job I like to do is make sure that all my pruning tools, such as secateurs, knives and loppers, are clean, sharp and ready for action. From now through until spring there's plenty of pruning to do on fruit trees and fruit bushes in the garden and a sharp pair of secateurs makes the job much easier. This was drummed into me many years ago when I was a student at college and before every practical session we had to check our secateurs were sharp. As well as making the…

Over the past few years, there's been a real revolution for getting people growing, and community gardening projects have sprung up across the UK doing incredible things. My name is Shannon, and I'm co-founder of The Gardeners Co CIC. (CIC stands for a community interest company – a not-for-profit organisation). With the volume of messages I get through my Instagram page asking for advice on starting kids’ gardening clubs, community gardens, food growing projects and more, I wanted to share some words of wisdom with the people who aren't sure where to start. The more opportunities people have to get growing across the country, the better! As an allotmenteer taking on a new plot, I was completely overwhelmed with how much there was to learn and had no idea where…

NEW SERIES Blueberries are so easy to grow, requiring very little care and attention and only the minimum of pruning. Yet plants can go on to produce good crops for many years and since they are mainly grown in pots and are relatively compact, they are the ideal fruit for a sunny patio or small garden. Here is my guide to getting the best from this tasty crop. PLANTING Winter is a perfect time for planting new blueberries. Blueberry plants will almost always be supplied in pots, so theoretically could be planted any day of the year, but planting in early winter after leaf fall has several advantages – mainly that the soil is warm enough for the roots to start to grow and establish for a head start before…

HERBS IN EVERY SEASON by Bevin Cohen This lovely book spotlights 48 edible and medicinal herbs and their uses both in the kitchen and for health and well-being. However, rather than simply listing the herbs in alphabetical order, the author lists them by season, emphasising the importance of harvesting the herbs at their very peak for flavour and efficacy – just as our ancestors would have done before everything became available all year round. He also puts an emphasis on growing and using with the seasons, so although this book is written primarily for the American market, the advice applies just as well to the UK, or anywhere else. There is some useful advice on getting the best from your sowings. The book then launches into the plant profiles which…

ROASTED TOMATO SPAGHETTI WITH HAZELNUT CRUMB In this simple and satisfying spaghetti dish, hazelnuts are thrown on top for an added dimension and a bit of a crunch. Preparation time: 10 minutes Cooking time: 25 minutes SERVES 4 ■ 800g (1¾lb) tomatoes (use a mixture of yellow cherry and red salad type) ■ 4 tbsp olive oil ■ 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar ■ 4 tsp rosemary ■ Salt and pepper ■ 4 garlic cloves ■ A handful of spinach, chopped ■ 2 tbsp vegan cream cheese ■ 2 tbsp hazelnuts ■ A few basil leaves ■ 400g (14oz) spaghetti 1. Preheat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. 2. Fill a baking dish with tomatoes (cut any large ones in half) and drizzle over the olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Season generously…

PLANT BARE ROOT TREES Bare root trees and bushes can be planted now. Make a hole big enough for the roots, then back fill and tamp down. Water in, then mulch with compost spread around the base. CHECK BRASSICAS Regularly check brassicas to make sure they are stable and not getting blown about. Rocking in the wind can cause brassicas to bolt, so fasten to a stake to secure. PRUNE APPLES While they are still dormant, apple and pear trees can be pruned. Remove damaged branches and open the canopy by removing 10-20% to increase airflow and harvests. PREPARE FOR THE WEATHER Check the weather forecast to be prepared for very cold or windy weather. An old broom with atowel wrapped around the head is perfect for gently removing snow…

FEED THE BIRDS 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 Birds are very hungry at this time of year, and there is not as much food available for them to forage in the natural environment. Making these bird feeders will help your local birds have a reliable food source that will keep them warm and full of energy over winter. YOU WILL NEED: ■ An apple ■ An apple corer ■ Sunflower seeds (or other bird feed seeds) ■ 2 thin sticks ■ String ■ Chopping board LET'S GET STARTED… 1. Place your apple on the chopping boardand ask an adult to help you remove the core of your apple…

Get in touch by post, email or via our Facebook page: Facebook.com/kitchengardenmag ARE MY LEEKS A LOST CAUSE? STAR QUESTION WINS £25 VOUCHER I seeded some leeks in a bucket last year but due to illness I didn't get around to planting them out. Is it possible to overwinter the young plants? Fanny Parkins, Norwich STEVE SAYS: There is certainly no need to waste your young leeks. You could simply continue to grow them on in the bucket. Under cover is probably best or outside in as heltered position since although they are perfectly hardy, the roots may freeze in a container in a very hard winter. If you do this without planting out, you could harvest the first plants as baby leeks and simply leave some in the bucket…

NEW SERIES The joy of growing your own veg is undeniable, there's nothing quite like the taste of freshly picked carrots. However, as gardeners know, that freshness can be fleeting. The good news? With a bit of preserving know-how, you can keep enjoying your carrots well past their prime picking season. By turning your carrots into pickles, jams, dried snacks and frozen ingredients, you can savour your harvest for up to a year and beyond. Plus, you make the most of your carrots in the kitchen by growing those which are best for certain uses; from the sweet, jam-ready ‘Cascade F1’ to the juicy ‘Fire Wedge F1’ and the crispy ‘Autumn King’, each variety offers something special, letting you enjoy your harvest all year round. VARIETY SELECTION - THE KEY…

Although we may dream of owning a smallholding with plenty of space for food growing, the reality is many of us are restricted to a very small growing space, often with less-than-ideal growing conditions such as poor soil. But don't be disheartened if your space doesn't look like the pictures in magazines. It's possible to produce something edible from any space. CHOOSE WHAT TO GROW This is the first and most crucial decision for a small space, and I believe anything you choose should meet these three criteria: ■ You like to eat it. This might seem blindingly obvious, but if your space (or time) is limited, you'll want to put effort into growing something you enjoy. ■ Produces food quickly. This often means quick-growing leafy crops such as mustard…

Coriander is one of those herbs you either love or hate, like Marmite. If you love its pungent scent and flavour then it is delicious added to many different dishes. It's a herb that is often used in Asian dishes but also African, Mexican and Mediterranean cooking. You can even add it to a salad to give a bit of oomph. HOW TO GROW You can sow coriander from April to June direct in the ground. Sow thinly, about 1.5cm (½in) apart, in rows or sow in gaps in the herb garden. Sow about 1.5cm (½in) deep. The seed is a good size so easy to handle. You can also sow in small pots of compost and grow on a greenhouse bench or on a windowsill in the house and…

TOMATO ‘ALICANTE’ This tried and trusted beauty is just the thing for those summer salads, barbecues and sandwiches, but its sweet flavour also makes it a favourite for soups and sauces. Heavy cropping, it can be relied upon to produce big yields indoors or out. The red fruit is sweet and uniform but not too large, so ideal for lunch boxes or snacking straight from the vine. Sow from January to April in pots or seed trays filled with fresh peat-free multipurpose or sowing compost. Sow thinly and cover with 6mm (¼in) of sieved compost, vermiculite or sharp sand. Place in a heated propagator or on a heated mat set at 18-21C (65-70F). Cover your propagator or pot with a lid or polythene bag and check each day to look…

KG RECOGNISED IN MEDIA AWARDS Your favourite gardening read recently received three nominations at the prestigious Garden Media Guild Awards held at the Savoy Hotel in London. The magazine was a finalist in the Gardening Publication of the Year category, while contributor Stephanie Hafferty and KG editor Steve Ott were both nominated for the Practical Journalist of the Year award and were among the finalists. Steve said: “All the categories were hotly contested and it is a real honour to be nominated. The Gardening Publication of the Year nomination was all down to the hard work and expertise of our wonderful contributors and our great in-house team who help to write, put together and design the magazine.” NEW SANCTUARY GARDEN FOR LONDON Thrive, a national charity that promotes gardening for…

It's that time of year again when we take a look at some of the exciting new varieties that are gracing the catalogues, and some of the new varieties in a particular catalogue. There is such a wide range, there should be something for everyone. One that especially stands out in this first feature is ‘Quick Snack F1’ – the cutest of cucumbers – a must-grow one for me! See page 51. AUBERGINE Short on space? How about growing a ‘micro-aubergine’, ‘Baby Black Jack F1’? Producing golf ball-sized fruits, and with a height and spread of only 35cm (14in), this variety can be grown on a windowsill or greenhouse shelf. What's more, they're spineless so easy to harvest. Cute! Eight seeds for £3.49. (Dobies) BEANS (CLIMBING FRENCH) ‘Vine’ is from…

(AGM is the RHS Award of Garden Merit. Under RHS garden trials these varieties performed particularly well) SAVE OVER £25! FREE* WITH EVERY ORDER SPRING PLANTING ONION SET COLLECTION No kitchen garden is complete without onions and here at D T Brown we offer some of the very best available. They are a great choice for both experienced and new vegetable gardeners. This specially selected collection contains some of our best-selling spring planting varieties, picked for their flavour and performance in British gardens. The collection contains three packs, each weighing around 250g – ‘Hercules’, a superb modern variety, ‘Centurion’, ensuring heavy yields that store well and ‘Sturon’, a reliable and consistent performer. All are certified as disease and virus free. Take advantage of this collection now to ensure a tasty…