Kitchen Garden - December 2020 - Preview

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Kings Seeds have put together a few collections, but to view our wide range of varieties and very competitive prices, please visit our website for a wider selection: www.kingsseeds.com • • • •

2kg (15-20 tubers) & 2.5kg (20-24 tubers) for only £5.85 (Buy 2 or more for £5.30 each).

All seed potatoes varieties are Scottish Super Elite or Elite. Size approx. 35mm x 55mm.

Sourced from Safe Haven farms reducing the risk of quarantine diseases.

Packed in strong mesh nets. No minimum orders. Last orders end of January.

All Season Tasty Collection

Patio Potato Collection

2.5kg of Vales Sovereign 2.5kg of Setanta 2.5kg Cara

2.5kg Casablanca 2.5kg Cara 2.5kg Charlotte

2.5kg of Swift 1st Early 2.5kg of Charlotte Salad 2kg Jazzy Salad

2.5kg of Casablanca 2.5kg of Kestrel 2.Skg of Nadine 2.5kg of Vales Sovereign

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Specially formulated to give a maximum potato crop. High in potasium (14.14.21) Full usage instruction on pack.

Store your potatoes well with these strong hessian sacks that allow your potatoes to breathe and aids the exclusion of light.

Each sack will hold approx 18kg (40lbs) of potatoes.

50cm x 75cm (20"x 30").

Please send order forms (copies will be accepted) along with payment to Kings Seeds, Monks Farm, Coggeshall Road, Kelvedon, Colchester, Essex COS 9PG. For more info call 01376 570 OOO. Item Disease Resistant Collection All Season Tasty Collection Patio Potato Collection Potato Exhibitors Collection Potato Fertilizer - 3kg Potato Fertilizer - 6ka Potato Sacks - 5 sacks Potato Sacks - 1Osacks Potato Planters PLEASE ADD P&P - SUNDRIES POTATOES

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Price £14.00 £14.00 £14.00 £17.50 £9.50 £13.70 £8.75 £14.50 £13.20 £1.60 £3.50

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Customised planters, each tub has been designed to suit the varieties you want to grow.

You can grow your crops on your patio and have the excitement of growing your own tasty vegetables. Plants and compost not included.

They each have a 40 litre capacity with a height of 45cm (18") and a width of 35cm (14").

I enclose my cheque for£.. ..................... ....... made payable to Kings Seeds and with my name and address on the back OR please debit my Visa I Mastercard

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Your detail s will be processed by Kings Seeds in ful l accordance w ith th e data pro tect ion legis lation .

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If in the event of unprecedented demand this offer is over sub scribed, Kings Seeds reserves the right to send suitable sub stitute varietie s. Please note that your contract for supply of goods is with Kings Seeds, Monks Farm, Cogge shall Road, Kelvedon, Co lchester, Essex COS 9PG. All offers are subje ct to availability.

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EDITOR'S LETTER

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With the harvest gathered it's a great time to catch up on some out-of-season jobs and to prepare for the year ahead.

Of course, no one would have chosen the strange and difficult year we've had, but lockdown has at least given us time to tend to our crops in a way we could usually only dream of. The confinement and concerns regarding food security also encouraged lots of newcomers to take the plunge and interest in growing your own has blossomed once again.

So this issue is packed with great features which we hope will inspire experienced plotters and give confidence to beginners. Looking ahead to next year, we have growing guides for globe and Jerusalem artichokes as well as cucumbers and squashes of all kinds, rhubarb, dwarf French beans and sweet peas. And if you turn to page 24, you can even learn how to grow your own salsa!

Of course, there are jobs that are best tackled over the winter months and fruit grower David Patch brings you his expert advice on pruning pear trees. Starting on page 36 keen plotter and gardening expert for new daytime TV show Steph's Packed Lunch, Rob Smith, offers his top tips for planning your plot to give bumper pickings next year.

Your KG team has some great seasonal advice for you too.

Deputy editor Emma Rawlings encourages you to care for your garden birds this winter while staff writer Tony Flanagan has been putting some greenhouse heaters to the test.

Finally, if you are looking for Christmas gift inspiration turn to pages 66-67 and 76-78 for some great ideas.

S-t<L._)Q_ Steve Ott, editor

Contact me at: sott@mortons.co.uk I 01507 529396 Find us at www.kitchengarden.co.uk Contact subscriptions: 01507 529529

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Discover the weird and wonderful cucumber family (see p30) www .youtube.com/kitchengardenmagazine

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EXPERT ADVICE TO HELP YOU GROW GREAT FRUIT AND VEGETABLES

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6 ON THE VEG PATCH Keen plotter Joyce Russell is covering up to protect crops, soil and compost

10 IN THE GREENHOUSE !kitchen 9 ardenma 9 azine

FOR OUR CONTACT DETAILS TURN TO PAGE 15

Martin Fish harvests citrus, prepares the soil and clears autumn salads

12 WHAT'S NEW? The latest news, comment and advice from the world of kitchen gardening

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

18 CONNECT WITH YOUR KG SUBSCRIBERS'CLUB This month KG subscribers can save up to 34% on gardening goodies!

Subtcrifefflaar 20 KG PROBLEM SOLVER ON PAGE 23

I k iii

Our top experts help solve your gardening problems

50 THE HOME-GROWN GARDENER We talk to lnstagrammer Jo Clark of thefoodiepatch about her allotment

85 NEXT MONTH Some of the highlights to be found in your January issue plus news of more free gifts

HAVING TROUBLE FINDING A COPY OF THIS MAGAZINE?

40 CARING FOR OUR FEATHERED FRIENDS 0

98 LAST WORD

Just ask your local newsagent to reserve you a copy each month

How we can all give our garden birds some TLC this winter

How student and KG reader Alex Deacon took his first gardening steps thanks to lockdown

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DECEMBER 2020

Scan this, and we'll tell you!

RECIPES More delicious recipes for your home-grown harvests from Anna Cairns Pettigrew 0

Pg 92

GET GROWING

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16 ON THE PLOT WITH THE THREE MUDKETEERS The KG team reveal their Christmas wish lists, make leafmould and more

24 SENSATIONAL SALSA 0 Ben Vanheems' top tips for growing your own fresh and spicy Mexican side dish

58 THE ODD COUPLE 30 CUE THE CUCURBITS 0 An in-depth look at the wonderful and sometimes weird cucumber family

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We celebrate artichokes - the majestic globe and the knobbly Jerusalem

62 SWEET PEAS BY THE PINT 34 GROWING ONLINE

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A roundup of the best from the gardening websites, biogs and vlogs

Ben Thornton, aka YouTube's The Young Grower, reveals his method for raising sweet peas

36 IT'S ALL IN THE PLANNING O

68 LET'S TALK RHUBARB 0

Rob Smith explains why careful planning is so important in a new fruit and veg garden

KG's deputy editor Emma Rawlings shares her top tips for tasty stalks

44 FRIENDS FOR LIFE 0

72 PEAR TREE PRUNING

Give your gardening tools some long-overdue love this winter

Fruit expert David Patch takes the mystery out of pear pruning

48 ONE TO TRY

76 HOME-MADE FESTIVE GIFT IDEAS 0

This month KG editor Steve Ott turns the spotlight on dwarf French bean ' Hilton'

0

Annabelle Padwick offers inspiring gift ideas for Christmas

54 WINTER WORKOUT Join Stephanie Hafferty on her plot as she prepares the allotment for the year ahead www.youtube.com/kitchengardenmagazine

79 PASSIONATE PLOTTERS Meet some great gardeners and be inspired!

WHAT TO BUYG 82 PRODUCT REVIEW GREENHOUSE HEATING

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We review a range of popular products to keep your plants warm and cosy

86 WIN GREAT GIVEAWAYS WORTH OVER £894 0 Including Rockdust, tools and a beehive

87 GIVEAWAYS ENTRY FORM 88 GREAT READER OFFERS SAVE 20%! 0 Plus claim your free* Autumn Planting Seed Collection worth over £21 * (*T&Csapply)

90 GARDEN STORE PLUS SUBSCRIBERSAVERS 0 A chance for KG subscribers to save on big-name products! www.kitchengarden .co .uk I 5

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FORTHEMONT

MINUTE JOBS

TASKS FOR YOUR VEGETABLE PATCH IN DECEMBER BY JOYCE RUSSELL

KEEP USING LEEKS Winter varieties of leek are pretty hardy but they can turn to mush if buried under snow or exposed to sub-zero temperatures for several days. Lift and use them as needed so you don't waste any.

WEED GARLIC ROWS Garlic shoots are on hold in cold soil as they wait for temperatures above SC (41 F) to activate growth. Clear weeds from the bed so they don 't grow too when temperatures allow. This makes it easier to feed the small garlic plants next month .

COVER CAULIFLOWERS Curds soon turn brown in cold wet weather. Cover the head over with a leaf or two , or use a bit of cardboard to make sure the head is protected and stays white . Cauliflowers don't stand long once the head is formed, so cut and use .

PICK AND USE PARSLEY,SAGE AND THYME These are all hardy herbs that you can pick through the winter .

Don't strip plants if you want them to grow well in the spring.

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JOBS FOR THE MONTH

STEP BY STEP: COVER AND PROTECT

STEP 1: Use porous mesh or fleece covers to protect vulnerable crops. This keeps frost damage to a minimum and allows a slightly warmer microclimate to help keep plants growing. Porous covers allow rain through and keep temperatures steadier than under polythene. Weight edges down well.

STEP 2: This is a good month to put manure or other bulky feeds on beds. You don't have to dig this in straight away and worms will do some of the work for you if you give them time. Cover the manure with polythene sheet so the nutrients don't wash away with winter rains.

STEP 3: The contents of a compost heap should be kept damp, but at this time of year they can be sodden. Use old compost bags to cover the top of an open heap. Don't use old carpet - it can contain pollutants walked in over che years on che soles of shoes.

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ONTHE VEGPATCH ,â&#x20AC;˘

SOW NOW

WINTER CABBAGES Savoy cabbages can be at their best this month although they will stand until February in an average winter . Slugs can damage outer leaves but the firm heads are often left untouched. Peel back a leaf or two if you want a clean cabbage head.

Use any looser heads first - these may contain some pests at their heart. Savoys are hardy but they may suffer if frozen and thawed or if buried in snow.

If you want to grow savoy cabbages next year, add them to your seed list now and be ready to sow seed in May or June .

Grow on firm soil for compact heads.

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ALL THE COLOURS OF CHARD

Sow basil and use any leftover salad seed to sow for microgreens. Grow these indoors on a warm window ledge. Cuc and use the small shoots in salads and sandwiches.

Seed for rainbow chard usually contains a mix of red, yellow, pink and white-stemmed varieties. This can lead to a colourful collection to pick and eat through the winter months. The problem is that the coloured varieties never grow as well as che white version - seems are thinner and they just don't grow as prolifically.

If you want lots of thick stems and massive leaves, then choose a 'silver' or white Swiss chard variety. You should get lots of pickings right through until April from a June sowing. Cut the large outer stems at the base and work your way inward. Take a few stems from each plant rather than stripping one right back.

Rhubarb crowns, fruit trees and bush es can all be planted in a mild December. Don't plant into frozen ground and stake young trees to avoid wind rock.

PLANT NOW

HARVEST Brussels sprouts, cabbages, kale, cauliflower, leeks, swedes, salad leaves, winter lettu ce, parsley, sage, chyme, rosemary, chard, spinach, spinach beet.

www.kitchengarden .co .uk 17

TACKLE A PLANT PROBLEM

DOIT

NOW • MAKE LIQUID FEED

Put a couple of shovels of manure into a bin and fill with water. Cover the top and stir often until you get a deep brown liquid.

Add some seaweed and used teabags into the brew and you will have a great feed ready to use next month.

• CHECK STRUCTURES AND SUPPORTS

Check around the garden before and after any strong wind . Keep an eye out for anything that is loose or flapping.

You may need to knock stakes deeper into the ground or weight down a cold frame lid or cloche cover.

•LOOK BACK THROUGH YOUR GARDEN DIARY

This is a good time to read back through your diary of the garden year.

Make a note of what did well and what you wouldn't repeat. A bit of preparation now can help you get ready for the year ahead.

• PROTECT BRASSICAS

Pigeons and rabbits can cause a lot of damage to winter brassicas . Use strong netting and cover plants as best you can.

Prolonged sub-zero temperatures will cause leaves to fall - use crop cover to provide some protection.

• ENJOY A FEAST

Pick what vegetables you can and bring out your stored ones too for a winter feast. This is as good a time as any to give yourself a pat on the back and enjoy the fruits of your gardening.

8 I www.kitchengarden .co.uk

Spinach, chard and broccoli can all suffer from leaf spot in the winter months. This is a general term for fungal or viral diseases that take advantage of moist spots on leaves. The leaf discolours and tissue dies within the spot and spots can merge, making leaves unusable. The problem is worse if plants are crowded - thin them out so air can circulate. Pick off the large outer affected leaves and harvest smaller leaves regularly. The problem usually resolves when plants grow new leaves in the spring.

FROST PROOF POTS Check that ceramic pots and containers are frostproof if you want to leave them outdoors. Some pots will state this on the base so you may need another person to lift while you look underneath. If in doubt, then bring containers indoors - a cool porch provides light and shelter for plants. If you have a large container with a fruit bush in it, then at least tuck it against a sheltered house wall and wrap the pot to stop it from cracking as water freezes and expands .

LOOK AFTER TOOLS Lots of gardeners leave a fork stuck in a pile of manure or a spade in a garden bed. There may even be hoes and trowels littering the ground. Although you may get away with this for the summer months, you will shorten the life of your tools if you leave them outside through the winter .

Tools can be stored in a cool dry shed, but do make sure they are in good condition before you put them away. Take care when handling sharp edges.

• Clean any mud off the spade and fork heads or off blades and handles • Check if any parts are bent from use and straighten them if you can • Make sure tools are dry • Remove any rust with a wire brush or use a finer abrasive for smaller parts

• Oil wooden handles and carefully rub a bit of oil over blades as well • Hang hand tools up or at least put them where you know you can find them.

TOO MILD A WINTER? December isn't the same in all gardens. Some get lots of frost and snow whereas others barely dip towards zero. Gardeners get used to their own particular local conditions and they work with that to the best of their ability. If the weather is pretty much as expected then plants follow a predictable pattern but if temperatures fluctuate in unusual ways then it can cause problems.

An unusually mild December can lead to some plants breaking their winter dormancy. Buds start to burst and shoots grow too early. If the mild conditions persist then this isn't a problem but often a cold snap follows, with damaging effects, as temperatures revert to more normal winter levels. You can wrap or cover plants to try to protect them, but more often they just have to take their chances.

Rhubarb, for example, may put up new stems and open young leaves in December. These tend to be thinner and weaker than later shoots and they are liable to die back at the first hard frost or sub-zero temperatures. You can exploit this growth by covering the crown with a large pot to force some tender sweet stems. This gives some early delicious rhubarb but the plant won't crop as well afterwards. See more about how to grow rhubarb on pages 68-71. www.youtube.com/kitchengardenmagazine

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WHAT TDDOIN DECEMBER • From now until spring, water sparingly to keep plants growing but avoid overwatering and creating wet, soggy conditions.

• Check over leafy brassica crops for whitefly and use yellow sticky traps or an organic plant-based spray to try and control numbers.

• Keep on top of collecting vine leaves as they fall, especially if they are covering plants beneath.

• Push a hoe through borders around growing veg to chop off any late-germinating weed seedlings.

• Check plants growing in the polytunnel regularly and as soon as you spot any damaged or yellow leaves pick them off and add to the compost heap.

10 I www.kitchengarden .co .uk

INTHE

GREENHOUS WITH MARTIN FISH

CITRUS IN THE GREENHOUSE December and over winter is when many citrus plants are at their best and it's the time to start harvesting the fruits. Lemons, limes, oranges and calamondins are now ripe and ready to pick and enjoy. Lemons and limes can be picked more or less at any stage, but with oranges you need to test them to make sure they are sweet.

The good thing about all citrus is the fruits will stand on the plants for a long time, so you don't need to pick all in one go. Through winter maintain light, frost-free growing condition s. I keep my greenhouse at around 7C (45F) minimum and they seem fine.

Keep the compost moist and feed fortnightly with a highpotash feed.

TIIIS MoNTfl'S TopJoB!

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JOBS FOR THE MONTH

FRESH WINTER PRODUCE One of the great advantages of growing under cover is that the growing season is extended but also the crops are protected from extremes of weather and from many pests that can spoil outdoor crops . Winter veg especially does very well under polythene and it's much nicer to harvest in a polytunnel than outside in the pouring rain or a howling gale! Late-summer sown and planted veg such as carrots, beetroot, kale, turnips and leeks should still be cropping and in good condition.

They are all hardy and don't mind the cold, but the little extra protection from the polytunnel makes all the difference and can greatly improve the quality. It also means the polytunnel is used for all of the year.

DECEMBER TIPS • From now on we are likely to start getting heavier frosts, so if you haven't already done it, make sure that outside taps and water pipes are properly insulated to protect them . In periods of severe frost, ideally turn the supply off at the mains.

START PREPPING THE SOIL As soon as I've finished clearing crops from the polytunnel I like to start preparing the ground ready for the new growing season. I won 't be sowing or planting until February at the earliest, but it's good to start getting the soil ready. Once the border is clear of old veg plants and any stray weeds, I like to spread a layer of home-made garden compost over the surface. This is then lightly forked or dug into the surface where the worms and other soil organisms can get to work breaking it down to keep the soil in good condition . The soil is then left until February when it's raked to form a crumbly surface to start planting and sowing .

FINISH CLEARING AUTUMN SALADS Fast-growing veg and salads that were grown to harvest from September onwards have finished in my polytunnel. The mixed lettuce and the late courgette that I grew have done well, but the combination of colder weather , shorter days and more moisture in the air has done for them. The courgette stopped fruiting several weeks ago and is now collapsing and the lettuce is going slimy in parts! The salad onions would stand winter, but as there's only a few, they can be pulled and kept in the fridge for a while. All the old plant material is soft, so it will soon rot down when added to the compost heap with the last of the autumn leaves from the garden .

RODENT DAMAGE Rodents are around in some gardens and allotments all year but come winter they are more likely to be a problem when searching for food and shelter. Mice will eat newly sown pea and bean seeds and voles will nibble seedlings and young plants. Rats can be a big problem and I know of some gardeners that lose so much of their produce to them. In winter they will be after stored root veg and they will also eat the tops of brassica plants. Not only can mice and rats cause a great deal of damage , they spread diseases, so where they are a problem they can be controlled with traps or bait. Follow the instructions and use them safely.

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• Although it will still freeze in a cold greenhouse or polytunnel, the structure still offers some protection to plants, especially from wet conditions . Use any spare room to bring in containers of borderline-hardy plants or potted herbs that will benefit from drier conditions .

• If you are considering heating a greenhouse to maintain frost-free conditions , think about partitioning a small area off with bubble polythene to keep running costs down.

• To maintain a fresh, dry atmosphere in a greenhouse or polytunnel, open vents and doors on sunny days for a few hours . The plants will benefit from the exchange of air and keeping the atmosphere on the dry side helps to reduce the risk of fungal infections on plants.

• If you have one of the hot compost bins, why not bring it into the polytunnel for winter where the extra warmth and protection under cover will help the composting process along.

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WI/AT' EW? â&#x20AC;˘ ALL THE LATEST NEWS, PRODUCTS & FACTS FROM THE WORLD OF KITCHEN GARDENING

GARDENING BOOST TO MENTAL HEALTH According to a survey of their social media audience, Greenhouses Direct (www. greenhousesdirect.co.uk) found that during lockdown 48% of people were spending more than five hours per week in their gardens, with 30% of people treating gardening as a distraction from difficult times. Importantly, 70% of people said that their mental health improved as a result of spending time in their garden.

A new National Garden Scheme (NGS) report also highlighted the importance of gardens and outdoor spaces during lockdown to physical and mental health.

Viewers of the NGS's unique Virtual Garden Visits that aired throughout lockdown, and an online survey conducted in August, revealed that gardens and outdoor spaces were 'extremely important' and that a key benefit was 'it helped to relieve stress'. A total of 69% said that a key benefit gained from access to their garden/outdoor space during lockdown was 'it contributed positively to their physical fitness' with 70% growing their own produce. https://ngs.org.uk

CELESTIAL BEANS Beans that are said to offer 'protection by angels', purple carrots from 2000BC and multicoloured sweetcorn are among some rare seeds available to gardeners through Garden Organic.

The horticultural charity has been running its Heritage Seed Library for more than 40 years and conserves and grows 800 varieties of unusual or endangered seeds - with some made available to the public each year.

New to the list this year is climbing French bean 'Angel', which has a pattern around the seed resembling an angel. Legend suggests that during the First World War a French pastor planted the beans above his buried artefacts to prevent them falling into enemy hands. The beans his plants produced bore the marks we now see, with the angels guarding his buried treasures. The plant produces beautiful orange-red flowers followed by flat, green pods packed with pretty beans, which taste perfect once dried. Further inform ation can be found at www.gardenorganic.org.uk/hsl or by calling 024 7630 8210.

12 I www.kitchengarden .co .uk

Britain's love affair with gardens was further confirmed by new research conducted by the Horticultural Trades Association (HTA)which found that almost three million gardeners sprung up this year as a result of lockdown. A new, younger face of gardening has also been identified with nearly half (49%) of the new green-fingered fans being aged under 45.

Apples ripe for the picking at Nunnington Hall in North Yorkshire Credit Alice Ostapjuk

BUMPER CROPS FOR NATIONAL TRUST ORCHARDS Violet Croll, from Kent Credit NGS

Hundreds of National Trust gardens and orchards are reporting an excellent year for apples due to ideal weather conditions. A lack oflate frosts, a largely warm, settled and lengthy spring resulted in a spectacular and prolonged blossom season, which when followed by rain in July and August helped the fruit to swell.

The conservation charity cares for over 200 traditional apple orchards as far north as Ardress in Northern Ireland, Nunnington Hall in North Yorkshire and Sizergh in Cumbria and as far south as Cotehele and Trelissick in Cornwall.

Nick Fraser, head gardener at Nunnington Hall, one of the northernmost orchards in the charity's care, said: "Generally we do get quite a good crop, but I'd say this year is our best for at least three years. We care for over 25 varieties of apples here including 'Dog's Snout' a variety which is slightly pointed, and looks like a dog's face - the 'Ribston Pippin' and 'Yorkshire Beauty'."

For more information on the wide range of heritage varieties grown at National Trust places and to find out which orchards are open for visitors, see www.nationaltrust.org.uk

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