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No. 266

November 2019

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EDITOR’S LETTER XXX

The annual crop of falling leaves presents a great opportunity for bags of free soil conditioner this month and even if you don’t have your own trees, there may be opportunities to collect them from friends and family. Once gathered you’ll need another essential – fungi – to turn the leaves into the best mulch that money can't buy. So turn to page 32 to read Ben Vanheems’ advice on ways to make your best-ever leafmould. Fungi feature again on page 75, this time the edible kind, as keen organic gardener Wendy Pillar shows how to grow fungi on logs.

We have some great top tips on companion planting from winner of the Great Allotment Challenge, Rob Smith, and starting on page 80 our resident fruit expert David Patch has advice on growing highly decorative and productive small trees with names to make you smile on a chilly autumn day – cobnuts and filberts.

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

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NOVEMBER 2019 | 3

EXPERT ADVICE TO HELP YOU GROW GREAT FRUIT AND VEGETABLES

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YOUR PLOT

6 ON THE VEG PATCH ✪

68

This month Joyce Russell is harvesting, sowing broad beans and making liquid manure

10 IN THE GREENHOUSE

Martin Fish clears out old tomato plants and sows winter-cropping salads

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

NEVER MISS AN ISSUE...

18 CONNECT WITH YOUR KG SUBSCRIBERS’ CLUB

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CALL 01507 529529 HAVING TROUBLE FINDING A COPY OF THIS MAGAZINE? Just Ask your local newsagent to reserve you a copy each month

4 | NOVEMBER 2019

Money-saving offers and competitions for KG subscribers. This month you could win an insect home worth over £24!

84 FIVE GROW LIVE

20 KG PROBLEM SOLVER

102 NEXT MONTH

The final update from our countrywide team of keen croppers

Our panel of experts help solve your gardening problems; this month sweetcorn, squashes and spinach

Some of the highlights to be found in your December 2019 issue plus news of more great free gifts

68 GROWING ON THE WEB

106 LAST WORD

This month Sean Cameron – one of the first and most prolific gardening vloggers

This month KG’s Emma Rawlings asks when a courgette becomes a marrow! www.kitchengarden.co.uk

NOVEMBER 2019

38 64

More mouthwatering recipes from our resident chef Anna Cairns Pettigrew

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Pg 98

Scan this, and we’ll tell you!

56 GET GROWING 16 ON THE PLOT WITH THE THREE MUDKETEERS

This month the team taste-test tomatoes and sow some late salads

22 GROWING ONLINE

Our pick of the best gardening websites, blogs and vlogs

26 GOOD COMPANIONS ✪

You choose your friends wisely – so do the same for your plants, says gardening expert Rob Smith

32 TURN OVER AN OLD LEAF ✪

This month Ben Vanheems has some top tips for great leafmould

35 FEEDING FRENZY!

Veteran plotters Graham and Sally Strong enjoy the harvests from their new plot

38 GET AHEAD WITH GARLIC

KG editor Steve Ott brings you his top tips for great garlic bulbs

44 SMALL AND MIGHTY

We try yellow podded dwarf bean ‘Cala D’Or’

46 GROWING LIGHTING 101 ✪

Gardening writer and author Leslie F Halleck has advice for those who want to buy growing lights www.kitchengarden.co.uk

50 A WALLED GARDEN FIT FOR A PRINCE ✪

Janice Hopper travels to Scotland’s beautiful Caste of Mey

56 THE GREEN TEAM

Writer Emily Collins travels to Goole in East Yorkshire to visit a charity that uses gardening to help the local community

61 BARRICADE AND MARMALADE Gardening expert Sally Cunningham has a recipe for a productive security hedge

64 NATURAL REMEDIES ✪

Stephanie Hafferty has some recipes to ease those winter snuffles and sneezes

72 NOVEMBER FESTIVITIES

KG diarist Rekha Mistry reveals her favourite recipes for seasonal celebrations

75 LOG IN TO MUSHROOMS ✪

Green gardener Wendy Pillar explains how to grow mushrooms the easy way

80 JUST NUTS ABOUT COBNUTS ✪

Grow your own cobnuts and filberts, says award-winning fruit expert David Patch

98 WHAT TO BUY 88 GREAT GIVEAWAYS WORTH OVER £1309

Our prizes in this issue include Aspen fuels, RSPB digital radios, T&M seed bundles and Remin Rockdust

90 GREAT READER OFFERS – SAVE OVER £27!* ✪

Claim your free* strawberry plants worth £12.95, plus great savings on a range of soft fruit (*just pay p&p)

92 GARDEN STORE PLUS SUBSCRIBER SAVERS

News of some great new products and services and a chance for KG subscribers to bag a bargain

94 PRODUCT ROUNDUP ✪

With pruning season getting under way, the KG team test a range of pruning saws

103 GIVEAWAYS ENTRY FORM NOVEMBER 2019 | 5

GET GROWING

TASKS FOR YOUR VEGETABLE PATCH IN NOVEMBER BY JOYCE RUSSELL PICK KALE

Pick kale while leaves are green and fresh – larger leaves turn yellow and tough as the winter moves on. Try to pick medium-sized leaves rather than the small ones and don’t break the growing point if you want to keep producing fresh leaves.

CLEAR GROUND

Clear plants that have died back and be sure to pick up any mouldy or discoloured leaves. It’s good to get rid of as many disease spores as possible. Leave ground as clean as you can before you use mulch.

TIDY STRAWBERRY BEDS

Tidy strawberry beds and remove unwanted runners.

Remove any discoloured leaves and give a thorough clip back if you need to, in order to maintain a healthy plant.

MAKE A LIST

Start making lists of what you would like to grow next year and where you would like to grow it. This is only the start of a process but it is nice to think of fruit bushes to plant and what seeds you might buy.

www.kitchengarden.co.uk

JOBS FOR THE MONTH XXX

MAKE A LIQUID FEED STEP 1: Put some fresh manure in a porous bag and tie the top to a strong stick. Put this in a bin filled with water and be sure to keep the bin covered so rain can’t get in or the pong out! You can use bagged manure if you can’t get fresh.

STEP 2: Agitate the bag in the water every few days. This helps the goodness to leach out. When the water is brown then the feed is ready to use. Draw some off and dilute it until it is the colour of tea. The feed will keep for months until you need it.

STEP 3: The feed is particularly useful for over-wintered vegetables that still have some growing to do. Apply diluted feed to damp soil around plants in November and repeat in January or February to give a boost when plants start growing again.

HARVEST There are plenty of things to harvest and eat from the garden over the next few months. If you don’t have much this year then make a note to buy seed of what you want to try and, most important of all, be sure to sow at the right time next year. April/ May is a good time to sow broccoli, sprouts, kales and cauliflowers that need a long growing period. But you can still sow cabbages, spinach etc. in July or August.

You can feel very pleased now if you did sow at the right time. There should be lots of delicious things to pick, eat and enjoy through the weeks to come.

SOW NOW

SOW BROAD BEANS Sow a hardy variety like ‘Aquadulce Claudia’ in November and you will have plenty of early beans next year. You can sow direct in rows if the weather is kind and ground is dry enough to work. Sow over a trench filled with compost. Seeds go 5cm (2in) deep in a double row 25cm (10in) apart, with 20cm

(8in) between seeds. Cover the row with a cloche and protect against slugs if these are still active when the leaves appear.

If ground is too wet to work, or weather is unkind, then you can sow seeds in 8cm (3in) pots and keep these somewhere covered but cool until conditions allow for planting out.

Autumn-sowing varieties of peas and broad beans. Try sowing mizuna and mustard greens if you live in a milder area and can protect emerging plants.

PLANT NOW Garlic if soil isn’t too wet. Winter lettuce and salad leaves in sheltered raised beds or containers. Fruit trees and bushes.

HARVEST

Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, leeks, broccoli, kohl rabi, salad leaves, parsnips, spinach.

www.kitchengarden.co.uk

GET GROWING

DIVIDE RHUBARB

PAK CHOI ■ PRUNE SOFT FRUIT BUSHES Get the job done in November if you haven’t done it already.

Some bushes fruit best on shoots that grew in the previous year.

Read about pruning technique before you start to cut. There are different techniques for summer and autumn-fruiting raspberries for example.

■ THINK ABOUT FEED FOR THE GARDEN Buy in manure – some stables sell by the bag or trailer load. Assess garden compost and bag anything up that’s fit to use in the spring.

Consider applying powdered seaweed to empty beds – this can take up to six months to activate.

■ FIX PATHS Raised paving stones can lead to accidents and decking covered with green algae can be slippery.

Get all routes round the garden level and steady. This is the sort of job that can be easy to avoid in summer but be sure to make all safe before frost and snow arrive.

■ LAST MOW IF NEEDED There may not be an opportunity to mow in a wet, cold November, but if a suitable moment presents itself, then it’s a good idea to give a last cut.

Use the clippings as mulch or to top off the compost heap.

■ PLANTING NEW FRUIT TREES AND BUSHES These can be planted over the next few months but avoid planting when hard frosts are forecast or the ground is frozen.

Provide a good stake for young trees to avoid wind rock.

8 | NOVEMBER 2019

You can pick this vegetable over several weeks in a mild autumn, but they can become tatty and they turn brown and soften if they are subject to a hard frost. Pick and use plants as soon as they are big enough – small ones are delicious and it is better than losing the lot. Cover the row with a bubble-wrap cloche if you want to stretch cropping for a little longer. Protect against slugs.

LOOK AFTER HERBS Move herbs in containers to a sheltered position close to a house wall. Sage will survive an average winter without any problem and you can pick and use the strongflavoured leaves as you need.

Rosemary is notoriously susceptible to prolonged periods of cold weather.

If you grow rosemary in a container then move it into a porch or wrap in horticultural fleece to give the best chance of survival.

Old clumps of rhubarb can be divided and replanted now. Cut sections from the crown and make sure each section has at least one bud. Plant sections 100cm (39in) apart in a bed that has plenty of manure dug in.

Choose a bed that doesn’t dry out in the spring and summer. Rhubarb needs plenty of moisture if it is to crop well.

■ Chives will sprout much earlier if you bring a pot into a porch – it only takes a small bit of warmth to get this herb growing.

■ Sow a pot or two of basil to grow in the kitchen if you love this annual herb. Your own sowings will usually last longer than supermarket ones.

■ Most herbs hate a wet root run and they fail if plants are waterlogged. Choose a dry bed if you can and avoid leaking gutters and boggy beds.

PRUNING ADVICE The apple-pruning season starts in November, butt there is no rush to get fruit trees done. You have a few month hs before new growth starts and it is much easier to see whaat you are doing after all leaves have fallen. It can take a long time to prune a large apple tree and longer again to clear up all the cut branches. Decide on your pruning method (different gardeners have slightlyy different approaches) and be methodical. You don’t have to prune a whole tree at once – just work your way around so it is easy to see where to start and finish.

If branches have signs of canker, then these should be cut out. You may get away with just cutting the canker patch from a main stem, but generally, cutting the branch a few centimetres below the canker patch is most effective.

Some trees, such as cherry, plum and apricot,, shouldn’t be pruned in the winter and should only be pruned in late spring or summer to avooid infection with silver leaf.

Don’t forget to prune overhanging branches froom other trees too. These can soon encroach on the light th hat reaches garden beds and they can also break and do damaage in winter winds. Call a tree surgeon if you need to tackle an ny large tree. www.kitchengarden.co.uk

With care hardy lettuces can be cropped nearly all year round under cover ■ If you fancy a few early peas next year, try sowing a hardy, dwarf variety, such as ‘Meteor’, directly into the polytunnel border while the soil is still warm.

■ Continue to remove salad and vegetable crops when you have finished harvesting them to clear the ground.

■ Bring pots of perennial herbs inside to protect them from excessive wet during the winter months.

■ There is still time to sow winter salads, such as lettuce, rocket, winter purslane, spinach and oriental brassicas, either in trays or directly into the soil.

■ Pak choi sown in August or September can be harvested while it is young and fresh.

10 | NOVEMBER 2019

SALADS AND CHARD FOR WINTER USE One of the great things about growing in a greenhouse or polytunnel is the ability to extend the growing season at both ends of the year. If you like salads, it means you can be picking some form of salad leaf for much of the year and the range you can grow is huge. Lettuce and salad leaf seeds sown in September will be ready to start harvesting now as you need them. I also grow Swiss chard in pots in the polytunnel and these will grow through the winter, as long as they are kept moist. The young new leaves and tender stalks can be used in salads and, if left to develop, the thicker stalks are great when braised. www.kitchengarden.co.uk

JOBS FOR THE MONTH

CLEAR OUT OLD TOMATO PLANTS Although some people try to keep their tomato plants growing as long as possible, once we get into November I like to pull them out and clear the border. By pinching out the growing tips in early August, all the fruits should have developed fully and ripened by the end of October, but even if there are still a few green fruits on the plants, they will be picked and the plants removed. The main reason is because I want to start preparing the ground for new crops, but also because I don’t want old foliage and stems hanging around to attract pests and fungal diseases. The stems are chopped up and added to the compost bin outside.

■ Through the winter months I always keep several cans full of rainwater in the greenhouse ready for when I need to water. This gives the water time to warm up a little so that when I do water, the plants are not shocked by freezing water straight from the water butt.

INSULATE THE GREENHOUSE

STILL TIME TO PLANT GARLIC

To try and keep your greenhouse warm and cosy over winter for growing crops and over-wintering tender plants it certainly helps to insulate with bubble polythene. A layer of insulation on the sides and roof will help to keep temperatures a few degrees warmer than outside, which is often all thatt is needed to keep plants ticking over.

However, bubble insulation alone won’t keep your greenhouse frost-free in very frosty weather.

It will protect plants undercover if the outside temperate is minus 2-3C (35-37F) but if colder than that, it will also freeze in the greenhouse, unless you have a small heater.

Don’t worry if you haven’t got your garlic in yet, because there is still time when planting directly into a polytunnel. Although garlic cloves can be planted outside, when grown undercover they generally do very well and produce good-sized bulbs. This is because the roots have time to establish before winter and come spring, when the temperatures rise, the plants start into growth early to give them a longer growing season. Plant the individual cloves into soil that’s been improved with plenty of organic matter.

Plant approximately 15-20cm (6-8in) apart and 5cm (2in) deep. Water the ground and a new garlic shoot will appear in a few weeks, but more importantly, it will be developing a strong root system to over-winter.

PICK LATE CHILLI PEPPERS If you can provide frost-free growing conditions, good light and a fairly dry atmosphere, it is possible to keep chilli plants growing through the winter months. However, in a cold greenhouse or polytunnel the plants can soon start to deteriorate once the temperature drops and condensation levels rise. To keep the plants ticking over for as long as possible, ventilate on fine days and don’t over-water.

Keeping the compost just moist is all that’s is needed to keep the last of the ripening fruits firm. Remove any leaves that start to develop moulds and keep picking the fruits as they ripen. www.kitchengarden.co.uk

■ When the leaves start to fall from the trees make sure you clear them from the roof of greenhouses or polytunnels on a regular basis, especially in wet weather, when they stick and block light getting to the plants below.

■ Although plants still need watering over winter when grown undercover, don’t overdo it. Keep compost just moist in containers and water plants growing in borders enough to maintain moist soil conditions. Before watering test the soil or compost with your finger to feel how dry or wet it is.

■ Gather up canes that have been used to support plants over summer and bundle them together. If split or damaged, get rid, as they make great hiding places for pests.

■ If you have a heater in the greenhouse for providing frost protection, get it ready and checked to make sure it is working properly.

NOVEMBER 2019 | 11

YOU

YOUR PLOT

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

HMP & YOI Parc in Bridgend, Wales has been named the best kept prison garden in England and Wales by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) and awarded the Windlesham Trophy for its efforts.

Now in its 36th year, the annual award was devised by then chairman of the Parole Board, Lord Windlesham, in recognition of the value of gardening within prison communities and in prisoners’ rehabilitation.

Its vast grounds burst with plants and green space with large areas given over to food production and wildlife. These play an

important role in training and rehabilitation and are found to have positively impacted on prisoners’ behaviour and staff morale.

A team of 15 prisoners learn horticultural skills, gain qualifications and grow huge hauls of crops such as potatoes, cabbages and tomatoes that are served in the prison canteen.

Wildflower borders, a new pond and bird boxes support wildlife and the prison’s resident bee colony, as well as providing tranquil places to relax and reflect, while kitchen waste is composted and old pallets and plastic bottles are recycled into planters and propagation trays.

SWEET PEA COMMEMORATES MAYFLOWER JOURNEY Seed supplier Mr Fothergill’s has introduced a new and exclusive sweet pea variety for the forthcoming season as part of the 400th anniversary commemoration of the sailing of the Mayflower to the new world in 1620.

Sweet pea ‘Mayflower 400’ is a ‘Spencer’ type, bred by world renowned hybridiser Keith Hammett, and produces frilly flowers in a pastel pink flake on a cream background. It is vigorous and free flowering, with a high scent. (RRP £2.40 for 20 seeds) www.mr-fothergills. co.uk

YOUNG MEN SKIMPING ON FIVE-A-DAY

A new study from the University of East Anglia shows why British men aged 18-24 are struggling to eat even three portions of fruit and vegetables a day. As well as not having the culinary skills to cook for themselves, the researchers found that young men are more focused on gaining muscle and improving their physique than eating a healthy diet.

DO YOU HAVE SOME HOT STORIES FOR OUR NEWS PAGES? SEND THEM TO TFLANAGAN@MORTONS.CO.UK 12 | NOVEMBER 2019

www.kitchengarden.co.uk

WHAT’S NEW?

It has been announced that the Fleuroselect vegetable of the year 2020 is the cucumber.

Fleuroselect is an international organisation which represents breeders and producers of the starting material for pot and bedding plants, both seed and cuttings.

Supporting Fleuroselect’s ‘Year of the Cucumber’, Johnsons has introduced Cucumber ‘Silor F1’ to its 2020 vegetable range. Producing an abundance of small, bitterness-free fruits, this variety is also highly disease resistant. (RRP £2.65 for five seeds) www.johnsons-seeds.com

NOVEMBER PLANT FAIRS NORTHERN FRUIT GROUP APPLE DISPLAY, RHS GARDEN HARLOW CARR October 30November 3: See apple displays by the Northern Fruit Group, get advice on fruit growing and bring along home-grown apples for identification by the experts. www.rhs.org.uk/harlow-carr

POT SWAP GardenBuildingsDirect.co.uk is encouraging UK gardeners to swap traditional planters for second-hand household objects to support the fight for sustainability. According to the company’s horticultural experts, a teapot “can be multipurpose, used as either a watering can or a planter.

Sustainability at its finest.” They also suggest the following alternative to plant pots in order to reduce waste and unnecessary expense: colanders, tin cans, muffin tins, plastic bottles and old sinks.

HOW IMPORTANT IS A GARDEN? New research from property website Zoopla and the Society of Garden Designers reveals that the nation’s love of gardens is as keen as ever, with 50% of UK adults believing a well-designed garden is as important or more important than a well-designed bathroom or kitchen.

The poll of 2000 found that nearly half of respondents have been put off buying or renting a property because of the condition of the garden. The research also found that householders spend on average £648 a year to keep their current gardens, terraces and courtyards blooming, with gardening enthusiasts in the South East spending the most (£812) and those living in the North West spending the least (£518), followed closely by those in London (£554).

www.kitchengarden.co.uk

LATE FRUIT AND VEGETABLE COMPETITION, RHS GARDEN WISLEY November 1-3: With more than 80 classes of champion fruit and veg, this competition is free to enter and open to everyone. www.rhs. g y org.uk/wisley

APPLES EXHIBITION – CODLINGS, COSTARDS & BIFFINS, RHS GARDEN HARLOW CARR November 2-3: Visit the library to read the story of the British love affair with the humble apple, and learn more about the importance and history of heritage varieties. www.rhs.org.uk/harlow-carr

For more inspirational shows, festivals, events and courses this month, visit our website www. kitchengarden.co.uk and choose the Diary Dates category.

PLEASE NOTE We have made every effort to ensure these details were correct at the time of going to press, but recommend you check with the organisers before travelling.

NOVEMBER 2019 | 13

YOU

YOUR PLOT

PALLET INS SPIRATION I started to buy your magazine earlier in the year and in your June issue I was inspired to make a pallet garden. I am so overjoyed at the way it has turned out. I love it and all my friends comment on what a fantastic idea it is. It truly is a great little project and I would love to inspire others to make one. We eat fresh herbs most days now and drink peppermint tea from the leaves.

Christina Hall, Derbyshire

TONY SAYS: That looks brilliant Christina, well done!

CONTACT US WITH YOUR LETTERS AND TIPS: TFLANAGAN@MORTONS.CO.UK

GOLD MEDAL In the summer we bought a quantity of decking timber to cover an eyesore of a concrete area at the side of our garden (initially we were going to dig it up until we discovered it was over 6in thick).

After the job was done we were left with 18x20in offcuts, which were not really long enough to be of use, until a eureka moment struck.

My greenhouse is 8x4ft and finding staging for it was proving difficult and expensive. A couple of hours’ work with the jigsaw and the offcuts, some old 4x4ft sleepers, a couple of lengths of battening and a handful of screws had been transformed into a ‘bespoke’ bench.

It may not win any prizes at Chelsea, but at a cost of less than £5 my husband gets a gold medal from me!

Mrs Pat Williams, Rhyl

Being young and enthusiastic, I grow lots of different vegetables, herbs and fruit in my garden. Since a lot of people get rid of old plastic pots in my area, I decided I would take them. I then grow a variety of different herbs and vegetables from seed in these. Once I have filled my garden I go back to the neighbours and people who originally wanted to give me all their pots and give back to them a wonderful growth of plants which they are always so delighted to receive. This way I am reusing pots while also giving back to the community.

Owen Manuel, Powys

TONY SAYS: Well done that man!

Send us your tips and pictures and if your letter is published you will get a £10 Dobies voucher. If you are lucky enough to have yours chosen as our Star Letter you will get a £25 voucher. Your voucher will be sent out with a Dobies catalogue and you can choose to spend your winnings on a fabulous range of seeds,

14 | NOVEMBER 2019

young plants and gardening sundries. You can get hold of a copy of the catalogue now by phoning 0844 701 7625 or go online to www.dobies.co.uk You can reach us by letter, email or via our Facebook page: FACEBOOK.COM/ KITCHENGARDENMAG

Email E il your letters l tt to tflanagan@mortons. co.uk or post to Letters, Kitchen Garden, Mortons Media Group, Media Centre, Morton Way, Horncastle, Lincs LN9 6JR

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YOUR VIEWS XXX

TUBULAR WELLS A friend gave me several hollow plastic tubes about 20cm long and being keen on upcycling stuff, I was rather challenged as to what use to put them to. Inspiration struck when it was time to plant the tomatoes in the allotment greenhouse border. Usually, to conserve water I sink a pot next to each plant and fill that to enable the water to reach down to the roots, but from past experience before the growing season is finished the plant pot has risen out of the soil, or filled with soil, and the water is no longer getting down far enough. However, these narrow tubes are still in place and doing a great job, delivering our scant rainwater right down to where it is needed, while the compost surface stays dry. The home-made comfrey feed recipe from Kitchen Garden’s May issue gets administered in the same way and the cherry plum tomatoes this year have been hale, healthy and loving it.

Julie Halsey, Milton Keynes

TONY SAYS: Music to my ears, Julie!

EDITORIAL Tel 01507 529396, Fax 01507 371075 EDITOR: Steve Ott, sott@mortons.co.uk DEPUTY EDITOR: Emma Rawlings,

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We took on our first allotment plot last August. In the words of the site representative who showed us around, we took on a “rough old plot” which had been left unkept for 18 months.

It has taken a lot of hard work (between our jobs and having an energetic toddler) but we are so proud of what we have achieved during this last year.

We still have lots to do but we are excited for the future of growing our own, and we are

grateful for the friendly faces and advice from our allotment community.

Here is a picture of our son Oliver with some of our harvest and my husband Tim with our first cabbage. Now he feels like a real allotmenteer!

Debs Mytton, North Devon

TONY SAYS: A great start to a great adventure! All the best!

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KEEPING ‘CHARLOTTE’ MOUSE2: For several years now, one of my favourite potatoes

to grow has been ‘Charlotte’. The thing is, all the info on this second early variety seems to suggest that, while it continues to grow well if not harvested at the ‘new’ stage, it will not keep more than a month or so after harvesting.

I find this strange, because over those years I have deliberately been growing many of them to maturity and storing for winter use with no storage problems whatsoever (beyond the tendency to sprout quickly if the weather is still warm, but many maincrop varieties do that!)

GEOFF: I regularly keep them until Christmas but if I have a good crop they sprout too much after that. I don’t understand growing ‘late’ early varieties for Christmas when you can have ‘Charlotte’.

SALLY WRIGHT: ‘Charlotte’ potatoes will keep for many months as a mature spud. It is true that they will start to sprout just after Christmas but if you keep on top of that by rubbing the sprouts off regularly they will keep in good condition until late February to early March.

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Use a lawnmower to shred fallen leaves to create leafmould – this will increase the speed of decomposition

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GOING AT IT BLIND

So what have the Muddies been up to this month? Steve, blindfolded? Four cherry tomatoes and a very hot chilli? What’s going on?

Ah well, Steve was a willing victim (or was he?) for a little tomato tasting – four varieties:

‘Montello’, ‘Rosella’, ‘Sweet Baby’ and ‘Sungold’. Oh, yes, and, unbeknown to him, a ‘Carolina Reaper’, yes, only the hottest chilli in chillidom! Oh that dastardly duo, Emma and Tony!

Well, the tomatoes seemed to be going down very well, but would Steve’s tomato tasting end in tasting

apocalypse? Sadly, for Emma and Tony, no.

Steve rumbled their ruse (he’s not editor for nothing) and the grim chilli reaper was quickly discarded with the slightest of nibbles.

Steve seemed quite happy with each of these cherry varieties but, yes, ‘Sungold’, the firm favourite, won the day!

GROWING IN THE GUTTER Starting certain veggies in guttering is nothing new – many of you will have grown peas in this way. But a recent severe attack of flea beetles in my polytunnell forced me to think of ways to combat the pest without resorting to chemicals if I could help it. So I decided to try the guttering that I use for raising peas, but which was currently was sitting idle in my shed, to raise my late salad leaves such as mizuna. I could probably leave them in the guttering and just harvest them as they are, but my intention is to slide them out into a suitable groove in the soil once they are established so that they keep growing for longer, so extending the harvest. I’ll cover immediately with insect mesh to keep the critters at bay and keep my fingers crossed that I get to eat the leaves before the flea beetles do!

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