WWW.KITCHENGARDEN.CO.UK | SEPTEMBER 2018
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EXTEND THE SEASON BY MAKING A COLDFRAME
HELP WILDLIFE FOR BETTER HARVESTS WATERCRESS FROM THE PATIO SEED SAVING TIPS
EDITOR’S LETTER
WELCOME
September is traditionally a time for harvesting summer crops of fruit and vegetables and preserving any gluts so we can enjoy them through the long winter. However, there is still plenty we can do to stretch the growing season to ensure an early and productive start next year. A cold frame is helpful to extend the growing season and in this issue Joyce Russell shows you how to make one. Soil is our most precious commodity in the garden and after a year of hard work it deserves a bit of TLC. So this month we have two features, starting on pages 42 and 73, dedicated to helping you keep your soil fighting fit. There is plenty of info on crops, too; expert grower Rob Smith has some great top tips on growing broccoli and calabrese, while this month our resident fruit expert David Patch turns his attention to figs. Finally don’t forget to enter our great fun Passionate Plotter and Wonky Veg competitions for the chance to win some super prizes!
E
O ON DE O VI
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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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SEPTEMBER 2018 | 3
CONTENTS
EXPERT ADVICE TO HELP YOU GROW GREAT FRUIT AND VEGETABLES
10 ✪ ON THE COVER
18 YOU
@GrowWithKG
YOUR PLOT
6 ON THE VEG PATCH
KitchenGardenUK KitchenGardenMag @GrowWithKG /kitchengardenmagazine FOR OUR CONTACT DETAILS TURN TO PAGE 15
Gardening expert Martin Fish this month is lifting onions and storing, ripening outdoor tomatoes, preserving herbs, planting strawberries and finishing summer pruning apples
10 IN THE GREENHOUSE
KG regular Joyce Russell is sowing mizuna, rocket, mustard and land cress and planting onion sets
86
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
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ON PAGE 24 HAVING TROUBLE FINDING A COPY OF THIS MAGAZINE? Just Ask your local newsagent to reserve you a copy each month
4 | SEPTEMBER 2018
32
20 KG PROBLEM SOLVER
This month our experts turn their attention to apples, rhubarb, tomatoes and pears
97 DIARY DATES
See what’s on in your neck of the woods and make a note to book yourself on to a course or visit a great event
102 LAST WORD
Britain’s youngest Michelin starred chef Tommy Banks chats to KG about his love of seasonal produce and growing crops in the dark!
106 NEXT MONTH
Some of the highlights to be found in your October issue www.kitchengarden.co.uk
SEPTEMBER 2018
36 Scan this, and we’ll tell you!
Cookery expert Anna Pettigrew brings us some delicious recipes using peaches, dill and fennel
57
Pg 98
GET GROWING 16 ON THE PLOT WITH THE THREE MUDKETEERS
This month the intrepid trio are harvesting courgettes, snow peas and beetroot
17 GNOME GROWN
Gardening tips and projects for children
18 FLOWERS FOR YOUR PATCH ✪
The spotlight this month is a hardy annual you can sow now – cornflowers
22 GROWING ONLINE
Our pick of the best gardening social media and websites
26 PLANNING AN EDIMENTAL GARDEN ✪
Wendy Pillar has created a garden filled with plants that are either edible or have another use
32 TOP OF THE BROCS ✪
Rob Smith looks at growing sprouting broccoli and calabrese
36 MUSHROOM PICKING WITHOUT THE MYSTERY ✪
Fungi foraging expert Geoff Dann offers some advice on edible fungi
40 AN UPWARDLY MOBILE MUNCH
Sally Cunningham recommends growing chunky Malabar spinach
42 CARING FOR YOUR SOIL ✪ Sue Stickland offers her tips on keeping soil in good condition so your crops benefit www.kitchengarden.co.uk
48 GO WILD ON THE PLOT ✪
Emma Rawlings looks at encouraging wildlife on to the plot and their benefits
52 PASSIONATE PLOTTER ✪
We launch our Passionate Plotter competition 2018. Send in your photos to win some great prizes for your veg garden
57 DRESSED FOR SUCCESS
You’ve grown lots of salad crops – now Anna Pettigrew suggests some salad dressing recipes to take them to another level
61 SOS: SAVE OUR SEEDS ✪
98 WHAT TO BUY
Saving your own seed can save you money and benefit your growing, as Benedict Vanheems explains
81 INSTANT SAVERS
66 MEET THE BLOGGERS
84 GARDEN STORE
68 FIGURATIVELY SPEAKING ✪
86 MAKE A COLD FRAME ✪
73 GROWING GREEN ✪
90 GREAT READER OFFERS
78 THE ART OF ASSEMBLING
92 GREAT GIVEAWAYS WORTH OVER £1200 ✪
82 VEG AT A GLANCE – WATERCRESS ✪
94 TRIED AND TESTED –
This month we meet social media star Louise Houghton, who has a plot in Wales
Fruit expert David Patch turns his attention to figs
A natural way to improve the condition of your soil is to grow green manures, as Julie Moore explains
Chef Jessica Elliott Dennison makes simple dishes from seasonal produce
KG’s Steve Ott takes a look at a watercress variety that doesn’t need a river
This month make some great savings on dehydrators, plant supports, seeds and sundries
More great new products and services to help to boost your harvests
Practical plotter Joyce Russell shows you how to make a cold frame
Claim your free* winter greens collection worth £13.90 (*Just pay p&p)
This month you could win London Homebuilding & Renovating Show tickets and a bundle of great goodies from Fiskars
This month the KG team puts garden trugs to the test SEPTEMBER 2018 | 5
GET GROWING
TASKS FOR YOUR VEGETABLE PATCH IN SEPTEMBER BY MARTIN FISH PICK APPLES
The first apples of the season are ripening now and need to be picked as soon as the fruits leave the trees when given a gentle twist. The exact time of ripening varies on location and the fruits on the sunny side of the tree ripen first.
PREPARE SOIL
Before you plant spring cabbage plants, prepare the ground by forking it over lightly and tread the area to firm the soil. Sprinkle a light dressing of general fertiliser such as Growmore or pelleted poultry manure to give the plants a good start.
DRY ‘BORLOTTI’ BEANS
If you intend to pick and dry beans such as Borlotti for winter use, pick the beans when they are fully formed and the pods are dry. Do this on a fine day and pop open the pods before laying them in a tray to carry on drying.
PRESERVE HERBS
Finish picking the fresh, new shoots and leaves off herbs before the foliage starts to dry out and die back in autumn. Many such as thyme, bay, mint and marjoram can be tied into small, loose bunches and dried, or frozen in ice cubes for winter use.
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JOBS FOR THE MONTH XXX
LIFT & STORE ONIONS STEP 1: Main crop onions should be ready for harvesting this month when the bulbs have naturally started to ripen and the tops bend over. If the onions still look green you can stop them growing and encourage ripening by gently lifting the bulbs with a garden fork. Breaking the roots prevents the bulbs drinking in more water and it helps them to dry out ready for lifting and storing.
STEP 2: Once the tops of the onions have turned brown and the skins are ripening, lift the bulbs and carry on ripening them in trays or wire racks where there is good air circulation. Keep checking the onions and turning them to develop a brown papery skin. This can be done outside if the weather is dry and fine, but in wet conditions bring the onions undercover to keep them dry.
STEP 3: Once the foliage has totally dried out and the skins have evenly ripened, the onions can be stored for winter use. This can be done by keeping them in trays or by bagging them in nets. Alternatively, you can tie them to create an onion rope by twisting the old leaves through a loop of string. They can then be hung in a dry, cool, but frost-free place until needed.
SOW NOW
RIPEN OUTDOOR TOMATOES Getting outdoor tomatoes to ripen can be a problem some years, especially if we get a cool spell of weather. Ideally, we want the fruits to start changing colour while the temperatures are still fairly warm and certainly before the weather turns cool and damp. To help the fruits ripen, remove foliage that has started to turn yellow as this will increase the air flow around the fruit. If growing in pots, stand them in a warm, sheltered position where they will get maximum sunlight. Keep the compost just moist and feed with a high potash fertiliser. On cool nights, cover with fleece to trap warm air around the fruits. www.kitchengarden.co.uk
GOLDEN BEETROOT
There are many different types of beetroot that are ideal for growing in the garden and by sowing the seeds little and often from spring, you can have a succession of freshly pulled tender roots all summer and into autumn. Roots can be eaten at
any stage, although small, young roots tend to be the sweetest. I ďŹ nd that the golden types such as 'Golden Globe' are best pulled before they get too large and woody and, as a guide, I harvest them when about the size of a tennis ball. These will be eaten fresh or used in pickles and chutneys where they impart their sweet, delicate avour.
Give runner beans a boost to keep them growing and cropping for a few more weeks, by soaking the soil around their roots with liquid fertiliser. Combined with regular picking, it will encourage the last beans of the season.
Spinach, lettuce, salad leaves, kale (for winter leaves), radish, salad onions, chard, spring cabbage, corn salad, chicory, turnip.
PLANT NOW
Over-wintering onions, spring cabbage, lettuce, Chinese cabbage, strawberries.
HARVEST
Runner beans, dwarf beans, potatoes, squash, cabbage, calabrese, lettuce, radish, spring onions, chard, carrots, beetroot, courgettes, turnips, spinach, herbs, autumn raspberries, apples, plums, tomatoes. SEPTEMBER 2018 | 7
GET GROWING
PICK YOUR R PLUMS
HARVEST BLACKBERRIES
■ Help squashes and pumpkins to ripen by lifting them off the ground slightly on a stone or up-turned seed tray. This increases air flow around the fruits and keeps the base dry.
Keep picking sweet, juicy blackberries little and often as they ripen on the plants. This helps the smaller fruits to develop and ripen over the coming weeks to extend the fruiting season. Although they are lovely eaten fresh, they also freeze very well by placing them on a tray in the freezer. Once frozen they can be bagged up and used over the winter in fruit pies and puddings.
Fresh, home-grown plumss picked from the tree when fully ripe are a real treat at this time of the year. Plums on the same tree don’t all ripen at the same time, so you need to check the fruits on a regular basis and pick when ripe, before the birds peck them or wasps damage them. The fruits on the sunny side of the tree are often the first to be picked.
FINISH SUMMER APPLE PRUNING Fruit trees such as apples and pears are pruned through the summer when trained as decorative cordons, step-overs or espaliers, to maintain the formal shape and to create short sideshoots known as spurs. It’s on the short spurs that flowers and fruits develop the following year. Some tree forms are also summer pruned to reduce long, vigorous growth and to encourage a spur system of branches. Pruning is ■ Plant Chinese cabbage out in the garden and keep it well watered. It grows quickly and should develop crispy heads for harvesting in late September.
■ Once you have picked the last of the sweetcorn, the old plants can be removed, chopped up or passed through a shredder, before adding to the compost heap.
■ As the tops of main crop potatoes naturally start to die down or if blight is around, cut down the haulms to soil level and get rid of them. The potatoes can then be left in the soil for a few more weeks until you are ready to lift.
■ Old fruited stems on blackcurrants can be pruned out to open up the bush and allow the new growth to ripen.
8 | SEPTEMBER 2018
normally done in late summer, but if you’ve not done it yet, there is still time. Basically, all you do is cut back this year’s new growth to around 4cm (1½in), just above a bud. Done now, the tree won’t make any new growth over autumn and it will hold its shape until spring growth starts. Through the autumn and winter, fat fruit buds will develop on the short spurs that will blossom and fruit next year.
PLANT STRAWBERRIES Although the fruiting season for strawberries is over, September is an important time in the strawberry calendar. Early autumn is the traditional time to plant new plants that have been raised from runners earlier in the summer. The advantage of planting now is that the young plants will be able to make a good root system over the autumn while the soil is still warm. This results in much stronger plants next
spring that will get off to a good start and produce plenty of fruit. Strawberry plants are very adaptable, but regardless of whether you are planting out in the open ground or growing in containers, the sooner you can get them planted and established, the better. Strawberries grow very well in pots to stand outside on a patio or paved area. Plastic or terracotta can be used and you can use
either simple pots or special strawberry pots that have side planting holes. Because the plants are going to be in the container for two or maybe three seasons, use a good compost. I like to mix multipurpose compost and John Innes compost half and half, which gives a good structured compost with good water and nutrient holding capacity. Hanging baskets can also be used and this is a great way to grow them as it protects the fruits from slugs and snails! Simple plastic pots are ideal, or you could use a more decorative basket. In a 25-30cm (10-12in) basket you need three plants which will fill out and produce fruits that hang over the sides of the basket. Again, use a good compost mix to keep the plants healthy and growing. Planting in rows or on a grid system in the garden is the traditional method of growing and it works well if you have room. Choose a sunny position and prepare the ground by working in well-rotted organic matter to improve the soil. Planting distances vary, depending on space available, but ideally the minimum spacing should be 30cm (12in) or slightly wider if possible. www.kitchengarden.co.uk
WITH JOYCE RUSSELL Pictures by Ben Russell
A NEW GREENHOUSE: SHAPE & HEIGHT
■ Reduce watering a little and aim for a less humid atmosphere ■ Support stems and pick peppers as soon as they reach a good colour ■ Watch out for moulds and blight: remove affected leaves as soon as you spot them
10 | SEPTEMBER 2018
■ Plant out and make sowings for the winter ■ Remove lower tomato leaves ■ Close doors and windows on cold nights ■ Remove crops that have finished and get new ones into the space ■ Keep harvesting and use the glut well!
Glass greenhouses tend to have pitched roofs and polytunnels tend to have curved ones, but there are exceptions. Some plastic covers fit over pitched frames and domes are common enough with both plastic or glass sections. Take a look at options before choosing what to put up. Some structures look nicer than others and some fit best in a difficult corner of the garden, but the main issue with shape is how easy it is to grow and work inside the structure. Make sure there is plenty of height and plenty of room for air to move. A low structure can become oppressive in a hot summer and sloping sides may mean that raised beds or tall plants are only an option in the middle section. Straight sides can allow for optimum use of space.
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JOBS THIS MONTH
WINTER/SPRING SOWINGS Plant out any seedlings raised in pots as soon as space is free. Growth is restricted if small plants are root-bound and they will not reach their full potential if they are crowded. Keep some compost around roots and use light fleece, or mesh, to provide shade when planting in hot weather. Water often, so young plants don’t wilt. Sow mizuna, rocket, mustard greens, purslane, turnips, spring onions, land cress, corn salad, sorrel, etc, in rows where they will grow. Sow spring cabbage, winter lettuce, Florence fennel, spinach beet, chard, etc, in pots and plant out at the right spacing when large enough.
■ Cucumber plants may look a bit tatty by the end of the month and fruit may be small and mis-shapen. Leave plants in place if you have space and enjoy the last fruits until they stop p cropping. pp g
Try sowing a row of early carrots now if you can protect emerging seedlings from slugs.
GREENHOUSE GADGETS: A WORKBENCH A bench is invaluable for pricking out and potting on. You can store tools, labels and more, so you know exactly where they are when you need them. Make your own bench and recycle scrap timber, or buy one in – there are plenty available in all shapes and sizes. A small bench can be moved outside during the summer months when every bit of space is needed for growing. Put it by the door so you can reach what is needed. Large wiretopped benches are light and can also be moved outside if space is an issue. Use them as a growing space for raising slug-andsnail-free plants to go in the greenhouse in the autumn.
TOMATO FEAST September is a month of glut for tomato plants. Pick fruits as soon as they ripen and freeze the ones that you can’t use straight away – they make great sauces, soups and chutneys, when garden tasks are less pressing. Keep soil damp, not wet, and reduce feeding at this point. The aim is to ripen fruits steadily over the next couple of months. Remove leaves from the lower half of the stem to allow light and air to reach ripening trusses.
CLIMBING BEANS
■ Try to get the balance between ripening all bunches of grapes and avoiding the ravages of grey mould. The secret is to inspect the crop daily. Remove any fruit and leaves at the first signs of infection. Semi-ripe fruit can be mixed with ripe grapes in wines and juices. ■ Don’t try to pack too many plants into the greenhouse. The focus should be towards healthy winter and spring crops at this point, so remove any plant that has done its job. Stick to recommended spacing for new planting. ■ Make up some tubs of liquid feed, or buy in an extra bottle of a seaweed-based one. This comes in useful in the early months of next year when over-wintered crops need a boost of nutrients. ■ Put a row of autumn planting onion sets in the greenhouse now. These grow well and produce great greens and small onions for use in early spring.
Runner beans crop well outdoors, but you can get a late and early crop by growing a few undercover. Plants can TEMPERATURES become perennial in a protected space: leave roots in the ground and watch them grow green shoots in September can bring better weather early spring. than August in some years, although you Climbing French beans should still be cropping can’t rely on it. With luck we will get a well. Watch out for moulds and mildews in warm sunny autumn, but it is worth working damp weather and remove affected leaves before out what strategies to use if we don’t. the problem spreads. Pick beans as soon as they Keep doors and windows open on are big enough to use and don’t leave any on any hot days and be prepared to shut the plant to swell large beans. Plants will stop everything down if we get an extra-early cropping as soon as they produce ripe seeds. night frost. Any cold weather will be Make a note of varieties that cropped well in short lived; look after vulnerable your greenhouse and buy the same next year. It’s plants and they can still keep worth trying new things, but any success deserves to cropping for weeks. be repeated. www.kitchengarden.co.uk
SEPTEMBER 2018 | 11
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