Kitchen Garden April 2017 preview

JOIN IN OUR BIG SPRIN NG GARDENING GIVEAWA AY worth

£3413

WWW.KITCHENGARDEN.CO.UK | APRIL 2017

DOWN-TO-EARTH ADVICE FOR GROWING FRUIT & VEG

VEG

PLANTS

worth over £15

T Take our mega marrow challenge R Reach for the sky with climbing beans H Have a multi-coloured carrot-fest

SIMPLE SPRINGTASKS

TOMAKEYOUR GARDEN GROW Undercover reportt ❮❮ BEAT THE SHORTAGES WITH OUR POLYTUNNEL BUYER'S GUIDE

 MAKE ROOM FOR JUICY JOSTABERRIES  AWARD-WINNING PEPPERS REVEALED

RAISE YOUR GAME

12 GREAT CROPS FOR HANGING CONTAINERS

EXOTICVEG IN THE HEART OF BIRMINGHAM

TERRIFIC TROWELS

TRIED & TESTED

No. 235

April 2017

£4.99

CONTENTS

EXPERT ADVICE TO HELP YOU GROW GREAT FRUIT AND VEGETABLES

23

38 ✪ ON THE COVER

YOU

@GrowWithKG

YOUR PLOT

6 ON THE VEG PATCH ✪

KitchenGardenUK KitchenGardenMag

Harvest spring greens and purple sprouting broccoli, plant new asparagus beds, sow peas

10 IN THE GREENHOUSE ✪

@GrowWithKG /kitchengardenmagazine FOR OUR CONTACT DETAILS TURN TO PAGE 15

Cover tender plants on cold nights, tend to the soil, sow cucumbers, feed strawberries

12 WHAT’S NEW?

The latest news, comment and advice from the world of kitchen gardening

14 YOUR LETTERS AND TIPS

Learn what other KG readers have been up to and pick up some great first-hand advice

20 QUESTION TIME

Our panel of leading experts from the gardening industry answer your gardening queries

NEVER MISS AN ISSUE...

£20

ON PAGE 28 HAVING TROUBLE FINDING A COPY OF THIS MAGAZINE? Just Ask your local newsagent to reserve you a copy each month

4 | APRIL 2017

56 BRITAIN’S MOST PASSIONATE PLOTTERS

This month some of our keenest ladies explain why they love their plots

104 DIARY DATES

Plus giveaway entry coupon and details of seed and young plant suppliers

107 NEXT MONTH

Some of the highlights to be found in your May issue plus news of great free gifts

30 114 LAST WORD WITH THE KG FORUM

This month the KG forum users reveal their 'desert island' seed choices

68

APRIL 2017

108 RECIPES

Scan this, and we’ll tell you!

✪ More great recipes from our resident chef Anna Pettigrew to help you make the most of your seasonal veg. This month beetroot, broccoli, carrot and kale

72

Pg 108

75 64 GET GROWING 16 THE THREE MUDKETEERS 23 HANGING GARDENS OF PLENTY✪

Organic gardening expert Ben Vanheems reveals his sure-fire crops for hanging baskets

30 NEW WAYS WITH AN OLD KITCHEN GARDEN

We travel to Somerset to see the wonderful old walled garden of Ston Easton

36 GROWING ONLINE 38 POWER TO THE POLYTUNNEL✪

Our guide to buying a new structure

45 REACH FOR THE SKY! ✪

Climbing beans are delicious. KG editor Steve Ott offers his top tips for freezer filling success

49 GROWING FROM YOUR ROOTS

Organic veg expert Sally Cunningham reports on ommunity projects growing exotic veg

60 GROW MARVELLOUS MARROWS

Aim to grow the biggest marrow using your free seeds and win £100 worth of seed vouchers from sponsors D T Brown www.kitchengarden.co.uk

64 A TASTE OF HISTORY WITH HERITAGE CARROTS ✪

Top allotment gardener Rob Smith brings you his pick of the best vintage carrot varieties

68 MIXING IT UP ✪

Fruitful, thornless and disease resistant; fruit expert David Patch takes a look at the jostaberry

72 HOW TO MAKE A BEAN FRAME ✪

DIY enthusiast Joyce Russell has a plan for a simple and attractive, collapsible bean frame

75 PICK OF THE PEPPERS ✪

Top seedsman and veg variety expert Colin Randel reveals the very best sweet peppers to grow on your plot

79 SPREADING THE HARVEST

Biodynamic gardener Julie Moore explains how to avoid gluts by careful planning

85 SALLY’S SPICE RACK FAVOURITES

Ethnic veg enthusiast Sally Cunningham reveals more of her favourite crops

86 HEALTHY EATING (NEW)

Nutritionist Susie Kearley spotlights a different fruit or veg each month and why it contibutes to a healthy diet. This month marrows

WHAT TO BUY 88 WIN FLYMO LAWNMOWERS WORTH £522 ✪ 90 TRIED AND TESTED ✪

With plug planting time soon upon us in this issue the KG team get on their knees to test a range of popular trowels

94 INSTANT SAVERS

This month save up to 40% on leading gardening brands including Agriframes, Harrod Horticultural and Thompson & Morgan

96 READER OFFERS

Claim your free 25 plant club root resistant brassica collection worht £15.90

98 GARDEN STORE

Our roundup of the best new products and services for kitchen gardeners

100 3 PAGES OF GIVEAWAYS WORTH OVER £2891 ✪

This month you could win gardening footwear, top quality compost, crop protection products, plant foods and growth promoters, wild flower seeds and show tickets APRIL 2017 | 5

YOU

YOUR PLOT

GET IN TOUCH by post, email or via our Facebook page:

QUESTION TIME THIS MONTH’S EXPERT PANEL:

GUY BARTER RHS chief horticulturalist

GOT A FRUIT OR VEG PROBLEM? ASK KG FOR HELP

DAVID PATCH Professional nurseryman, R V Roger Ltd

CURSEDWITH CANKER I am writing to you in desperation over a problem I have with parsnip canker. I follow a four-year rotation on my allotment and grow the variety ‘Gladiator F1’ which is supposed to be canker resistant. I am at a loss to know what to do to produce clean white roots with no large discoloured lesions, particularly on the shoulder. I sow the seed in April towards the end of the month to achieve better germination and thin out to 4-6in apart.

I usually use blood, fish and bone incorporated into the soil about 10-14 days prior to sowing.

Mr Hartill, Devon COLIN SAYS: Parsnip canker is a regular problem, although infections have lessened in recent years with advice from the seed companies on delaying sowings.

I suggest the key sowing time is very late April to mid-May. Canker is much more of an issue in cold, wet soils from early sowings. Parsnips need nitrogen in the seedbed and ample phosphate and potash once well established. Blood, fish and bone types of general fertiliser should be fine. Parsnips do prefer light soils, sandy loams and certainly to be free of any sharp ★ stones to give a better shaped root and smoother skin.

Canker (Itersonilia spp) can be linked with other fungal pathogens (phoma, rhizoctonia for example) to cause problems, usually showing on the shoulders as orangey brown to black lesions.

★ STAR

QUESTION WINS £25 VOUCHER

20 | APRIL 2017

COLIN RANDEL Vegetable product manager at Thompson & Morgan

MIKE THURLOW Adviser to the National Allotment Association

ANDREW TOKELY Seed purchasing manager for Kings Seeds

WHAT’S GONE WRONG? I am blessed with the most beautiful loam soil, which has a fairly high pH at 7.0, which coupled with being in a limestone area results in having limestone chippings in the soil which does not help with the pH. I make my own compost and dig in a six-inch depth of compost every winter and of late have added bagged sterilised farmyard manure also. I also use Growmore, blood, fish and bone or Maxicrop fertilisers.

My garden soil grew very good vegetables for 15 years. But over the last three, the vegetables have reduced in quality. Now the leeks never grow thicker than a pencil, the runner beans never grow a glut, parsnips are very difficult and this year did not germinate at all. Also, this year my winter beetroot has not produced and my purple-topped turnips are only pea size. Broad beans grow but never many on a plant and potatoes never more than a few per root.

Tim Hunt, Peterborough MIKE SAYS: You seem to have the ideal soil and pH for growing fruit and vegetables. Adding organic matter will build up and maintain the soil’s structure. All that is then required for plants to grow successfully are water,

warmth and nutrients. Top dress the entire plot each spring with a general fertiliser such as National Growmore or pelleted poultry manure if you are an organic gardener. Carry on adding the organic material. It will help to balance the pH as it breaks down in the soil.

Don’t allow plants to become stressed. Use liquid seaweed feeds during dry periods. They will be taken up more quickly by the roots. The cocktail of fertilisers could have worked against you by locking up nutrients in the soil. Use crop rotations as part of your soil management.

I think that your problem may be caused by the garden’s microclimate. In 2016 we suffered low temperatures for a long time and the soil was slow to warm up.

Invest in a soil thermometer. The minimum soil temperature reading should be 8C (45F) recorded over seven consecutive days before commencing sowing or planting. www.kitchengarden.co.uk

Hanging gardens of plenty

Picture: www.pomonafruits.co.uk

It’s not only annual flowers that make perfect hanging basket displays – a basket laden with ready-to-pluck produce can be every bit as attractive, as gardening expert Ben Vanheems explains

www.kitchengarden.co.uk

business? Well, yes and no. You see an edible hanging basket can be every bit as attractive as an ornamental one. And what you lose in flowers, you make up for in leaf textures, colours and quirky character. Take a basket groaning with hundreds of treat-sized tomatoes, or a rustic wicker bowl crowded with luscious salad leaves suspended temptingly at eye-level. You’re getting a feast for the eyes and the belly! ➤

Picture: Dobies of Devon

I

love a well-balanced hanging basket: one that’s bursting with floriferous exuberance. Hanging baskets, like any hanging or wall-mounted container, brighten our world. They lift spirits and add a welcome splash of colour to our lives.

So why, then, would anyone bother to grow edibles in hanging baskets instead? Surely the best place for our crops is at ground level where they can quietly sit and mind their own

Wow! Pepper ‘Sweet Sunshine’ creates an eye-popping display worthy of the showiest floral array

APRIL 2017 | 23

GET GROWING HANG IT ALL!

How many plants?

Suspended planters of produce offer yet another way to grow more. In our increasingly tiny suburban gardens, this is no bad thing. Dangling from porches, mounted on to walls or framing a balcony, hanging fruits, vegetables and herbs add a new level of growing that’s convenient to harvest, up and away from slugs, and that’s downright pretty to look at.

Joining the humble hanging basket are all manner of upside-down, topsy-turvy planters, half-baskets, troughs and pots that, with a few screws or hooks, can be attached to walls and fences. Many hanging planters even include a built-in reservoir to take the strain out of watering. Then there are the many creative ways of recycling old containers into attractive hanging planters – some weird, some wonderful, and some both weird and wonderful!

The most important thing to bear in mind when selecting hanging containers is the space and resources plants need to grow. Hanging baskets are more exposed to the sun and wind, so will dry out quicker than containers on the ground, so make sure baskets can offer plants what they need. Pick ones that are at least 35cm (14in) in diameter so the compost within has more of a buffer against the wicking/baking effects of wind and sun.

As well as suspending baskets and planters around your house, shed and fences, you can also hang them from purpose-sold shepherd’s hooks, either free-standing or spiked into the ground. This can really maximise the growing space on patio gardens, while creating a Hanging Gardens of Babylon in miniature!

These guidelines are for a standard 35-40cm (14-16in) hanging basket.

■ Cherry tomato: 1-2 (plus French marigolds or basil as companion plants) ■ Strawberries: 3-4 ■ Peppers (smaller varieties): 2-3 ■ Chillies: 3-4 ■ Peas and beans: 6, plus salads on top ■ Leafy herbs: 4-5 ■ Cut-and-come-again salads: Broadcast sow very thinly, or 10cm (4in) apart ■ Spinach: 10cm (4in) apart

WHAT TO GROW

Some crops are tailor-made for growing this way. Cherry tomatoes such as ‘Tumbling Tom’, strawberries, leafy herbs, salad leaves and chillies are just a few of the many plants that, thanks to their relatively compact size, work well in hanging baskets and containers. How many you plant into each container will, of course, depend on its size. But always err on the generous side so that plants aren’t crammed in and competing for available moisture and nutrients.

Naturally rambunctious crops such as strawberries or peppers are best grown on their own, while others lend themselves to a creative display that’s every bit as eye-catching as a basket of flowers. A herb display with mint, parsley, chives with creeping thyme spilling over the side, for example. Or a large basket planted up with French beans to the sides and a topping of cut-and-comeagain salad leaves, spinach or miniature beetroots.

A simple yet stunning solution for everyday salad leaves

Remember that there are plenty of edible flowers too. Trailing nasturtiums or cheery calendula will bring welcome colour as they provide flowers to add sparkle to your summer salads.

HOW TO PLANT UP

Hanging baskets and other hanging containers are planted up in much the same way as any other planter. Most multi-purpose compost as a growing medium is fine, so long as you’re on hand to water and feed plants regularly. Adding some leafmould to the compost can help to improve its water retention. You could also mix in slowrelease fertiliser granules to help sustain plants for the first part of the growing season, after which regular liquid feeding becomes a must.

Hold round-bottomed hanging baskets steady by placing them on to buckets before beginning work. Wire-framed hanging baskets will need a

Vigorous crops such as peppers and strawberries are best planted alone

Photo: kkimpel

Upside-down planters are easy to make at home.

24 | APRIL 2017

Edible flowers such as nasturtiums can be mixed with summer salads

Tumbling tomatoes – perfect for baskets. The French marigolds protect the plants against whitefly, while adding a splash of colour www.kitchengarden.co.uk

GET GROWING

NEW WAYS

OLD KITCHEN GARDEN

30 | APRIL 2017

www.kitchengarden.co.uk

Steve Neil visits Ston Easton House in Somerset and is impressed with what’s growing in its kitchen garden and glasshouses

INSET: head gardener, Steve Hargreaves

S

tanding in the Saloon of Ston Easton House, looking through the old glass of the window at the cascaded waters created by Humphrey Repton, you wouldn’t think for one moment that you were in a hotel. You would think you were a guest of the family, invited to a country house weekend in Somerset. And of course Ston Easton was a house at one time, the family home of th he Rees-Mogg family. The past may be a foreign country where they do things differently, but here some things haven’t changed. Every country house always had its kitchen garden to provide it with fresh fruit and vegetables for the table, and in the last four years Ston Easton House has revived that tradition.

FRESH VEGETABLES

Steve Hargreaves, the head gardener, is responsible for the 36 acres of gardens that belong to the hotel.

As well as the water features and the Repton landscape, there is also the kitchen garden with its glasshouses.

“Four years ago when we took it over there was a fair amount oof work. We had to cut back brambles and taake several feet off hedges, but once we had done that we pretty much had a blank canvas,” he said. Today h tthings are looking good, with some imaginative modern planting in the borders and the shape of the original design clearly visible. I ask how many gardeners work there. “Two,” he said.

“Me and Dale.” ➤

POWER POLYTUNNEL

Thinking of getting a polytunnel? Good idea says staff writer wi Tony Flanagan, who wouldn’t be without one

HOOPS

These slot into ground bars that are embedded in the soil. Hoops are connected along the top by a bar that runs from end to end.

LENGTH

This one is 7.6m (25ft) in length but sizes range from 2.5m (8ft) to 27.5m (90ft).

TRENCH

The excess polythene round the sides is buried in a 45cm (18in) trench all the way round. Another option is to use base rails which can be purchased as an extra.

ANTI HOT SPOT TAPE

This stick-on tape is placed where metal bar meets polythene

XXX

POLYTHENE

This is a thermal anti-drip cover with a 600 gauge (thickness). A thicker gauge is available if required.

DOOR

Wide single door, opening inwards.

You can opt for a single door or double doors, depending on the overall size of the polytunnel.

WIDTH

GITAL K DI

G

+ SEE TH

VIDEO &

This one is 3m (10ft) wide but sizes range from 1.8m (6ft) to 9m (30ft).

E

These provide for a sturdy structure standing up to strong winds.

RE MO IN

DIAGONAL WIND BRACE

XXX

Reach sky Climbing beans are among our most popular home-grown crops – and no wonder as they have so much to offer, as KG editor Steve Ott explains ➤

SOW: April to June HARVEST: July to October

GET GROWING WHY CLIMBING BEANS?

For their delicious, nutritious pods produced in profusion and because they are great for freezing there is little waste. Also the upward growth gives them a small footprint on the plot, they are easy to grow, and have lovely flowers that are great to look at and welcoming for pollinators.

PREPARING THE GROUND

Beans do best in a sunny, sheltered spot, preferably south or west facing, and where they won’t shade other crops for too long each day – unless you want to use this to grow things such as leafy salads which might appreciate the cooling effect the shading provides.

They like a fertile soil which is neutral to alkaline and for the best results the soil should be enriched with plenty of organic matter in the winter. Lime if necessary six weeks after adding manure to bring the pH (lime level) to around pH7.

See our reviews of some great bean frames at: www.youtube. com/watch?v= hhZDbq8wIWY

BUILD THEM STRONG

Strong trellis up a fence is an excellent alternative support for beans or train them over an arch or pergola

Plants are vigorous and heavy when in full crop so make sure your supports are strong enough to take the strain (see page 72 for an easy-to-make and attractive bean frame). If your DIY skills are lacking, then a simple wigwam of hazel or bamboo canes will do the job well, or take a look at the many excellent supports available from top suppliers on our advertisement pages.

COUNT ON BEANS TO…

Beans have nodes on their roots which act as a home for special bacteria.

These fix nitrogen from the atmosphere which ultimately helps to feed the crop.

Leaving the roots and therefore the nodules in the soil at the end of the season adds nitrogen for future veggies.

FOR SMALL PLOTS AND POTS? Yes, definitely. They can be grown in small spaces or large tubs (choose one which is 60cm (24in) in diameter or larger for climbers and grow up some bamboo canes). Alternatively, choose one of the dwarf runners such as ‘Jackpot Mixed’ or ‘Hestia’ for your patio pots, which need very little support at all.

A serving of 100g of green beans can, among other things, provide you with around 25% of your recommended daily amount of vitamins A and C and 12% of vitamin K. They also contain useful amounts of fibre and are a low fat, low GI food.

Watch our video on building a bean frame: www.youtube. com/watch?v= RVcOCv1mIOs 46 | APRIL 2017

Lacking space? Then try dwarf runner beans. This is ‘Hestia’

www.kitchengarden.co.uk

GET GROWING

GROWING ROOTS

50 | APRIL 2017

www.kitchengarden.co.uk

OUT & ABOUT

Gardening consultant and organic veg expert Sally Cunningham reports on an exciting project which captures the experien nce of growing exotic vegetables at three community gardens

T

hose of you who remembered the Sowing New Seeds project run by Garden Organic, which collected exotic crop plants grown across the Midlands a few years ago, might have wondered what happened next.

Part of the project’s success was the addition to the Heritage Seed Library of successful new species of vegetables with cultural and ethnic heritage, which actually grew well in the UK because they were being grown by people here on allotments or in back gardens who knew about them and recognised which plants to save seed from.

During the project both Anton Rosenfeld and I visited more than 80 allotment sites and community gardens. We discovered so many great stories from the people, about their lives and growing their crops, we thought these were as worthy of saving as their seeds... which led to the next project, Growing From Your Roots. ➤

Caldmore mosaic

APRIL 2017 | 51