Kitchen Garden - December 2019 - Preview

WWW.KITCHENGARDEN.CO.UK | DECEMBER 2019

VOTED BRITAIN'S GARDEN PUBLICATION OF THE YEAR

CAULI POWER

PIE IN S THE SKY

Incredible edibles from walls & fences

PICK YOUR OWN CHRISTMAS LUNCH

UK Off-sale date – 28/11/2019

YOUR ESSENTIAL JOBS FOR DECEMBER  MEET THE YOUTUBER WHO KNOWS HIS ONIONS

No. 267

December 2019

£4.99

EDITOR’S LETTER XXX

So it’s the end of another gardening season.

I do hope that yours was all you wanted it to be and that you’ve harvested some good crops and managed to fill your freezer with lovely home-grown goodies.

Of course the end of one season merely marks the beginning of the next and this issue is filled with essential preparations for next year, growing guides and news including our pick of the best new seed varieties for 2020 – all to make your next sowings and plantings even more fruitful.

Growing your own produce is about many things, but mostly about the flavour. So it is great to be able to bring you a report on a unique show, entirely judged on flavour rather than appearance, which celebrated its 30th anniversary this year with a stonking 494 entries!

Food for thought for the many shows around the country to include some ‘just for the flavour’ classes class of their own, perhaps?

Don’t miss our roundup of 7 quality loppers starting on page 86

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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DECEMBER 2019 | 3

EXPERT ADVICE TO HELP YOU GROW GREAT FRUIT AND VEGETABLES

62

50 ✪ ON THE COVER

YOU

@GrowWithKG KitchenGardenUK

YOUR PLOT

6 ON THE VEG PATCH

KitchenGardenMag @GrowWithKG

32

Practical gardener Joyce Russell is checking stored crops, harvesting spinach and planning what to grow in 2020

10 IN THE GREENHOUSE

/kitchengardenmagazine FOR OUR CONTACT DETAILS TURN TO PAGE 15

Martin Fish is busy pruning grapevines, tending to citrus and cleaning greenhouse glass

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

£20

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

4 | DECEMBER 2019

36 GROWING ON THE WEB ✪

This month KG subscribers can save up to 10% on twine, boot care and fruit, plus win an insect home worth £24.99!

This month we chat to keen allotment gardener and YouTuber, Nic Ashford

20 KG PROBLEM SOLVER

69 NEXT MONTH

22 KG CHRISTMAS QUIZ

97 LAST WORD

Our panel of experts help solve your gardening problems; this month involving green manures, potato scab and cane fruits

With our gardening quizmaster, KG’s deputy editor Emma Rawlings

Some of the highlights to be found in your new year issue, plus news of more great free gifts

KG’s Emma Rawlings asks if you’ll be found harvesting on the plot come Christmas Day? www.kitchengarden.co.uk

DECEMBER 2019

6 90

Mouthwatering December dishes from our resident chef, Anna Cairns Pettigrew

26

Pg 93

Scan this, and we’ll tell you!

36 GET GROWING 16 ON THE PLOT WITH THE THREE MUDKETEERS 26 SPUD LOVE ✪

Gardening expert Rob Smith has some great top tips for growing tasty spuds

93

32 EDIBLE EDGES ✪

Ben Vanheems encourages us to use walls and fences to pack in more produce

40 SUCCEED WITH CAULIFLOWERS ✪

KG editor Steve Ott reveals his top tips for cracking curds

46 WHERE THERE’S MUCK THERE’S MAGIC

Writer Steve Neal travels to Exmoor to see a gardening oasis powered by manure!

50 PROTECTING OUR POLLINATORS ✪

62 HOME SWEET HOME

Sweet smelling and home-crafted gift ideas from green gardener Stephanie Hafferty

66 A YEAR TO TREASURE

In this final instalment, keen plotters Graham and Sally Strong reflect on their first year

70 FESTIVE DINNER ✪

Join allotment gardener Rekha Mistry as she harvests Christmas lunch fresh from the plot

Permaculture expert Julie Moore urges us all to make pollinating insects welcome

72 RHUBARB FOR FLAVOUR ✪

56 SUPER SEEDS FOR 2020 ✪

76 A TASTE OF YORKSHIRE ✪

We scour the seed catalogues to bring you the best new varieties

60 PICK A PEPINO

Discover a conservatory fruit to savour

www.kitchengarden.co.uk

David Patch reveals his favourite varieties

We visit a show where flavour trumps beauty!

90 MAKE A PROPAGATOR ✪ With KG's practical projects guru, Joyce Russell

WHAT TO BUY 80 GREAT GIVEAWAYS WORTH OVER £1583 ✪ 82 GREAT READER OFFERS – SAVE OVER £28! ✪

Claim your free* autumn planting bumper seed collection worth £21 (*just pay p&p)

84 GARDEN STORE PLUS SUBSCRIBER SAVERS

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

86 PRODUCT ROUNDUP

This month the team reviews a range of popular garden loppers

89 GIVEAWAYS ENTRY FORM DECEMBER 2019 | 5

GET GROWING

TASKS FOR YOUR VEGETABLE PATC CH IN DECEMBER BY JOYCE RUSSELLL Pictures: Ben Russell

KEEP ADDING BULKY FEED TO BEDS

Support sprout plants against winter winds

Add compost/manure/seaweed etc. to beds when you get the chance. c This can be a barrow or bag at a time and there is no need to feed all beds at once. Spread the feed on the surface and cover with something to keep rain out.

PROTECT WATER SYSTEMS

Water expands as it freezes and this can break and burst vulnerable points in a watering system. Empty hosepipes and put them away. Wrap insulation around taps and any connection points so these don’t push open and cause a flood when the ice thaws.

COVER COMPOST HEAPS

Make sure all heaps have a cover of some sort. A waterlogged heap will not heat and a lot of the goodness can be washed away. Use a layer of bubble-wrap with a heavier layer on top. Use bricks, stones etc. to hold in place.

CHECK STAKES AND TIES ON TREES

Young fruit trees need support until they have grown a strong enough root system to keep them upright in a winter storm. Check that stakes are firm and ties are strong and not too tight.

Replace both if there is any doubt.

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JOBS FOR THE MONTH XXX

STEP 1: ONIONS AND GARLIC Look around all bulbs and remove any that are soft or show signs of mould. If you notice a bad smell then look extra close – this is a sign that there is at least one bad bulb. Autumn-planted varieties don’t last as long as spring-planted ones so use these first.

STEP 2: PUMPKINS AND SQUASH These can freeze in an unheated shed in a cold winter. Bring them indoors for a while if sub-zero temperatures are forecast. Check all stored squash for soft spots – remove before the fruit bursts to release lots of fluid from a rotten core.

STEP 3: ROOT CROPS Check through all bags and bins of stored carrots, potatoes, parsnips and beetroot – remove any that are soft, smell bad, or show signs of disease. One blighted potato can spread the disease through a whole bagful – remove any that have touched, along with the bad one.

PROTECT AGAINST PESTS

SOW NOW

Take a break from sowing this month. Few seeds do well from December sowings unless you provide some extra heat.

Take a look at some seed catalogues instead.

Slugs, snails and insects aren’t very active in cold weather so they tend to do less damage. Look in the heart of cabbages and remove any slugs that have chosen to hide there. Birds can be a nuisance at this time of year – pigeons can strip the leaves of winter veg and pheasants will peck Brussels sprouts.

Rabbits and hares enjoy any winter greens they find in a garden.

In a hard winter your garden can provide much-needed nourishment for wildlife. Cover and net your crops, but also provide feed for the birds and hang up the waste outer leaves of greens for them to peck at.

PLANT NOW

HARVEST SPINACH Perpetual spinach, also called spinach beet, isn’t ‘true’ spinach but can be used in the same way. This grows large leaves and thick edible stems, a bit akin to Swiss chard. You can pick the leaves while small, but plants produce more bulk of crop if they are left to grow big.

‘True’ spinach grows slowly through the winter from autumn sowings. It is pretty hardy and plants do well if covered with a cloche. Baby leaves are harvested when under 10cm (4in) long and stems are negligible. Keep picking both types of spinach so more leaves grow, but don’t strip all leaves from plants if you want a flush of spring growth.

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Garlic can be planted up until the shortest day if soil conditions permit.

Fruit trees and bushes can go in the ground in a kind December – put bare rooted plants in a bucket of soil until weather improves if it is too cold and wet.

HARVEST

Brussels sprouts, Swiss chard, second cropping potatoes, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, leeks, broccoli, kohl rabi, salad leaves, spinach, parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme.

DECEMBER 2019 | 7

PREPARE WALLS

GET GROWING

If you plan to grow a trained fruit tree against a wall then it is a good idea to put a support structure in place as soon as you can. Fix support wires in place before the tree is planted and you will avoid any damage to small, vulnerable branches.

Use strong fixings and stretch wires so they don’t move in wind.

WINTER RADISH

■ Cauliflower heads swell rapidly on winter varieties sown in late spring and all plants from one sowing tend to come ready within a short space of time.

Bend leaves over the curds to keep them white – they turn brown if exposed to light for too long.

‘Mooli’ type radishes grow well into the winter from late summer or early autumn sowings. The roots taste milder than many radish varieties and they can grow quite long. Lift and use before the ground freezes and while the roots are tender and crisp. Roots become stringy if they are left to bolt. Peel large roots before use.

They can be used raw in salads or cooked in stir-fries.

CHOOSING VARIETIES FOR NEXT YEAR This is a good time to do some research before you commit to buying new seeds. It takes the same amount of work to grow a variety that crops poorly as it does to grow one that crops well.

Failures can be down to many reasons, including the type of soil you grow in and the climate.

Some things you can’t change, but you can try varieties that are bred for growing in the UK rather than Mediterranean ones. If something has performed well in your garden, then stick with the tried-and-tested and grow it again. It’s also a good idea to ask neighbouring gardeners what does well for them. If a neighbour’s garden has fabulous peas, then ask the variety or maybe for a few pods to save seed. Some lettuce varieties will provide masses of winter pickings (‘Veneziana’ and ‘Winter Density’ do well for me) and others will flop at the first hint of frost – all have their place, but grow what suits your garden best.

■ Provide support for young raspberry canes that have grown on summer fruiting varieties this year.

These can break if they blow around in strong winds. The usual thing is to tie them to wires stretched between posts driven into the ground.

■ Fruit trees get a feed next month, but you can get ahead in December by weeding around each tree so the ground is ready to receive the feed.

A 1m (39in) circle is fine for small trees. For larger trees you can mow grass in a larger sweep beyond this inner circle.

■ If we get snow, knock deep layers off branches that may break, or brush from covers that may squash what’s underneath.

Use your judgment – clear buried plants if snow is likely to lie for several days.

■ Gardeners are busy for so much of the year that it is good to take a break when you can.

■ Do a bit of armchair gardening, plan and read books – there are always some good tips, no matter what stage of gardening you are at.

8 | DECEMBER 2019

A SMALL BIT OF WARMTH

You can use all sorts of covers to protect plants from frost and snow.

This can make a big difference to what survives and what succumbs to winter chills. You do have to check from time to time to make sure that all is okay underneath and any cover must be held down well so it doesn’t blow away and damage something else. Try an old car windscreen to cover winter salad or a length of clear corrugated roofing material to protect spinach rows. Ordinary glass windows are probably best avoided because they can break easily – unless they are made from toughened glass or have very small panes, in which case they may be okay to use.

Cardboard boxes or large clear plastic tubs make a good cover for a single plant, but the former are short term solutions and must be removed to let light to the plant as soon as possible.

Cloches can also be set up now to warm the soil underneath before sowing or planting next month. The temperature rise may be small, but it can make a difference and lessen

the shock for lettuce, spinach or beans that are moving from pots to the great outdoors. Leave cloches in place for a few weeks before planting underneath. www.kitchengarden.co.uk

Prune the new season’s growth on vines back to a couple of buds

Consider installing a heated bench or propagator for those early sowings, or build your own – see p90

■ As autumn salad and vegetable crops come to an end, keep pulling them out to clear the ground.

PRUNING INDOOR VINES

■ Water plants growing in pots or the border carefully to maintain moist soil conditions, but don’t over water.

■ Pick over young vegetable plants and pick off any yellow or damaged leaves to help keep them growing and healthy.

■ If you have a heated propagator, sow onion seed at the end of the month in pots or seed trays to produce seedlings for growing on through spring.

■ Make sure any seedling weeds that germinated in autumn are removed before they are able to flower and seed.

Peel off some of the flaking bark on old grape vines

10 | DECEMBER 2019

Grape vines being grown in a greenhouse or polytunnel need to be trained to maintain their shape and as soon as the leaves fall in late autumn we can carry out the winter pruning. This should be done while the vine is totally dormant and before the sap starts to rise, so December is the ideal time. The aim is to prune all the new season’s growth back to just a couple of buds from the permanent framework of branches, known as rods.

This hard pruning maintains the shape and encourages strong new growth and grapes next year. On old vines you can also scrape off some of the flaking bark to help control over-wintering pests such as scale insects and mealy bugs. www.kitchengarden.co.uk

JOBS FOR THE MONTH

HERBS FOR WINTER

Perennial herbs such as rosemary, thyme, sage and winter savoury that don’t die down in autumn are all hardy and can be grown outside during the winter.

However, pot-grown plants can be brought under cover for the winter so that you can continue to pick leaves from them. They don’t need heat, but the protection of a cold greenhouse or polytunnel will prevent them from getting too wet, which is something many herbs don’t like, and it also helps to keep the worst of the frost off them. Kept under cover the plants will be in much better condition by the end of the winter, with the added bonus that you can carry on using them for fresh herbs.

■ If you do have citrus plants, as well as watering and feeding through the winter, check them over for sapsucking pests such as scale insects. If you spot the small brown limpet-like creatures on the leaves and stems, rub them off with your fingers.

CLEAN GREENHOUSE GLASS

CHECK CITRUS IN POTS

Although a greenhouse is perfect for over-wintering many plants through the colder months, the poor light levels and short days are not particularly good for plant growth. To try and keep vegetable and fruit plants as healthy as we can, we need to make sure thatt they get as much natural light as possible. Making sure the glass in your greenhouse is kept clean is reallyy important at this time of the year and can make a big difference to plant growth. Giving the outside of the greenhouse a good wash down with soapy water to remove green algae on the glass and any build-up of grime and moss really does allow more light to reach your overwintering plants.

Unless you live in a really mild part of the country, citrus fruits including lemons, limes, oranges and calamondins all need protection during the winter. They will be fine with a minimum temperature of 5C (40F), but ideally a few degrees higher is even better to keep them growing. Through the winter months citrus will often start to produce flower buds and the fruits that have been developing over the summer will be starting to ripen. Even during the winter, citrus still need watering as they continue to grow, so make sure the compost is kept moist, but not wet, at all times.

I also carry on feeding with a high-potash feed every few weeks to help fruit development.

TURN UP THE HEAT

If you have a greenhouse that you keep frost-free over winter, now is the time to turn on the heating to protect plants on frosty nights. I try not to give artificial heat until the plants really need it as a few chilly nights through October and November can help to toughen plants up and acclimatise them to winter conditions.

With just frost protection many tender plants will carry on growing and tick over, especially if you keep the atmosphere dry to prevent fungal diseases setting in. Electricity is probably the easiest and most efficient form of heating and ideally choose a heater with a built-in thermostat and set it just a few degrees above freezing to start with and adjust as needed. www.kitchengarden.co.uk

■ Always practise good garden hygiene when gardening under cover. Dead or diseased plants should be removed and disposed of immediately to prevent problems spreading. Put them with your green waste, not in the compost bin.

■ If you have compost that is ready and well-rotted in your bins, take it out and make a heap on a piece of bare soil in the polytunnel. It’s then ready for when you need it and it makes more room in the bins as you clear the garden of leaves and plant waste.

■ Check sliding doors, hinges and other fastenings on the greenhouse or polytunnel to make sure they are working properly and if stiff, give them a drop of oil.

■ Harvesting rainwater is important, especially if you don’t have a mains supply close by. Make sure water butts are secure and that gutters and downpipes are all connected to maximise the amount of water you can collect and store.

DECEMBER 2019 | 11

YOU

YOUR PLOT

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

Balby Community Allotments and Gardens Group in Doncaster is the proud winner of this year’s Cosyfeet Community Project Award.

The £750 award will fund the purchase of Backsaver spades and wheelbarrows to help older gardeners in the group to continue to enjoy working their gardens.

The South Yorkshire group has about 140 members, many of whom are tenants of the 72 allotments on the Balby site. An increasing number of members are more than 80 years old and continue to grow fruit, flowers and vegetables as well as keeping chickens, ducks, geese and pigeons. Involvement in the group is a passion, helping to keep them active and stay fit, as well as providing the opportunity to socialise with fellow gardeners.

“Winning this award means we can help many of our older members to continue doing what they love to do,” says site secretary Linda Pegler. “Having the right equipment will enable them to keep doing tasks that they’re now finding more challenging, and bring the physical and mental benefits that remaining active offers people.” www.cosyfeet.com/communityprojectaward

HARROGATE SHOW FINDS NEW VENUE The autumn Harrogate Flower Show will be moving to a new home at Newby Hall and Gardens next year (2020).

Harrogate Flower Show director Nick Smith said: “Any good attraction or event should regularly review what it is able to

offer and ensure that it stays both relevant and vibrant for its visitors.

“Newby Hall is only a few miles away, with access just off the A1M, and offers 25 acres of incredible gardens, as well as a children’s adventure garden.”

Richard Compton, owner of Newby Hall and Gardens, added: “We are delighted to be hosting the UK’s premier autumn gardening event and can promise a warm Newby welcome to Harrogate Autumn Flower Show visitors and exhibitors for September 18-20.”

Tickets to the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Flower Shows in 2020 are now on sale: RHS Flower Show Cardiff, April 17-19; RHS Malvern Spring Festival, May 7-10; RHS Chelsea Flower Show; May 19-23; RHS Chatsworth Flower Show, June 11-14; RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival, July 6-12; RHS Flower Show Tatton Park, July 22-26.

For full details visit: www.rhs.org.uk/shows or call 0844 338 7501

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

www.kitchengarden.co.uk

WHAT’S NEW?

NATURAL ABILITY WITH HOMEBASE Natural Ability is a Hexham-based charity that provides independent supported living and day services for children and adults with learning disabilities and special educational needs.

The charity’s Day Farming service team members work in gardens, on farms and with conservation projects. They have long used Homebase and other local stores for pots, plants and equipment, often browsing the reduced stickers to stretch resources.

Now the collaboration has gone one step further with Homebase plants that are no longer attractive being donated to the charity.

The plants are taken away to the community garden in Sinderhope, Allendale where they are nurtured and planted out into other local spaces.

The pots are cleaned and stacked and again off ffeered to other local groups for their use.

For more information visit: ww www ww.naturalability.org w

Apparently, the best way to get children to eat more veg is to give them a variety of options rather than a single veg at each serving. These findings, based on 4-6-yearolds, were published in the US Journal of Nutrition and Behaviour. The researchers concluded that “reduced boredom might be a reason that exposure to a vegetable variety is more effective than exposure to a single vegetable”.

MORE BITES FROM THE DIRTY VEGAN Following on from the success of Dirty Vegan released in 2018, Matt Pritchard, expresenter of The Dirty Sanchez show and celebrity chef, has written a new vegan recipe book, Dirty Vegan: Another Bite, due out on December 12.

The book contains more than 80 cheap and easyto-make recipes and is organised into the following sections: Easy Midweek Fillers, Balanced and Banging, Home Comfort

www.kitchengarden.co.uk

Classics, Food with Legs, Sweet Stuff and Dinner with Mates.

From Peking Crispy Jackfruit Pancakes (a vegan version of Peking Duck) to Planty Panna Cotta with Kiwi Sauce, there’s plenty to excite the imagination and at the same time whet the appetite.

The pages are attractively designed with excellent accompanying photographs.

Dirty Vegan: Another Bite is published by Octopus Books at £20, www.octopusbooks.co.uk

PLANT-BASED DIETS AND RA A review of studies on plant-based diets published recently in the journal Frontier in Nutrition has concluded “that joint pain and other rheumatoid arthritis (RA) symptoms may be modified by dietary factors”. It goes on to say that “diets rich in vegetables, fruits and fibre are associated with lower BMI, have anti-inflammatory properties and help reduce pain and inflammation”.

The review suggests that the dietary fibre found in plant-based foods can have a beneficial effect on gut bacteria, which in turn can lead to reduced inflammation and joint pain. A vegan diet can also be conducive as it eliminates so-called ‘trigger’ foods said to be found in animal products such as red meat and dairy.

The review concludes, however, that further research is still needed to test how effective a plant-based diet is on reducing joint pain and inflammation, in relation to RA. For more on this, visit: http://bit. ly/2mU6oy4

The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) is urging schools to get gardening to empower young people in the fight against climate change.

Through its RHS Campaign for School Gardening, the charity has found that school gardens are often young people’s only point of contact with nature, providing an opportunity to learn about the importance of plants, wildlife and issues around sustainability.

Alana Cama, RHS schools and groups programme manager, said: “By providing a plot, or even just a couple of pots, schools can help sow an appreciation for the environment. If a young person can feel they are making a positive impact it may help them feel a little more in control of our planet’s future.”

Schools and youth groups can sign up for free RHS resources and advice by visiting the RHS Campaign for School Gardening website: https:// schoolgardening.rhs.org.uk

YOU

YOUR PLOT

ALL IN THE GREENHOUSE IS GOLDEN Back at the beginning of April I sowed some seeds of ‘Golden Bantam’ sweetcorn which came free with Kitchen Garden. Being so far north and having a much shorter growing season than folk in the south I didn’t hold out much hope of success but thought I’d give it a go anyway. I planted the resulting plants out in the garden at the beginning of May but thought I’d hedge my bets by putting a few in the ground in the greenhouse. I am so glad I did, because on August 20 I was able to harvest the first sweet and absolutely delicious cob from the greenhouse while the outside plants were still only about 2ft high and looked very unlikely to produce the goods!

Heather Johnstone, Drumnadrochit

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

GRANDDAUGHTER’S DELIGHT We were lucky to receive a packet of ‘Yellow Delight’ tomato seeds with your magazine earlier this year. I have been looking today at the videos for KG and noted that you were interested in the results of this tomato. I am happy to say that my three-year-old granddaughter says they are very nice and eats them all up, and we have to also add our congratulations for a superb tomato. They seem to have grown well without any issues.

John Bagnall, Yorkshire TONY SAYS: We’ve had a lot of positive feedback on this variety – thanks John.

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 | DECEMBER 2019

CUTTING G OUT CUTWORM

I have had lots of trouble this year with cutworms decimating my lettuce seedlings, in some cases all 10 of o d 10 were cut. I tried Diatomaceous Earth around the young roots and stems to no use at all. So, as a trial I have lots of 2in high collars cut from 3in drain pipe that go over the tops of my show carrots to stop greening; I place one of these over each new seedling plant and, wow, I have not lost a plant since. I leave these in place until harvest and then I can reclaim them.

Carl Walters, West Sussex TONY SAYS: Ah, what would we gardeners do without a good drainpipe?

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 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

SALAD BARREL I thought you may like to see the plant container that my brother made from half an oil drum. It is situated at the rear of our house in a south-facing garden and has allowed me to successfully grow a year-round crop of salad leaves and lettuces.

Throughout the winter the leaves continue to grow, even surviving frost and snow, although I do try and remember to cover them with fleece if frost is forecast. I have three of these containers, one being deeper for growing carrots. I have found them to provide far superior results to that of pots or grow bags.

Esme Gilling, Somerset

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

erawlings@mortons.co.uk

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PRODUCTION: Pauline Hawkins,

Sarah Spencer

PUBLISHER: Tim Hartley DESIGNER: Charlotte Fairman, Tracey Markham PICTURE DESK: Jonathan Schofield, Paul Fincham

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FROM TRASH TO TREASURE

My husband and I took over our first allotment last August and we’ve had fun trying and testing many methods of growing vegetables.

We’ve also tried to adopt the ‘reuse, recycle, repurpose’ attitude to our growing. We found these mini pallets in a skip and took them (with the owner’s permission) and turned them into growing frames for our butternut and spaghetti squash.

There are many advantages: they support the weight of the squash, they keep them off the ground so they don’t get eaten by slugs, and they save valuable ground space. We’ve also hung our garlic on them to dry.

I think you will agree with a little bit of rethinking “one man’s trash is another allotmenteer’s treasure.”

Sue and John Pritchett, Sheffield TONY SAYS: As they say, where there’s muck there’s brass!

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HOW DEEP SHOULD YOU PLANT GARLIC?

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WESTI: I normally plant my garlic

with the tips just showing, but watched Gardeners’ World and Monty said he planted his garlic quite deep and they were bigger bulbs when ready.

ROBO: I tend to plant them deep enough so as they can’t be seen – keeps the pigeons off them.

PLUMPUDDING: I don’t think the depth makes much if any difference to the size of the bulb. I think it is more dependent on the weather and soil nutrients. The deeper ones may be more firmly planted and be less stressed by wind rock or at risk of birds pulling them up.

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DECEMBER 2019 | 15

Illustrations: Let’ss Face It

Lift leeks and then place them back in the soil just below the surface, using your heel to firm around them.

This make them easy to harvest if there is a hard frost.

“Have you viewed us on YouTube yet?”

The KG team offer chat, tips and gardening gossip

MR OTT’S SIMMER POTS Inspired by Stephanie Hafferty’s feature (p62), Steve thought he’d try his hand at a simmer pot, with Emma and Tony, his culinary accomplices in crime.

A simmer pot is a

E

O ON DE O VI

CHANNEL

SEE THE

YOUTU B UR

16 | DECEMBER 2019

way of bringing lovely fragrance to a room through a mixture of either dried or fresh fruit, herbs and spices.

So into the awaiting jar went the orange slices, orange zest, star anise, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, rosemary and vanilla – flavoursome in themselves, never mind combined! Then

it was simply a matter of adding water and simmering the delectable concoction in a pan.

Over lunch, the Muddies tucked quietly into their victuals and gazed dreamily into the distance as the unique simmer pot aroma wafted over them.

Delightful!

NOT QUITE THE APOCALYPSE I have to admit it, I’m a bit of a chilli freak. What a plant! So many differentt shapes, sizes, colours, intensities of heat – and what flavours! However, if you grow anything so ominously named ‘Armageddon’ you can expect something on the cataclysmic side of culinary. Yes, this is a very hot pepper, ‘not for the faint hearted’ warns the D T Brown website who sent me the seeds earlier this year. About 1.4 million SHU (Scoville Heat Units) on the Scoville scale, they are not as hot as the infamous ‘Carolina Reaper’ (currently the hottest chilli in the world) which stands at 1.5 million SHU. Chillies generally need a long growing season so these, along with other chilli seeds, were started off in February but it was mid to late September before the chillies turned red – plenty of them though!

Although it’s a very, very hot chilli, it does exude a fragrance when cooked and, of course,, yyou don’t have to use the whole chilli at once!

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