Kitchen Garden - February 2021 - Preview

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EDITOR’S LETTER

The great build-up to a brand new gardening year continues and it won’t be long before we can start getting some seeds into the soil. With that in mind we have some timely growing guides for you this month and lots of top tips to help you plan your spring sowings.

Parsnips are a great winter standby but are not always easy to get started. With advice from ace grower Nigel Jewkes, you can look forward to even rows of seedlings and harvesting long, straight roots. We e Turn to pag also have a five-page t u o d 16 to fin guide to growing that G K e what th most popular of summer n team has bee crops, tomatoes, with is up to th w plenty of pointers to success whether you grow month on a patio, veg plot or greenhouse.

Not everyone is blessed with a garden in full sun or with acres of space – so if you are wondering if that shady spot at the bottom of the garden might just be suitable for some fruit or veggies, turn to page 29 to find out. You may well be surprised at just how much you could grow.

Organic gardening expert Stephanie Hafferty brings us more great advice for those watching the pennies including how to make your own propagation kit without spending a fortune, while deputy editor Emma Rawlings takes an in-depth look at the amazing onion family and offers her advice for bumper pickings in 2021. Meanwhile staff writer Tony Flanagan takes you step by step through growing summer radish.

Finally, if you are thinking of buying that dream shed you’ve always promised yourself, we have all the advice you need starting on pages 61 and 82.

Steve Ott, editor

Turn to page 42 to meet the folks of Welshmill Allotments in Frome, Somerset www.youtube.com/kitchengardenmagazine

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

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This month Joyce Russell is preparing empty beds and harvesting kale, broccoli and spinach

10 IN THE GREENHOUSE

Gardening expert Martin Fish is busy sowing early veg, chitting potatoes and planting shallots

12 WHAT’S NEW?|

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

NEVER MISS AN ISSUE...

14 YOUR LETTERS AND TIPS

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

18 CONNECT WITH YOUR KG SUBSCRIBERS’ CLUB

Learn how KG subscribers can save up to 20% on a range of great products plus win a greenhouse heater worth over £63!

20 KG PROBLEM SOLVER

Our team of experts solve your gardening problems

34 96 NEXT MONTH

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

98 LAST WORD

KG editor Steve Ott enters a confusing virtual world when he buys a new gadget for his greenhouse www.youtube.com/kitchengardenmagazine

FEBRUARY 2021

70 Scan this, and we’ll tell you!

42 More delicious recipes from KG chef Anna Cairns Pettigrew, this month featuring horseradish, rosemary and kale

46 GET GROWING 16 ON THE PLOT WITH THE THREE MUDKETEERS

The KG editorial team are sowing salad leaves, making potting compost and improving their plots

24 PLOTTER OF THE MONTH ✪

This month we meet keen allotment gardener Colin Start from Cambridgeshire

Pg 92

74 54 BACK TO BASICS WITH TREE FRUIT PART 2 ✪

In the second part of his beginner’s guide grower David Patch takes you through rootstocks and the various trained tree forms

61 SHED ESSENTIALS ✪

29 GROWING IN THE SHADOWS ✪

Thinking of buying a new shed? Make sure you read our buyer’s guide first

34 OFFBEAT BEANS ✪

Deputy editor Emma Rawlings takes a close look at the versatile onion family

KG editor Steve Ott suggests some tasty veg for shady spots

Gardening writer Rob Smith looks at some more unusual, but productive beans

38 GROWING WELL NEW SERIES

We focus on how gardening can improve your health and happiness

40 PEP UP YOUR SUMMER WITH RADISHES ✪

KG’s Tony Flanagan offers his top tips for this must-grow crop

66 FAMILY MATTERS – ONIONS ✪

70 LET THEM LOOSE!

Gardening therapy expert Annabelle Padwick explains how the veg plot can be a place of rest and relaxation for your kids

74 HOME-GROWN FLAVOUR ✪

Our five-page growing guide to your best tomatoes ever!

86 WHAT TO BUY 82 PRODUCT REVIEW – SHED ACCESSORIES

Time to upgrade your shed? Here are just the products you need

86 GREAT READER OFFERS ✪

Save on fruit collections, plus claim your free* blackcurrant ‘Ben Connan’ plant worth £10.95 (*free with any order from pages 86-87)

42 BETWEEN THE RIVER AND THE RAILWAY TRACK

88 GIVEAWAYS WORTH £994 ✪

We visit a thriving allotment site in Somerset

Including great prizes from Asgard, Thompson & Morgan and Access

46 YOUR GUIDE TO PERFECT PARSNIPS ✪

With gardener and YouTuber Nigel Jewkes

89 GIVEAWAYS ENTRY FORM

50 GARDENING ON A BUDGET NEW SERIES

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This month Stephanie Hafferty looks at cheap ways to boost your sowings

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GET GROWING

COLLECT PEA STICKS AND BEAN POLES

Start to gather supplies for the garden. Buy potting compost, feeds, string and bamboo canes.

If you have hazel trees, you can cut your own bean poles and pea sticks before leaves start to open.

TASKS FOR YOUR VEGETABLE PATCH

BY JOYCE RUSSELL Pictures: Ben Russell

TAKE CARE OF PROPAGATORS

Wash out propagation boxes and check plugs and cables on heated devices. It’s worth monitoring temperatures for 24 hours before you use them, just to make sure that thermostats are still working.

PRUNE AUTUMN RASPBERRIES

Cut old canes down to the ground as soon as you see growth and leaves starting to open on new canes. This is a good time to feed rows of autumn fruiting varieties – use a high-potash feed.

FINISH PRUNING APPLE TREES

Ideally, apple tree pruning should be done before the end of the month if it’s something you haven’t already started, and definitely before new growth starts to emerge in the spring.

USE CLOCHES AND FRAMES

Early outdoor sowings do best with some protection. Even a single layer of horticultural fleece will help to reduce frost damage. A cloche can raise the temperature of the ground underneath and this can improve germination rates.

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JOBS FOR THE MONTH XXX

THREE STEPS TO A BETTER HOME-MADE CLOCHE

STEP 1: You will need enough clear polythene to cover your cloche, some string, and two 30cm (12in) sticks. You will also need some 120cm (4ft) lengths of semi-rigid (bendable) water pipe or strong galvanised metal wire for making hoops.

Use a hacksaw for cutting pipe to length.

STEP 2: Bend pipe or wire to make hoops and push these firmly into the ground 50cm (20in) apart along the row. Push or hammer a stick into the ground at each end of the row and tie string to one end. Loop string around the top of each hoop. Tie off at the opposite stick. This will help hold the hoops upright.

STEP 3: Cut polythene to size so it covers the hoops with an overlap of 25cm (10in) on the ground all around. Bury one edge of the polythene with soil and then weight the other side, and both ends, with stones, bricks, timber etc. This allows you to open the cloche as needed.

SOW NOW

HARVEST SPINACH

DON’T PICK TOO SOON Sprouting broccoli plants start to form spears this month. Don’t be tempted to pick too early! The central head is still small and may not even make a meal for one person. If you wait another couple of weeks, there will be twice as much to harvest. Wait a bit longer again, and you’ll see what it means to have a broccoli glut.

Cut the central cluster first and then let the surrounding spears grow before you cut them. Don’t strip a plant and always leave new tiny spears to grow from below the cutting point. You can eat broccoli spears through until May if you are considered and patient in how you harvest.

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Plants can stay small right through the winter if sowings were made in mid-autumn. A cloche helps provide some protection, but you may start to wonder if you will ever get any pickings. Don’t worry! These little plants will kick into a growth spurt from now on and you should have plenty to harvest. Small leaves are tasty and tender – pick a few from each plant to use in salads. Red-veined varieties are particularly attractive. Pick larger leaves too – these are delicious when cooked and their removal helps plants to keep producing for longer. Don’t nip out the growing point and don’t strip all leaves or the plant will stop growing.

Broad beans, early peas, leeks, celeriac, beetroot, Brussels sprouts, lettuce, salad leaves, spinach, radish, tomatoes, peppers

PLANT NOW

Broad beans and peas, garlic cloves, shallots, soft fruit bushes and canes if ground isn't frozen.

Early potatoes in a cold frame

HARVEST

Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cabbages, kale, cauliflower, leeks, lettuce, salad leaves, Swiss chard, spinach, spinach beet

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GET GROWING

PROTECT AGAINST BULLFINCHES

■ NEW ZEALAND FLATWORM These pests eat earthworms so destroy any that you spot (either coiled or stretched out).

They hide under tiles or pieces of flat plastic laid on the ground – both can be used as traps. Don’t cut them in half or both parts can regenerate. Boiling water is nasty but effective.

■ PIGEONS Hungry birds can decimate winter greens at this time of year.

They will strip young leaves and peck the hearts out of Brussels sprouts. Raise netting over susceptible plants – use canes with plastic bottles on top to lift the net high enough.

■ RABBITS Rabbits can be devastating in a garden.

Erect fencing that’s dug into trenches for a permanent solution, and keep a cat! Cover susceptible plants with garden fleece or polythene, and scatter some sacrificial leaves to distract the rabbits as a temporary fix.

■ BITTER PIT If last year’s apples were marked with brown pits and lines through skin and flesh, then apply a dressing of hydrated lime around trees now.

This washes into the soil to help correct a calcium deficiency. Keep trees watered well in hot, dry summers.

8 | www.kitchengarden.co.uk

It may seem too early in the year to think about birds stripping the blossom off your fruit trees.

But buds start to swell and break a lot sooner than you may notice them doing so. Sharp-eyed bullfinches keep a close watch on things and as soon as buds start to swell, they start feeding. You can lose a lot of potential fruit long before you know that it was a possibility.

Hang anything that glitters, flaps and twirls among the branches. This can be as simple as some old DVDs, or a length of string with plastic strips tied to it. You can tie a large bag on a pole and prop this in the middle of the branches. It’s a good idea to add different things and move them around a bit over the next few weeks – bullfinches are shy birds but they have all day to study and work out what is a threat and what isn’t.

ENJOY A DELICIOUS TREAT

DIG EMPTY BEDS

Kale plants have stood through the winter and provided lots of leaves to pick. Plants may look tatty at this point, but don’t pull them up when you see them starting to produce flowering shoots. Kale shoots are one of the most delicious treats. You probably won’t find them for sale in a supermarket, so enjoy the full benefit of growing your own. Pick the shoots while tender and before flowers open. Keep picking and plants will grow more shoots as they try to flower and set seed.

Get out with a spade and fork if soil is dry enough to work. This is a good time to turn beds over and to incorporate some well-rotted manure or compost. There are still a few frosts ahead, to help crumble large clumps, and the worst of the winter rains are hopefully behind us. You can cover a newly dug bed with polythene or cardboard if you want to provide extra protection.

These can be removed when you want to start planting.

GET AN EARLY START

It may be cold outside, but some vegetables do best if they are given an early start and some need a long growing season to reach their full potential.

The safest way to sow now is to use pots and containers and to provide some protection. You don’t need a lot of heat for celeriac, beetroot, leeks and parsley – all do well if sown in February in a cold greenhouse, cold frame or porch. Choose early varieties for early sowing. Sow into cells, trays or pots and cover with bubble wrap. Keep an eye on temperatures rising in any covered space on a bright day. You are aiming for 10-12C (50-54F) for these seeds to germinate.

Peas and broad beans can go into the ground underneath a cloche but you get more reliable germination if you start them in pots at no lower than 7-10C (46-50F). If they are started with too much heat, they won’t be as hardy when exposed to outdoor temperatures. Plant them out when the seedlings are tall enough.

You can sow peas and beans in guttering filled with compost. This theoretically slides out in a row when it is time to plant outdoors – the theory works if you don’t let plants form a mass of roots that block the sliding action. www.youtube.com/kitchengardenmagazine

■ Early varieties of peas can be sown now and to give them a head start sow in cell trays or Rootrainers to produce seedlings for planting out at a later date.

■ Start sowing tomato seeds if you have a heated propagator with a temperature of 18-20C (64-68F).

Remember also that the seedlings need constant warmth to grow on.

■ Salads can be sown now in plug trays or directly into the ground for a spring crop.

■ Gradually increase the amount of water you give to plants in containers as they start into growth.

■ Remove yellow leaves from the base of spring greens and other brassicas.

■ Sweet pepper or chillis can be sown now in a heated propagator.

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WITH MARTIN FISH

SOW SOME EARLY VEGETABLES It’s that time of the year when we can start to think about sowing some early veg in the polytunnel. The exact time to start will of course depend on where you live and the weather conditions. Where I live in North Yorkshire, I normally start some sowing around the middle of February, especially if we’ve had some sunny weather to start warming up the soil. A soil thermometer is handy to check and once the temperature gets to around 8C (46F) it’s safe to start sowing vegetables such as early carrots, beetroot, spring onions, lettuce and salad leaves. Once sown directly into shallow drills in the border, keep the soil moist and cover over with fleece for extra protection. www.youtube.com/kitchengardenmagazine

JOBS FOR THE MONTH

START SHALLOTS IN TRAYS Shallots are tough and if you read old gardening books it often suggests planting on the shortest day and harvesting on the longest day! However, from a spring planting you will still get excellent results and I think plants often do better this way as they won’t be sitting outside in cold, wet soil. You can also grow them in a polytunnel if you have space, where they will grow very well with a little protection. Bulbs can be planted directly into prepared soil now.

Alternatively, you can start them off in cell trays of multi-purpose to get them growing and plant out once they’ve made a good root system. They need no heat and should be kept moist.

CHITTING POTATOES FOR EARLY PLANTING

HARVEST CITRUS WHEN RIPE Many types of citrus such as lemons, limes and oranges ripen over the winter months. The exact timing will depend on the varieties being grown and the conditions you are growing in.

If the plants are in a greenhouse with good light and frost protection, they will ripen any time from December to early March. In my greenhouse I set the thermostat to 5C (40F) and all the plants tick over perfectly well. I keep the compost moist and give an occasional high-potash feed over winter to help development and ripening. Some fruits hang on when ripe and others fall, so test a fruit that looks ripe first before picking more. You can then enjoy your own home-grown citrus fruits.

As soon as your seed potatoes arrive or when they are available in garden centres, it’s time to start chitting those that are intended for growing under cover. In my polytunnel I can usually get away with planting at the end of February, so I try to start chitting from the beginning of the month to encourage the small shoots to grow from the dormant eyes. To start into growth, stand the seed potatoes in trays or egg boxes in good light where you can maintain frost-free conditions. A heated greenhouse is ideal, but otherwise a cool, bright windowsill or garage window is fine. Don’t give them too much heat though, as it will encourage long, weak shoots rather than short, stocky growth.

SOW BROAD BEANS If you didn’t get around to sowing broad beans in autumn, don’t worry as there is still plenty of time. A February sowing under cover will soon get growing and produce a good crop of pods in June and July. Dwarf varieties such as ‘The Sutton’ or ‘Robin Hood’ are ideal for early crops in a polytunnel. If you have prepared the borders ready for the new growing season, the seeds can be sown directly into soil and covered with fleece to retain some heat. Better still, if your greenhouse is frost free, start them off in cell trays where they will germinate faster and when the seedlings are around 7.5-10cm (3-4in) tall, they can be planted out in the polytunnel border.

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■ As we start a new growing season, it’s a good idea to wash out watering cans to remove green slime, algae and fungal spores from inside the can that could damage seedlings and young plants.

A disinfectant or bleach spray inside the can, rinsed around through the spout, will soon clean away any dirt, leaving them as good as new.

■ If you heat your greenhouse to start seeds and young plants off early, make sure you check the heater on a regular basis to see that it’s working properly and maintaining the correct temperature.

■ Make sure all your plant pots and plastic trays that are being reused are thoroughly clean ready for seed sowing and growing seedlings on. Warm soapy water with a little disinfectant is the best way to wash them.

■ Be on the lookout for early slug damage on overwintering salad and veg in the greenhouse and polytunnel. It only takes a few warm sunny days at this time of the year to bring them out in search of food.

■ Finish off washing down the sides and roof of all growing structures to make sure they allow through maximum sunlight for the growing season ahead.

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

O BBC GARDENERS’ WORLD LIVE

RHS FLOWER SHOWS 2021

Neither the RHS Flower Show Cardiff nor the RHS Chatsworth Flower Show will go ahead in 2021 due to the impact of Covid-19. The good news, however, is that the following will: ● RHS Malvern Spring Festival, May 5-9, 2021 ● RHS Chelsea Flower Show, May 18-23, 2021, Members’ Days May 18 and 19 ● RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival, July 5-11, 2021, Preview Evening July 5, Members’ Days July 6 and 7 ● RHS Flower Show Tatton Park, July 21-25, 2021, Members’ Day July 21 The RHS will also be introducing a number of necessary health, hygiene and safety measures to ensure RHS shows can operate safely and are Covid-secure.

For tickets visit: rhs.org.uk/shows or call 0344 338 7501.

LEEKS FOR WEEKS! If you like your leekss, you might want to try ‘Porbella’ this year, a variety new to the Mr Fothergill’ss catalogue. It can be harvested from October through to February, producing dark leaves and thick long stems.

It is slow to bolt and shows good tolerance to rust. To find out more visit: www.mr-fothergills.co.uk

12 | www.kitchengarden.co.uk

BBC Gardeners’ World Live will be back at the NEC from June 17 to 20, 2021 and tickets are now on sale.

Organisers have incorporated a number of measures for a successful and enjoyable event, including a larger event footprint to allow for social distancing, timed visitor entry and changes to the theatre layouts.

BBC Gardeners’ World presenters confirmed to appear include Monty Don, Adam Frost, Carol Klein, Joe Swift and Frances Tophill. BBC Gardeners’ World magazine columnist, Alan Titchmarsh, has also been confirmed to appear on Saturday, plus Toby Buckland on Sunday.

For tickets and show information visit www.bbcgardenersworldlive.com

SEED SWAPS ADAPT TO ‘NEW NORMAL’ Thinking about buying seeds for this year’s veg patch? More organised gardeners among us have already started circling catalogues and compiling lists of new varieties to try out. It’s easy to get caught up buying all your seeds online but don’t forget about your local seed swap!

These bustling events are making drastic changes to adapt to social distancing measures and ensure seed savers, gardeners and growers can swap seeds safely.

Back in March, seed swaps and seed banks launched into action, packeting and distributing seed to their local communities. Bristol Seed Swap and Stroud Community Seed Bank alone sent out hundreds of seed packets following a flurry of requests from desperate gardeners who were unable to buy seed from their usual suppliers. The Seed Co-operative reported a 600% rise in orders during March 2020 compared with the previous year.

While the new interest in grow-your-own is undoubtedly one of the brightest surprises of this year, seed supply issues made apparent by the pandemic have brought the need for local seed into sharp focus. For us gardeners, seed shortages in spring easily trump difficulties in buying toilet roll!

Seed swaps are the heart of local seed so

keep an eye on how your nearest seed swap is adapting to the ‘new normal’.

They’re a fantastic opportunity to get hold of unusual varieties and locally adapted seed, as well as a chance to talk gardening with other fanatics in your area.

Find out more at www.seedsovereignty.info Ellen Rignell West of England Co-ordinator for the UK & Ireland Seed Sovereignty Programme

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