Kitchen Garden September 2017 preview

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No. 240

September 2017

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EDITOR’S LETTER

WELCOME

Who doesn’t love the flavour of home-grown fresh fruit and veg – I know I certainly do, and this being one of the busiest months for harvesting, I am in my element! But there are only so many heads of sweetcorn, courgettes and tomatoes one can consume – even if you have them with every meal – so in this issue we bring you a special feature on harvesting and storage that will help make your rich pickings last well into the winter.

We love to champion unusual or lesser grown fruit and veg and this month we take a look at soya beans, globe artichokes and cardoons. The first, while hardly new to our diet, is rarely grown in the UK for eating, while the latter are popular on the Continent, but less so here – which is a shame as I think we are missing out.

Lastly if growing apples and pears as small, trained trees (think cordons and espaliers) is for you, but you feel a little unsure about pruning, then David Patch, our resident fruit expert, explains it in very simple steps on p44.

E

O ON DE O VI

CHANNEL

SEE THE

Steve Ott, editor Contact me at: sott@mortons.co.uk | 01507 529396 Find us at www.kitchengarden.co.uk Contact subscriptions: 01507 529529

YOUTU B UR

KitchenGardenMag

KitchenGardenUK

@GrowWithKG

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MEETTHE SEPTEMBER KG TEAM

WENDY PILLAR

Wendy is an environmentalist and organic gardener with a wealth of experience at her fingertips. In this issue she explains how to grow mushrooms the simple way – and no manure in sight!

GABY BARTAI

Gaby has been on her travels for us again, this time visiting the beautiful region known as The Black Isle on Scotland’s east coast.

Here she meets a grower with a passion for hardy herbs.

DAVID PATCH

Professional nurseryman David spends his working day growing fruit trees and bushes for one of the UK’s foremost nurseries. In his spare time he tends to his fruit trees in his Yorkshire garden.

SUSIE KEARLEY

Susie, our resident nutritionist, looks at the topical issue of air pollution and how certain foods, many of which can be grown at home, can help to alleviate its damaging effects on the body.

TONY FLANAGAN

Good pruning tools are essential for the keen gardener and KG staff writer Tony has been busy organising our latest product trial to discover the best secateurs from a range of popular models.

ANNA PETTIGREW

Chef and photographer Anna brings us yet more delicious seasonal recipes from her Scottish kitchen.

This time she puts apples, kale and mushrooms very much on the menu.

START SAVING CASH NOW: VISIT WWW.KITCHENGARDEN.CO.UK www.kitchengarden.co.uk

SEPTEMBER 2017 | 3

CONTENTS

EXPERT ADVICE TO HELP YOU GROW GREAT FRUIT AND VEGETABLES

6

26

✪ ON THE COVER

YOU

@GrowWithKG KitchenGardenUK

YOUR PLOT

6 ON THE VEG PATCH

KitchenGardenMag

Harvest mangetouts, tend to courgettes, pick pears, plums and figs, prune summer raspberries

10 IN THE GREENHOUSE

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

Sow salad leaves, clip hedges, pick late crops, trim tomatoes, grow spring cabbages

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 urgent queries

NEVER MISS AN ISSUE...

£20

ON PAGE 24 HAVING TROUBLE FINDING A COPY OF THIS MAGAZINE? Just Ask your local newsagent to reserve you a copy each month

4 | SEPTEMBER 2017

52 BRITAIN’S MOST PASSIONATE PLOTTERS

Enter our 2017 competition and you could grab a share of our great package of prizes

64 98 LAST WORD ✪

KG reader Sarah Palmer on ‘growing up the wall’ with gutter gardens – a great spacesaving idea

32

83 NEXT MONTH

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

90 DIARY DATES

Plus giveaway entry coupon and details of seed and young plant suppliers www.kitchengarden.co.uk

SEPTEMBER 2017

76

RECIPES

Anna Pettigrew reveals some more mouthwatering ways to use your seasonal produce including apples, kale and mushrooms

92 Scan this, and we’ll tell you!

Pg 92

GET GROWING

36

16 ON THE PLOT WITH THE THREE MUDKETEERS

How to reduce that courgette mountain!

80

22 GROWING ONLINE

The latest news and information from the world of online gardening

26 HIGHLAND HERBS ✪

Garden writer Gaby Bartai visits Britain’s most northerly herb nursery where hardiness is a must

32 BEAN EXPERIMENTAL ✪

Alternative veg expert Sally Cunningham turns her attention to a veg more often seen on our plates than our plots – the soya bean

34 A TRIO OF TASTES

We look at three new, flavoursome kales

36 LETTUCE WITH A HISTORY ✪

Heritage veg fan Rob Smith has the lowdown on some lovely old lettuce varieties with some even more memorable names

40 IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Your free red-veined sorrel seeds

41 THIN NKING MANURE? THEN THINK GREEN! ✪ Don’t leav ve your soil to fend for itself this winter – plant a green manure, says gardening g writer Ben Vanheems

44 PRUNING FOR FRUIT ✪

56 VEG WITH THE WOW FACTOR ✪

Organic gardening expert Sue Stickland encourages us to go all architectural in the veg garden with cardoons and globe artichokes

60 EAT YOUR WAY TO A HEALTHY WEIGHT

79 GARDEN STORE

News of great new products for kitchen gardeners

61 THE WORLD IS YOUR OYSTER ✪

80 TRIED AND TESTED – SECATEURS

Keen veg grower and organic gardener Wendy Pillar shows you how to grow your own mushrooms the easy way

64 MAKE A HERB BOX ✪

Keep a fresh supply of herbs by the back door in this handy and attractive display box

68 POLLUTION BUSTERS

Air pollution is a big killer worldwide. Susie Kearley explains how you can keep the effects at bay with a good home-grown diet

72 STORING AND HARVESTING ✪

Our own Emma Rawlings brings you the top tips you need to stretch your harvests into the autumn and beyond

48 GAR RDENING ON THE MENU

76 GET GOING WITH GRAPES ✪

www.kitche engarden.co.uk

39 HARROGATE FLOWER SHOW TICKETS WORTH £350 UP FOR GRABS!

Susie Kearley explains why soya beans can be so useful in a modern diet

Our reside ent fruit expert David Patch explains how to summer prune apple and pear treess to improve yields

Martin and d Jill Fish know their onions and bring you some great growing and cooking top tips fo or this essential crop

WHAT TO BUY

Growing grapes is easy when you follow Joyce Russell’s simple growing guide. You’ll be having a vine old time before you know it!

A good pair of secateurs is essential for every gardener.

We give our verdict on some of the most popular brands

84 READER OFFERS ✪

Claim your free* raspberry ‘Ruby Beauty’ (*just pay p&p), plus save on blueberry and blackberry collections

86 GREAT GIVEAWAYS WORTH OVER £1984 ✪

This month you could win gardening shoes, pet accessories, wood protection, gardening courses and show tickets

88 INSTANT SAVERS

This month save up to 15% on great gardening brands including Vigo, Haxnicks, Two Wests & Elliott and The Welly Shop with our exclusive offers SEPTEMBER 2017 | 5

JOBS TASKS FOR YOUR VEGETABLE PATCH IN SEPTEMBER BY MARTIN FISH

REMOVE OLD CROPS

Pull out old calabrese plants that have finished cropping or when they run to seed and chop them up and add to the compost heap. The ground can then be forked over, fed with a general fertiliser and firmed down ready for planting spring cabbages.

HARVEST GARLIC

If you haven’t lifted your spring-planted garlic, now is the time to gently ease the bulbs out of the soil with a fork. Although the bulbs might not be as large as autumn-planted specimens, they have a great flavour and can be dried and stored for winter use.

REMOVE CHARD FLOWERS

As we go into autumn some biennial crops such as chard can prematurely produce flower heads, especially if the weather has been dry and warm. To prevent flowers developing, check the plants and simply snap off any flower stalks to keep the plants growing through autumn.

CHECK APPLES

As you wander around the plot keep an eye on apples to check how they are ripening. As a rule of thumb, they are ready to pick when the fruits leave the tree without too much pulling.

If you have to tug, try them in another week.

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JOBS FOR THE MONTH

HARVEST MANGETOUT

With fast-growing crops it’s always a good idea to make several sowings through the summer to extend the cropping season.

Sugar snap peas and mangetout that were sown back in late June or July should now be producing plenty of tender pods. To get them at their best you need to pick over the plants every few days and eat fresh or freeze any surplus.

Lots of fruit and veg crops are ripening now and it’s a good idea to give plants a liquid feed or two with a high-potash fertiliser. This gives the plants a boost and helps fruit to ripen.

PICK AUBERGINES

The fruits on aubergines growing in containers in a sunny spot should now be fully developed and ripening. The advantage of growing in pots is that you can move the plants around; to help the fruits ripen they need to be stood in a warm position such as against the base of a south- or west-facing wall. Harvest the fruits when fully ripe and enjoy the taste of the Mediterranean.

PROTECT CARROTS

Freshly pulled carrots are always welcome and this year I’ve managed to keep the dreaded carrot root fly off the roots by growing them under a mesh-covered frame that I built earlier in the year. It’s worked very well and for the first time for ages we can enjoy clean carrots without maggot damage! The cover will also protect the roots over winter from the late generation of carrot fly.

onthe vegpatch

PLANT NOW

COURGETTES IN POTS Where garden space is limited courgettes are ideal for growing in large containers and if well looked after they should produce a good crop of courgettes over the summer months. By September the plants can start to get a little tired and if allowed to dry out, will stop flowering and fruiting. With just a little extra care you can give the plants a boost and keep them fruiting for several more weeks. Pick off all the fruit and give the plants a liquid feed twice a week and keep the compost moist at all times.

This should encourage a last flush of flowers and small courgettes into early autumn. www.kitchengarden.co.uk

SOW NOW

Lettuce, salad leaves, leaf beet, radish, over-wintering onions, endive, salad onions, winter spinach, beetroot for leaves, chard.

Kale, lettuce, spring cabbage, strawberries.

HARVEST

EARTH-UP LEEKS

Leeks should be making good growth now and over the next month to six weeks they will really thicken out and develop ready for harvesting through the winter months. To take full advantage of the last of the growing season, give leeks a

final feed of a balanced fertiliser sprinkled between the plants and lightly hoed in. If the soil is dry, water between the rows to moisten the soil and it’s also worth considering earthing-up a little soil around the base of the plants with a warren or draw hoe. This helps blanch the base of the leek and increases the length of the white stem.

Peas, dwarf beans, runner beans, Chinese cabbage, cabbage, calabrese, cauliflower, carrots, spinach, celery, radish, lettuce, courgettes, marrow, salad leaves, spring onions, sweetcorn, shallots, onions, potatoes, beetroot, garlic, kohl rabi, tomatoes, herbs, apples, pears, raspberries, blackberries, loganberries, plums and damsons.

SEPTEMBER 2017 | 7

GET GROWING

Harvestfigswhenripe ■ Pull out the old sweetcorn plants once you have picked the last of the cobs. The base of the plants can be fairly tough, so to help them rot down on the compost heap pass them through a shredder first.

Our ‘Brown Turkey’ fig has produced a good amount of fruit this summer, which I’m sure is partly down to the mild winter. As a o result, the embryo fruits in the tips of the stems survived to grow on. I also watered and fed in the dry weather to keep the plant and fruits growing.

The fruits are now ripening well and are ready to pick when the figs turn brown and soft.

PRUNE SUMMER RASPBERRIES

■ Plant spring cabbages out into prepared ground and give the roots a good watering to help them establish.

It’s also a good idea to cover them over with netting to keep hungry pigeons off.

■ Sow seeds of green manure on empty beds to allow them to germinate and grow before winter. These crops are ideal to prevent soil erosion and to retain nutrients in the soil over winter.

■ Bend the tops of onions if they haven’t already started to fall naturally to expose the bulbs to as much sunlight as possible.

This helps the ripening process and develops a dry, papery outer skin.

■ Finish gathering herbs for drying. Tie the stems into small bunches and hang them in a dark, airy place to dry.

8 | SEPTEMBER 2017

If you haven’t got around to pruning your summer fruiting raspberries yet, now is the time to give them a good tidy up before autumn sets in. Pruning is very simple and all you need to do is cut out the old canes that carried the fruits in July and August and leave the young new canes as they carry the crop next summer. The older canes will have the remains of the fruit stalks at the top and they are also brown in colour, whereas the new growth is still green. Cut the old canes down as close to soil level as possible. The new n canes can then be tied t to the support wires, spacing them about s 10-15cm (4-6in) apart.

1 After pruning and tyingA in, i the row will instantly look better and the new l canes will be secured c and a won’t blow around over o the winter.

HARVEST PLUMS Ripe plums picked straight from the tree are delicious. One of the most popular varieties is still ‘Victoria’ because of the taste, but also because it is self-fertile and doesnt doesn’t need a pollinattor. The fruits of ‘Victooria’ start to ripen in late August onwards, although in our North Yorkshire garden harvesting is mainly September.

START PICKING PEARS

To pick or not to pick – that is the question. With most fruits it’s easy to know when to harvest, but with pears it can be a little more tricky. Some people like a firm pear where others like them ripe and soft. As a guide, pick pears just under ripe and let them ripen in the house.

I test them on the tree and pick when the flesh is still firm and crisp.

PRUNE PLUMS

When it comes to pruning, it is always best done in summer when the tree is growing. Never prune when the tree is leafless and dormant as the wounds are susceptible to infection by bacterial canker and silver-leaf disease. At harvest time, the only pruning I do on plums is tidy up any branches that are snapped or damaged by making a clean cut.

In many parts of the country it’s a good year for plums and certainly our ‘Victoria’ is carrying a heavy crop. In early summer I had to thin the fruits to prevent branches being weighed down by the fruit.

Thinning also helps to avoid biennial bearing which is when you get a good crop cr one year, followed by b no fruit the next. By B regulating the amount of fruit an nd removing excess, e the tree doesn’t exhaust itself and will hopefully flower and fruit the following f year.

If you have

room for more than one plum tree there are many others to choose from such as ‘Czar’, ‘Marjorie’s Seedling’, ‘Opal’, ‘Oullin’s Golden Gage’ and ‘Early Laxton’ to name but a few. Depending on the variety they fruit from late July through until late September and each variety has its own distinctive flavour.

Harvesting is the best part of growing plums and like many other fruits they are ready to pick when they part from the tree easily.

Plums don’t all ripen at the same time so you need to check the tree every few days and pick them when they are fully ripe and starting to soften. Once picked, eat them within a few days. If you have too many to eat, they can be frozen or bottled for winter use in puddings. www.kitchengarden.co.uk

■ Sow rows of salad leaves. It’s hard to have too many to pick, and growth slows down in the winter months. Rocket, frilly mustard, mizuna, purslane and lamb’s lettuce are all favourites.

■ Put small plants of cabbage, spinach etc. in the ground as soon as you can. Buy a few in if you haven’t sown them. Try sowing earlyy carrots in a large pot.

Reduce feed or stop feeding altogether from this month on.

If tomatoes and peppers are still swelling fruit, then feed every two weeks until October. If trusses are all set and just ripening fruit, then there’s no need for extra nutrients.

INTHE GREENHOUSE HEDGES

On an exposed site it is a good idea to plant a hedge to give some protection from prevailing winds.

Leave a gap for a metre-wide path all around the structure and bear in mind that hedges can grow to occupy a wider space than you may think. Avoid tall-growing conifers and plants that will push roots through into the greenhouse soil. A dense shrub like escallonia or griselinia that will hold its leaves throughout the year is ideal.

The important thing is to remember to clip the hedge to a height where it deflects wind but doesn’t shade the greenhouse.

This should be done at least twice a year: once in spring and again in the autumn.

10 | SEPTEMBER 2017

WITH JOYCE RUSSELL Pictures by Ben Russell

S

eptember days can be as glorious as any and harvests roll in until the glut may seem like it will never end. Keep a good eye around the greenhouse: stay on top of harvesting, watering, ventilation and be watchful for pest and disease problems.

Keep an nother eye forward to th he months ahead DOORS & an nd be sure to make WINDOWS ssowings to fill It’s hard to give fixed rules since any empty beds.

September can come with a wide Summer crops range of weather scenarios, but are removed in general it’s a good idea to start over the coming closing windows and doors overnight weeks and the again. Days are short enough that well-prepared it is unlikely to get too hot under gardener has cover before you open up in plenty of winter p the morning and cold nights croops ready to fill are less damaging. the space. s

JOBS THIS MONTH

TOPJOBS FOR SEPTEMBER

UNDER PRODUCTIVE TOMATO LEAVES

■ Remove plants that have finished cropping ■ Keep sowing, planting and harvesting ■ Stop pests and diseases before the problem spreads ■ Pick up any fallen fruits and don’t leave debris to shelter pests ■ Watch out for gales around the equinox and secure windows and doors ■ Harvest grapes as soon as they are sweet and before mould takes a hold ■ Make liquid feeds to use in the winter months

If you haven’t done so already, then this is a good time to remove lower leaves from tomato plants. Many of these will be curled, discoloured, or even diseased, and there is no point cherishing something that no longer serves a useful purpose.

There should be enough leaves higher up to keep plants and fruit growing.

Tomato plants often ripen the bulk of their crop in September. Removing lower leaves allows air and light to reach tomato trusses and helps to speed up the ripening process.

Avoid putting diseased leaves or split fruit on the compost heap. Unless this gets hot enough to kill spores and seeds you will carry problems through into the compost.

TIPS FROM A SMALL GREENHOUSE ■ Plants can ripen more slowly in

a tiny greenhouse, but sweetcorn cobs should be ready to harvest at the beginning of the month.

■ Tomatoes and cucumbers should be cropping well. Keep them watered and make sure roots can escape from growing bags down into the border soil.

■ Make sowings of salad and spinach, or plant lettuce in any spare areas of the greenhouse soil. It may seem overcrowded for a short while, but larger plants will be removed before these new sowings have grown to demand extra space.

HARVEST Late cucumbers are often curled and shorter than earlier ones. They still taste good so pick and use them before cold nights kill off plants. Peppers and tomatoes are showing their best colours now.

Freeze, bottle and preserve if you have a glut.

Climbing beans and basil may end soon, but in a mild autumn they will keep cropping for another month. Enjoy aubergines at their glorious best and remember that you will miss all those courgettes when the season ends!

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■ If basil is in full flower, or

plants start to turn brown, then remove them from the greenhouse and try planting parsley instead.

■ Keep the door open as much as you can. Everything heats up very fast in a small greenhouse. It’s better to err on the side of too cold than too hot in this situation.

■ Check guy ropes and repair rips before any gales arrive. A lot of these tiny structures only last beyond a year if you keep on top of repairs.

SPRING CABBAGE If there is clear spacee in your greenhouse, theen try growing a few cabbages. Plants do really well in the protected environment of a greenhouse: they grow faster and head d up sooner than plantts grown outdoors and they don’t get battered by wind, rain or snow. They do attract slugs so look in between leaves and remove the beasts while plants are small. Large heads can be spoiled if slugs make them their home.

Spring cabbages easily grow to 60cm (2ft) wide so allow plenty of room when putting small plants out. Firm the soil and scatter a little lime if needed at planting time.

FABULOUS FRUIT KIWI

You need a large greenhouse to grow this plant, and you need to be fond enough of the fruit to wait a while for the first pickings. If both of these apply then enjoy the pleasure of growing an exuberant climbing kiwi plant. Plants like plenty of heat and sun, they need a good supply of water, a nutrient-rich acid soil and protection from frost.

Choose a self-fertile variety and allow plenty of room either side, or train foliage up along the ridge of the greenhouse.

Learn how to prune in winter, plus summer, and plants may bear fruit after two to four years.

If this all sounds too much for an ordinary greenhouse, then try a miniature kiwi, such as ‘Issai’, in a large container.

This one grows to a compact 3-4m (10-13ft) tall.

SEPTEMBER 2017 | 11

YOU

YOUR PLOT

WHAT’S NEW?

ALL THE LATEST NEWS, PRODUCTS & FACTS FROM THE WORLD OF KITCHEN GARDENING

POSTCARDS FROM THE HEDGE This year the Harrogate Autumn Flower Show will be sending plant postcards from across the globe as it invites visitors to travel the world in their garden. A new exhibition tracing the ancestry of many of the world’s most popular plants will form the centrepiece for this year’s theme, Postcards from the Hedge.

Other highlights of the show will include Harrogate’s world-famous giant vegetable competition which this year has three new classes for novices.

And, as usual, Kitchen Garden Live will be featuring a host of grow-your-own experts and a chance to meet the KG magazine’s editorial team.

Staged at the Great Yorkshire Showground from September 15 to 17, the show will include plant nursery displays, live entertainment, live cookery theatre demonstrations, specialist regional food and thousands of gardening products, from gloves to greenhouses.

GREENHOUSEGUIDE FOR THE GREEN-FINGERED

We have joined forces with the UK’s top retail gardening trade event, Glee, to offer readers the chance of a unique VIP day out.

The show, which is held at the NEC, Birmingham in September, brings together hundreds of the nation’s top gardening brands in one place and acts as a shop window for new products. It is the must-see show for the gardening trade and journalists and offers a unique sneak preview of the new advances that will appear in our garden centres in 2018.

We have 10 pairs of tickets to give away. As well as VIP access the winners will receive an exclusive tour of the show, free refreshments, a Tickets: Friday and Saturday, £18 on the gate, goody bag and the chance to see thousands of £15.50 if bought by Tuesday, September 5. new products launched to the industry before Sunday, £16.50 on the gate, £14 in advance. they hit the shelves of retailers in spring 2018.

Under 16s FREE when accompanied by an You will be able to vote for your favourite adult. Parking is free. Visit www.flowershow. products too and the organisers will supply org.uk or call 01423 546157. you with special ‘KG Reader’s Choice’ boards that can be awarded to those products with hich h you are particularly impressed. wh The day will be held on Tuesday, Th Septtember 12 and the show is open from 9aam until 6pm, giving you plenty of time to look around and to enjoy your day.

Please note that Glee is a trade show only and it will not be possible to There are more than 7500 purchase products on the day. varieties of apple, so what we To stand a chance of winning, see in the supermarket each simply enter online at www. week is very limited to say the kitchengarden.co.uk/competitions. least. To find out more go to: For competitions terms and conditions www.orangepippin.com vissit www.kichengarden.co.uk. The /apples com mpetition closes on Friday, August 18.

If you want to get hold of a guide to greenhouse growing, greenhouse supplier Hartley Botanic has one you can download for free.

Written by gardening expert Nigel Colborn, this full-colour guide provides plenty of information, covering choosing a greenhouse, growing ornamental and edible plants, managingg pests and diseases and how to get the most out of your undercover growing.

To download this guide go to: https://hartleybotanic.co.uk/

DO YOU HAVE SOME HOT STORIES FOR OUR NEWS PAGES? SEND THEM TO TFLANAGAN@MORTONS.CO.UK 12 | SEPTEMBER 2017

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