Kitchen Garden May 2015

12

sTraWBerrY PLanTs fOR yOU TO claIm ❯ ❯ ❯ WORTH

£10.95

Kitchen

down-to-earth advice for growing fruit & veg | kitchengarden.co.uk | may 2015

SoW noW For

TasTY Tas CoBs

WitH oUr SWeetcorn GUide

expert advice on crops for kids summer cabbage baby & unusual veg

excLUSive intervieW raYMond

BLanC

BeaTthe BLigHT WITH OUR TOP TIPS

GROW YOUR OWN

CUTTing garden

tHe iMportance oF FLavoUrSoMe Food

Win

gardening goodies worth

£2837

HoW To Feed YoUr CroPs ★ CLoCHes Tried & TesTed

EDITOR’S LETTER

WELCOME It is that time of year when nature seems to open up to full throttle and seeds, buds and blossoms just burst from all around. You can almost feel the soil buzzing with energy – after long months of waiting a new season has started in earnest and KG is here to help you make the most of the opportunities it offers.

This issue is packed with great advice on growing everything from delicious sweetcorn to baby veg, herbs and summer cabbages. For the more adventurous among you expert grower Joe Maiden tries some less familiar crops, while keen plotter Martin Spice sacrifices a little space to flowers for the vase.

We have advice on feeding your crops for bumper harvests and a money-saving project to help you get the best from your beans.

Anne Swithinbank has ideas for fun crops to get the kids to join you on the veg plot or, if you are involved with one of the many school gardening projects across the country, to help them succeed on the school allotment.

Finally, we hope you enjoy your carefully selected free gifts this month and that they help to get your season off to a great start.

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

Follow us at facebook. com/KitchenGardenMag

Yourexpertsinthisissueinclude:

RAYMOND BLANC

JOYCE RUSSELL

BEN VANHEEMS

MARTIN SPICE

COLIN RANDEL

NAOMI SLADE

Among celebrity chefs, Raymond stands out as one who has done more than most to bring the importance of seasonal produce to the attention of the public. Here he explains why he loves to grow his own food.

Smallholder Joyce is a regular contributor to KG and every month brings you her top tasks for those growing undercover. This month she also has a practical project to help you get the best from your beans.

Ben is a gardening writer and dedicated organic gardener. This month he shows you how you can grow a wide range of tender veg in the smallest of spaces by sowing them closely and harvesting them young.

At first, allotment gardener Martin was reluctant to give space over to growing flowers for cutting, but he decided to experiment.

This month you can read how he got on and his top tips for success.

Horticulturist Colin brings us the results of some ground-breaking trials into blight resistant potatoes and offers hope to those who have lost outdoor tomatoes to the disease by revealing some great new varieties.

This month gardening writer and photographer Naomi takes us to a colourful garden once home to an even more colourful gardener – librettist Sir William Gilbert of Gilbert and Sullivan fame.

START SAVING CASH NOW: VISIT WWW.KITCHENGARDENSHOP.CO.UK www.kitchengarden.co.uk

MAY 2015 | 3

CONTENTS

EXPERT ADVICE TO HELP YOU GROW GREAT FRUIT AND VEGETABLES

78 YOU

✪ oN tHE CoVER Follow us At facebook. com/KitchenGardenMag FOR OUR CONTACT DETAILS TURN TO Pg 18

SUBSCRIBERS’ CORNER See page 32 for details

&

YOUR PLOT

22 THE BLIGHT FIGHT GOES ON ✪

10 IN THE GREENHOUSE

26 BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO SWEETCORN ✪

sow squashes, beetroot and peas, harden off young plants, protect fruit blossom

Growing tips and sowing guide for May, plant climbing beans, harvest strawberries, plant sweetcorn

12 HOT TOPICS

the latest news and comment from the world of kitchen gardening

16 YOUR LETTERS AND TIPS

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

20 QUESTION TIME

Regular Gardeners’ Question time panellists Bob Flowerdew and Anne swithinbank answer your fruit and veg growing conundrums

some highlights to be found in your June issue plus details of free gifts

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

4 | MAY 2015

GET GROWING

JOBS THIS MONTH: 6 ON THE VEG PATCH

110 NEXT MONTH

hAvINg TROUbLE FINDINg A COPy OF ThIS mAgAzINE?

38

34

114 LAST WORD

this month KG reader Mary Abbott from louth, lincs

Veg expert Colin Randel brings us the latest news on trials to produce new blight resistant spuds and tomatoes

Andrew tokely has all the advice you need to grow delicious cobs

30 SUMMER CABBAGE AT A GLANCE ✪

A KG mini growing guide

34 TRIED AND TASTED – UNUSUAL VEG ✪

Joe Maiden highlights some lesser grown vegetables and encourages us to give them a try

38 SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL ✪

Keen grower Ben Vanheems looks at the many crops that can be harvested young and tender

42 FLOWER POWER ✪

Allotment gardener Martin spice was reluctant to give space over to flowers… but that has all changed. He explains why and offers his top tips for colour www.kitchengarden.co.uk

YOU

&

YOUR PLOT

HOT TOPICS

NEWS FROM THE WORLD OF GROWING YOUR OWN FRUIT AND VEG

HARROGATE sPRiNG FLOWER sHOW

cOME & MEET THE KG TEAM!

Rated Britain’s top gardening event by Which?, this year’s Harrogate Spring Flower Show runs from April 23-26 at the Great Yorkshire Showground. Visitors will be able to see specially designed show gardens, over 100 plant nurseries, live entertainment and the biggest exhibition by florists and flower arrangers in the country.

New for 2015 is a series of How2 demonstrations, offering practical advice on everything from pests to planting plans. Included in these demonstrations is how to create a great garden in just 60 minutes with a whistle-stop guide to planting two 3 x 3m plots, showcasing one traditional and one contemporary design.

As one of the main sponsors of the show, the Kitchen Garden team will be there. Visit the Kitchen Garden Live theatre to watch expert fruit and vegetable growing demos and to meet us on the KG stand where you can have all your gardening questions answered.

TickETs: Thursday, Friday, Saturday £15.50 when purchased before April 14; £18 on the gate. Sunday £16 on the gate or £13.50 in advance.

Under 16s go free when accompanied by an adult. Book online at www.flowershow.org.uk or call 01423 546157.

WINTICKETSTOTHE SHOW

We have 20 pairs of any day tickets worth approximately £49 per pair to give away to the first 20 lucky readers whose names are drawn from our postbag after the closing date of Friday, April 10, 2015. To enter simply visit www.kitchengarden.co.uk, click the competitions tab and register your entry.

The usual terms and conditions apply (please visit www.kitchengarden.co.uk for full details).

No cash alternative available. Tickets for the 2015 spring show only and not transferable.

HIGHGROVE GARDENTOURS 2015 If you would like to visit the private gardens of The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall this summer, tickets are now available. For over 30 years the gardens and land surrounding Highgrove House in Tetbury, Gloucestershire, have been managed on organic principles and the idea of sustainability.

LEFT: The Wildflower Meadow in front of Highgrove House

12 | MAY 2015

The tours, which are available from April to August, are led by one of The Prince Of Wales’s experienced guides.

Visitors will be shown the Wild Flower Meadow, the Kitchen Garden and the Cottage Garden.

Tours are available to book for groups and individuals at the official Highgrove Gardens website: www.highgroveshop.com

HOT TOPICS

‘A LITTLE CHAOS’ IN NATIONAL GARDENING WEEK The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has announced that Lionsgate UK, the producer of upcoming landscape-themed period drama A Little Chaos, will be working with the RHS to support National Gardening Week April 13-19 and National Open Gardens Day April 17.

The film has its red carpet premiere on the first day of National Gardening Week and opens in cinemas on April 17.

The collaboration is based on a shared passion for gardening. The film, directed

by Alan Rickman and starring Kate Winslet, tells the story of a landscape gardener whose passion for gardening wins her the esteemed assignment to help construct the grand gardens at Versailles.

National Gardening Week was launched by the RHS four years ago. Since then it has gone on to become one of the UK’s

THE HORTICULTURAL CHANNELJUST KEEPS ON GROWING

biggest celebrations of gardening with events, competitions, activities and offers taking place all over the country.

This year’s National Gardening Week includes the launch of the first ever National Open Gardens Day when gardens all over the country that normally charge for entry or are closed to the public will be opening their doors for free for the day.

If you would like to get involved and want more information visit: www.nationalgardeningweek.org.uk

The Horticultural Channel, which provides weekly videos produced by amateur gardeners for amateur gardeners, has now over 10,000 subscribers and has become the most subscribed to YouTube gardening channel in Europe.

The videos provide practical advice for anyone interested in gardening, allotments, growing their own fruit, herbs, vegetables and flowers and attracting wildlife to their plots.

The web address is: www.thehortchannel.tv not the one erroneously published in last month’s issue. Apologies for any confusion caused.

RHS MALVERN SPRING FESTIVAL 2015 The countdown has begun to the 2015 RHS Malvern Spring Festival, Thursday, May 7 to Sunday, May 10. The festival season will feature show gardens, awardwinning nurseries, gardening experts and celebrity chefs. Visitors can enjoy special workshops led by TV gardeners Christine

Walkden (The One Show), Jim Buttress (The Big Allotment Challenge) and Chris Collins (Blue Peter gardener). Jon Wheatley, RHS gold medal winning garden designer and landscaper, is also creating three different gardens: the Front Garden, the Kitchen Garden and the Wildflower Garden; and will

CHRISTINE WALKDEN’S TOP FIVE VEG

be sharing his top tips on how to re-create them at home.

The festival will also be attended by TV chef Raymond Blanc and Mark Diacono (River Cottage), TV grocer Gregg Wallace and TV gardeners Carol Klein, Joe Swift and James Alexander-Sinclair.

In addition to specially designed gardens, there will be a floral marquee, a food and drink pavilion, plant stalls and opportunities for young gardeners to get their fingers dirty in planting workshops and craft activities.

For more information on ticket prices, call 01684 230128 or visit www.rhsmalvern.co.uk

1. RUNNER BEAN ‘RED RUM’ For flavour, harvest and reliability 2. SWEETCORN ‘NORTHERN EXTRA SWEET’ For reliability 3. CARROT ‘EARLY NANTES’ For good standing There are 10 pairs of free tickets to be won.

4. BEETROOT ‘BOLTARDY’ All you need to do is unscramble the For reliability, and a following word to reveal a well-known good doer variety of beetroot: DRATOBYL 5. LETTUCE Send your answers by email to Christine ‘LOLLO ROSSA’ marketing@threecounties.co.uk. Make will be Easy to grow and sure you include your name, address appearing at good for and telephone number. the Festival successional sowing DEADLINE: Midday on Thursday, on May 8 April 16. The first 10 drawn out of the and 9 hat on that day will be notified.

Picture: HTA

WIN FREETICKETSTO THE RHS MALVERN SPRING FESTIVAL

Do you have some hot stories for our news pages? senD them to tfLanagan@mortons.co.uk www.kitchengarden.co.uk

MAY 2015 | 13

GET GROWING

The

blllight blight ight fight goes es on

Late blight has been attacking our potato and tomato crops since the 1840s.

Modern science seeks to keep it at bay, but it is a constant battle. Veg expert Colin Randel brings us news of the latest research

m

any gardeners will have grown either ‘Sárpo Mira’ or ‘Sárpo Axona’ in their determination to produce blight-free potatoes in what have been a challenging few years. ‘Sárpo Mira’ remains a bench mark variety in Europe for both foliage and tuber blight resistance, although competitor breeders are closing in with their latest research programmes.

The Sárvári Research Trust was formed in 2002. Based at Henfaes Research Centre, near Bangor, North Wales, it researches late blight disease using selected clones from the Sárvári family – potato breeders based in Hungary.

What iS late blight?

Picture: T&M

New blight resistant tomato ‘Romello’

Late blight (Phytophthora infestans) has been a problem since its arrival in 1845 when it led to the devastating Irish Potato famine. It is a pseudofungus – a colourless seaweed – carried on the wind and reproduces rapidly on moist leaves, spurred on by warm, wet, humid weather (see Smith Period below).

Tuber late blight is a firm rot and shows just as a brown layer under the skin. The subsequent penetration by a soft fungal or bacterial rot does the damage, resulting in foul smelling tubers.

Wipeout can occur remarkably quickly as the foliage and haulms (stems) collapse.

Tubers can be infected by spores washed into the soil so increasing the ‘earthing up’ by a

couple of extra inches can help to minimise tuber infection.

Attempts by breeders to find resistant varieties have been only partially successful since the disease continues to become more aggressive. In 2005 the highly infectious Blue 13 strain was identified and increased the devastation dramatically every year until 2009. In 2010 and 2011 it caused few problems. The Pink 6 strain appears every year but was squeezed out by Blue 13 until 2011 when it overtook it.

Blight pressures were severe in 2012, but the cold nights (10ºC/50ºF or lower) during late June through July prevented meltdown.

Nevertheless, it was the worst blight year in living memory for many growers. New strains such as Green 33 are evolving on a regular basis, allowing the disease to constantly overcome the breeder’s armoury.

Smith Period

Blight forecasts allow growers and gardeners to be forewarned of attacks, and predictions are based on a ‘Smith Period’. This is a two day (48 hour) period in which the minimum temperature is 10ºC (50ºF) and the humidity exceeds 90% for 11 hours in each of the two days. The Potato Council monitors the movement of blight and you can view its progress across the country at www.potato.org.uk/fight-against-blight www.kitchengarden.co.uk

BLIGHT UPDATE

Early blight – an increasing problem?

Picture: T&M

Early Blight (Alternaria solani, Alternaria alternata) is a ‘fungus fungus’ and not a colourless seaweed which late blight is, although they can look similar on the plants in the early stages. There is interaction with ozone (ozone travels in the wind/ pollution) and the trace element boron is also implicated.

Lesions occur on the leaves when no disease is present. At this time gardeners need not be too concerned about early blight as often the infections dry off on the foliage as summer progresses.

Genetic resistance against early blight on tomatoes has been found.

Two of the most popular potatoes to come out of the Sávári Trust programme are ‘Sárpo Axona’ (top) and ‘Sárpo Mira’ (above)

Late blight causes the complete collapse of potato haulms and often goes on to infect the tubers below ground

late Blight natural hosts

blight, and further trials will continue. Potato farmers have noted that fields near the cliffs do not get blighted, as have gardeners over the years.

Mark Baird, Professor of Organic Chemistry at Bangor University, is investigating extracts of plants from the polygonaceae family (this family includes knotweed and buckwheat) as a foliage control inhibiting blight infection.

A potassium phosphite-based bio stimulant called ‘Phi Diamond’ has inhibited blight on ‘Maris Piper’ and is used on outdoor tomato plants to increase vigour. Although it has proved useful, it is a commercial product.

However, for gardeners there is a similar natural material called ‘Uncle Tom’s Plant tonic’.

Visit www.naturalgardensolutions.com for more information.

In the Andes countries and Mexico natural hosts consist of potato, tomato, tree tomato, wild tomato, pear melon and some woody, herbaceous species.

In Britain black nightshade and bittersweet are common weeds which may be a natural host and also blight spreaders. .

late Blight control and future research

The only fungicides available to gardeners up to autumn 2014 are those based on copper, such as Bordeaux Mixture. Copper is a heavy metal poison that accumulates in the soil, affecting all kinds of wildlife and should not be used.

Bordeaux Mixture has had its approval removed as of November 2014. This means that suppliers who hold stocks are allowed to continue to sell, but cannot purchase any further stocks until November 2015, when it is banned.

There are currently no other chemicals available.

The responsibility therefore lies with the breeders to introduce resistant varieties.

The Sárvári Trust is conducting trials with natural growing solutions, seawater, and phosphites as possible alternatives to copper.

Professor Tom DeLuca at Bangor University is researching with seawater. Plants irrigated with a 50% seawater solution have suppressed tuber www.kitchengarden.co.uk

Simon White among the healthy Sárpo potato programme

Blight resistant varieties

Sárvári Research Trust trials are conducted on Anglesey as well as at Henfaes. In these parts of Wales the warm, moist summer weather favours blight and in most years the trials are infected naturally. Occasionally, the plots need to be misted to promote infection by spores arriving on the wind.

Many of the popular gardener varieties introduced as ‘blight resistant’, or which were reasonably successful, lost their resistance once Blue 13 hit – ‘Cara’, ‘Lady Balfour’, ➤

Unfortunately, a number of popular varieties including ‘Cara’ have lost their blight resistance to new strains of the disease

MAY 2015 | 23

FLOWER POWER Not without some qualms, last year veg growing fanatic Martin Spice set out to grow some flowers on his allotment for the first time. Here he shares some valuable lessons learned

L

The cosmos were splendid but slow to flower

42 | MAY 2015

ike many allotment holders, we like to try growing something new most years in addition to repeating the usual veg patch suspects. Last year it was tomatillos, a visually spectacular plant that would grace any flower garden and, as a bonus, produces the perfect salsa ingredient. But that was simply a variation on the standard theme – stuff to eat. So this year it was time to take a startling new direction (for us) and plant up a cut-flower patch.

My wife would say that is an exaggeration, and it probably is, but you get the picture.

No sooner had we mentioned our intentions to our veg patch neighbour than she said that she had had exactly the same thought. Very shortly after that, Louise Curley’s beautiful The Cut Flower Patch was published to considerable media coverage and the Sunday papers were full of inspiring blooms. So, an annuals growing patch it was.

MAKING ENDS MEET

STARTER FOR 10

I have long believed that financially an allotment needs to pay its way and I’ve been outraged at the swingeing increases in rental charges imposed by many unsympathetic councils. How, if you start off with a £200 rental, are you ever going to justify growing standard veggies? That’s an awful lot of potatoes, cabbages and courgettes. But leaving my fury at greedy bureaucracies aside, a quick review of what we spend our housekeeping money on revealed a steady drain on supermarket flowers. A bunch here, a bunch there, £5 a week, £20 a month?

We have two veg patches, one an allotment, one a part of a neighbour’s garden, and it was the latter that we considered the most suitable site for flowers. This was a little contentious. I have long been a veg man, reluctant to “waste space” on non-edibles. We may have been swept away by the zeitgeist but in practice that meant giving up good veg-growing soil.

How much? The plot in the neighbour’s garden is not big to start with. I threw a few measurements around, six by three, eight by four, feet obviously not yards… more? We settled for www.kitchengarden.co.uk

The alien-like seed pods of nigella (love-in-a-mist)

A CUTTING GARDEN “The sunflowers reached 3.6m (12ft) and made us happy”

Sweet peas are a must for a summer garden

nine by 12 feet (2.7x3.6m). That’s 10 sq m (108 sq ft) of good veg-growing space given over to flowers. What was I thinking?

The folly of my stinginess became apparent when it came to planning out the beds. A cutting garden is not a cottage garden border and our idea was to have neat little rectangles arranged according to height, that is, the higher flowers at the back, smaller ones at the front. How many blocks?

Well, how many varieties did we want to grow?

We wanted dozens but settled for 10. I would like to say that these were selected according to some important criteria such as providing blooms all year round, or even all summer long, or giving us a range of colours, but sadly this would be misleading. We selected them because we liked them which has always seemed to me, be it vegetables or flowers, the very best reason of all.

The result of this was, of course, very small beds. They didn’t look small on the planning sheet but they did in the garden. Each bed averaged out at around 0.9 sq m (10 sq ft). The implications of that became more obvious as the summer went on. ➤ www.kitchengarden.co.uk

MAY 2015 | 43

MAKEA

Bean Frame

WEEKEND PROJECT In this practical step-by-step guide Joyce Russell shows how bean frames can be attractive to look at as well as functional, and at the same time help you achieve a bumper crop Pictures: Ben Russell

C

limbing beans can look gorgeous when in flower and it seems to me that the frame they climb up should enhance this beauty rather than detract from it.

With this in mind I designed a simple frame made from wood and bamboo. It’s easy to make, easy to use and reuse, it folds and stores flat and it will last for several years. It’s also a really attractive structure to add to any garden. This frame can be made and installed in a couple of hours and you only need the most basic of tools.

Step by step

WHATYOUWILLNEED MATERIALS

■ 4 @ 4m x 46mm x 22mm wooden battens (pretreated with a safe preservative such as Tanalith E) ■ 8 @ 2m bamboo canes (can be longer and cut to fit) ■ 16 galvanised fencing staples (large enough to grip round the canes) ■ 2 x 10cm brass butt hinges (use 25mm x 4mm screws if the ones packed with the hinges are too short) ■ 16 screws 5mm x 80mm (stainless steel will last longest) You will also need a saw, tape measure, drill, 5mm drill bit, screwdriver, hammer and a pencil; a square or a mitre block.

NOTE ON SUPPORT

Bamboo canes look really elegant and are ideal for supporting climbing beans. The stems of these plants twist naturally round the canes in an anti-clockwise direction and once they get started they climb by themselves. You could use string or rope instead of bamboo. Bear in mind that natural fibres will only last for one season whereas man-made fibres will last for several seasons. Alternatively, you could cover the whole frame with netting, galvanised chicken wire or plastic mesh. These options may not look as pretty as bamboo, but they do provide a good base for plants, such as peas, that grip with lots of small tendrils.

Bean stems twist anti-clockwise round the canes

MAKING A HINGED A FRAME

STEP 1: CUT THE TIMBER TO LENGTH Measure and use the square and pencil to mark cutting lines on the battens. You need 4 lengths at 2.3m and 4 lengths at 900cm. Use the saw to cut to length. A mitre block is a cheap and useful aid to ensuring straight cuts.

STEP 2: DRILL PILOT HOLES FOR SCREWS Use the 5mm drill bit to drill two pilot holes at one end of a 2.3m piece of batten. The holes should be 15mm and 35mm in from the end.

Measure and drill two pilot holes, 315mm and 335mm from the opposite end of the same piece. Repeat the above until all four of the 2.3m pieces (uprights) are drilled at the points where the crossbars will attach.

STEP 3: ASSEMBLE THE TWO SIDES OF THE FRAME Use 5mm x 80mm screws to fix a 900cm batten as a crossbar between the drilled points at the top of two uprights. Fix a second crossbar between the drilled points 30cm up from the base. Screws should slide through the pilot holes and they will bite into end-grain without the need to pre-drill. This makes a flat rectangular frame with two 30cm ‘legs’ at the bottom. Repeat with remaining battens so two identical frames are made.

STEP 4: FITTING THE HINGES Lay the two frames on top of one another so the top crossbars are square and flush. It’s best to leave a small gap between the two crossbars, so the hinges don’t bind when closed. Mark where the hinges will go (15cm in from each end) and screw them in place. The frames form an A that can be opened to stand on its own or closed for storage. ➤ www.kitchengarden.co.uk

MAY 2015 | 75

GET COOKING

Salad

days

The darling buds of May will soon be out, so better awaken your taste buds too with these refreshing spring dishes from Anna Pettigrew

serve these up as a starter wake up your taste buds TAKE-AWAY SALADJAR

If, like so many, you are trying to cut back on plastic waste, then glass salad jars are for you.

They are an excellent container for your lunch that you can easily and conveniently take to work with you. You can collect enough jars for a week’s worth, and make in advance. The salad will stay fresh for up to five to seven days, as long as you always put the dressing and the wetter ingredients at the bottom.

MAKES ONE LARGE JAR

■ 2 tbsp salad dressing of your choice, we used Caesar dressing ■ ¼ cucumber, diced ■ 6 cherry tomatoes, halved ■ ½ red onion, sliced into rings ■ ½ red bell pepper, diced ■ 200g (7oz) red cabbage, thinly sliced ■ ¼ head of crisp lettuce, chopped ■ 1 tbsp sunflower seeds

1. Build the salad jar by layering the ingredients in order of water content: dressing, cucumber, tomatoes, onion, peppers, cabbage followed by the lettuce and sunflower seeds.

2. Refrigerate until needed.

www.kitchengarden.co.uk

SALADCUPSWITHASIANGRILLEDPRAWNS Get a little fancy with this Asian Prawn dish including some crisp, freshly picked lettuce leaves from the kitchen garden. Serve this dish as a starter or as appetisers at a garden party.

Serves 4

■ 400g (14oz) raw peeled prawns ■ 2 tbsp dark soy sauce ■ 4 cloves garlic, minced ■ 2 tbsp sunflower oil ■ 1 head of lettuce, leaves separated ■ 1 carrot, julienned ■ 3 spring onions, chopped ■ 1 small bunch of coriander ■ 1 pinch salt and freshly ground pepper ■ 100g (3½oz) thin rice noodles ■ 1 red chilli, finely chopped ■ 1 tbsp soft brown sugar

1. In a sealable container, combine the shrimp, 2 tablespoons of oil, soy sauce, sugar, chilli and garlic.

Seal and shake to coat the shrimp. Marinate for 1 hour in the fridge.

2. Cook the noodles following pack instructions, then rinse with cold water and drain and set aside.

3. Heat a non-stick pan over medium-high, fry the prawns on one side for 2 minutes, flip and sear for 30 seconds more. Remove from pan and set aside.

4. To assemble the dish, fill each lettuce cup with rice noodles, then add the prawns followed by the carrots.

Garnish with spring onion and coriander. ➤

MAY 2015 | 107

bACk ISSuES

£4 .95 EACH (inc p&p)

For EU and ROW, please see www.classicmagazines.co.uk

Whether it’s recent releases or older copies, browse through the years of the best advice horticulture has to offer with the Kitchen Garden back issue collection.

OVER TEN YEARS’ WORTH OF ISSuES ARE AVAIlAblE TO ORdER TOdAY AT ClASSIC MAgAzINES.

AuguST 2014

■ Beginner’s guide to salad leaves ■ Pathways to success

JANuARY 2015

■ e secret of great potatoes

■ Discover super veg to fight winter colds

SEPTEMbER 2014

■ e lowdown on medlars ■ A living book of herbs

FEbRuARY 2015

■ Save cash: build your own

compost tumbler

■ Outdoor hotbeds for early harvests

OCTObER 2014

■ Tamed plot with a wild streak ■ Have you tried...potted fruit

MARCH 2015

■ Beginner’s guide to aubergines ■ Barley straw - the miracle mulch

NOVEMbER 2014

■ Increasing the value of your veg ■ Rejuvenating old apple trees

APRIl 2015

■ Make a mini greenhouse ■ Topsy turvy tomatoes

bACk ISSuES OF kITCHEN gARdEN ARE All lOW ON STOCk – SO IF THERE’S ONE YOu lIkE THE lOOk OF, ORdER IT bEFORE IT’S TOO lATE!

2 EASY WAYS TO ORdER CAll: 01507 529529

ONlINE SHOP: www.classicmagazines.co.uk