Kitchen SAMPLE ISSUE

DOWN-TO-EARTH ADVICE FROM BRITAIN’S BEST GROWERS | KITCHENGARDEN.CO.UK | MAY 2013

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2 | MAY 2013

JOBS THIS MONTH...

10 MINUTE JOBS

FOR MAY

SOWRADISH SEEDS

For a quick harvest, fill a largepot to within 2.5cm (1in) of thetop with multi-purpose compost,tap it on the bench to level beforescattering seeds thinly over thesurface. Cover lightly withcompost, water and stand

the pot on a warmwindowsill.

TIE INCANE FRUIT

Raspberries, blackberries andhybrid berries put on lots of longgrowth at this time of year and

need to be tied in regularly beforethe canes become woody andbrittle. Use some soft string orsimilar and tie loosely thusavoiding damage to the

young stems.

WATCH FOREARLY PESTS

Improving conditions mean thatpests such as greenfly, whitefly,

slugs and snails will start to becomea problem this month. Be vigilant

and squash them with afinger and thumb or apply yourfavourite form of pest control

as soon as a problemis seen.

KEEP ONTOP OF WEEDS

Weeds are easier to controlif you keep on top of them fromthe start and newly prepared seedbeds don’t stay clean for long.

Keep your hoe busy between therows of newly germinatingseedlings. Hand weedclose to and between

wanted plants.

YOU & YOUR PLOT

6PAGES OFGARDENTASKS

JOBS TO CARRY OUT ON YOUR PATCH, PATIO AND UNDERCOVER IN MAY

www.kitchengarden.co.uk

Although sweet potatoes areconsidered by many to be a tropicalvegetable, I know many UKgardeners who have produced some

very good roots in their own gardens eitherunder cover in tunnels or outdoors in the gardenand in patio containers.It is certainly a crop worth growing because it

has so many uses in the kitchen. The sweet innerflesh can be eaten raw, but is more commonlyeaten boiled, steamed, baked, fried, mashed oreven batter fried. You can even eat the leaves andtips of the young shoots as a substitute forspinach. In fact this is probably one of the mostversatile vegetables you can grow.

GETTING STARTEDAlthough this vegetable produces a tuberousroot like a potato, that’s where the similarityends. Potatoes are grown from tubers and aremembers of the Solanum tuberosum family.The sweet potato is from the Ipomoea batatas

family, which is the same as the popular gardenflower – morning glory – and convolvulus(bindweed) but of a non-invasive form that iskilled off by winter frosts.

SWEETPOTATOESAlthough a relative newcomer to the UK diet, sweetpotatoes are becoming increasingly popular and thegood news is that they are now much easier to grow inthe UK, as Andrew Tokely explains

Back to basics:Versatile sweet potatoesVersatile sweet potatoes

can be used to makecan be used to make

chips and crisps as wellchips and crisps as well

as being boiled, baked

or fried.

GET GROWING

Photo:C

ourtesy

ofD

obies

Seeds

can be used to make

chips and crisps as well

GREATCROP

GROWINGADVICE

Nick Hamilton has been growing organic veg, fruit and muchmore besides for nearly 30 years in the same garden hisfather Geoff Hamilton first created for the popular BBCGardeners’ World programmes. Liz Dobbs reveals whichpractical tips and ideas have stood the test of timeGardeners’ World programmes.practical tips and ideas have stood the test of time

Organic

father Geoff Hamilton first created for the popular BBCGardeners’ World programmes. Liz Dobbs reveals which

Nick Hamilton has been growing organic veg, fruit and muchmore besides for nearly 30 years in the same garden his

Organicodyssey

OUT & ABOUT

READERS’GARDENSTO INSPIRE

YOU

MAY 2013 | 5www.kitchengarden.co.uk

Nick Hamilton didn’t actually set up inbusiness with his father until the autumn of1989 when they opened a plant nursery onthe Barnsdale Garden site in Rutland but he

had been ‘on call’ for Geoff many years before and recallshad been ‘on call’ for Geoff many years before and recallsat least 29 years worth of digging the clay soil andat least 29 years worth of digging the clay soil andplanting the original fruit bushes and trees.planting the original fruit bushes and trees.

After all this spadework it is heartening to hear howpositive Nick is about clay soils, a feature that somepositive Nick is about clay soils, a feature that somegardeners dread. “A clay soil is well worth the initial effortgardeners dread. “A clay soil is well worth the initial effortas repeated digging and applications of organic matter overas repeated digging and applications of organic matter overthe years do bring their rewards. When developing somethe years do bring their rewards. When developing someof the newer gardens at Barnsdale, it’s staggering howof the newer gardens at Barnsdale, it’s staggering howplants struggle to get away at first. You then realise howplants struggle to get away at first. You then realise howmuch difference all that soil improvement makes to plantsmuch difference all that soil improvement makes to plantsin the existing cultivated areas. Nothing in gardening isin the existing cultivated areas. Nothing in gardening iseasy, you get out of it what you put in,” concludes Nick.easy, you get out of it what you put in,” concludes Nick.

COMMON SENSE ORGANICGeoff Hamilton was ahead of his time with his belief inGeoff Hamilton was ahead of his time with his belief inorganic gardening methods, the need to garden sustainablyorganic gardening methods, the need to garden sustainablyand his love of wildlife. He converted mainstreamand his love of wildlife. He converted mainstreamgardeners, not by hectoring them or making them feelguilty about their gardens, but by showing practical waysthat they could make their own compost, find alternativesto rockery stone and attract beneficial wildlife. Nickcontinues with that down-to-earth, practical approach.

He applies some key principles for cultivating thegardens and he shows visitors simple and economicalways they can garden naturally: making a bean trench,having a compost bin either screened or as a focal pointand making space for some flowers or a small wildlifepond. But there is a need to be pragmatic too, thedesigned-for-TV layout with all the dividing hedgesand plant-clothed fences, arches and arbours makes thegardens labour intensive and so Nick is prepared to fallback on tubs of chicken manure pellets for extra nutrientsor to use organically-approved slug pellets (based onferric phosphate) so he can get the standard of producehe wants.

ABOVE RIGHT: The

renovated Parterre garden

with the veg growing in

the centre beds with

flowers and fruit around

the edges.

PREVIOUS PAGE: An

overview of the allotment

plot in high summer with

the potato harvest under

way and the brassicas

netted to protect against

visits from cabbage

white butterflies.

A bean trench full of veg debris and torn newspaper will

help cut down on watering plants next summer.

PHOTO CREDITS: LDI

(David Murray, David Thrower)

Nick plants a blackcurrant among spring bulbs and

emerging perennials in the ornamental kitchen garden.

6 | MAY 2013 www.kitchengarden.co.uk

Growing bags are really useful aidsin the vegetable garden. They areself-contained growing media thatcan be positioned anywhere. Of

course you need to keep them watered and toadd feed when the original supply runs short,but these tasks aren’t great compared to whatyou can grow. They are ideal for growingstrawberries, tomatoes, peas, beans, salad andherbs and they can create an instant garden inany back garden. The main problems, that I cansee, are that they really can’t be called attractive

WEEKEND PROJECT

growing bagsThis month keen gardener andDIY enthusiast, Joyce Russell,makes a handsome frame tohold and hide unsightlygrowing bags

and they are difficult to move withoutdisturbing the contents once they are planted.There’s also the issue of how to support tallgrowing crops if the growing bag sits on a solidsurface (canes can be pushed into the ground ifthe bag sits on loose earth).

An attractive container is the answer to theseproblems, but containers designed for growingbags aren’t easy to find or cheap to buy. Thesimplest thing is to make one yourself: or whynot make a few to create an attractive growingbag garden?

TIMBER:■ Frame sides.. 2 @ 924mm x 100mm x 22mm■ Frame ends.. 2 @ 320mm x 145mm x 22mm■ Support rails.. 2 @ 924mm x 33mm x 33mm■ Slats............. 13 @ 318mm x 43mm x 16mm■ Legs............... 4 @ 530mm x 33mm x 33mm

NOTE: You can just make the top frameand rest this on the ground, or on bricks,if you prefer not to make the legs. Ofcourse if you can find recycled timber forall or part of this project then so muchthe better.

MATERIALS AND TOOLS FOR A 90CM X 30CM GROWING BAG

Pictures: Ben Russell

SCREWS:■ 22 @ 5mm x 60mm, 4 @ 5mm x 80mm,8 @ 4mm x 50mm, 24 @ 3.5mm x 16mm■ Galvanised oval nails: 26 @ 50mm■ 24 brackets (sold for holding water pipe)to support canes■ A piece of porous groundcover fabric, or hessian, ifyou want to cover the growing bag

NOTE: Stainless steel screws are better for outdooruse and self-piloting screws, such as Spax, will pullthemselves into timber and so don’t need pilot holes.Clearance holes are still used with these screws.

TOOLS:■ Jigsaw, handsaw, drill withscrewdriver and countersink bit.■ Drill bits: 5mm for clearanceholes for 5mm screws, 3mm forpilot holes for 5mm screws,2.5mm for pilot holes for 4mmscrews and for nails, 2mm forpilot holes for 3.5mm screws,25mm bit for handle cutouts.■ Mallet, chisel, hammer,sandpaper and block, pencil, tapemeasure, square, bevel square.

MONEY

SAVING

IDEAS

Make a frame for your

SpringdelightsThis month we look at some delicious ways to use seasonalharvests of asparagus, rhubarb and spring greens.

After a long winter and chilly spring,what a delight it is to be harvestingthe first of the season’s fare.Asparagus, second only to rhubarb

in the early harvesting stakes, is a rare treat. It istestament to how highly regarded it is amongkitchen gardeners that they are prepared to waitthree years for their first harvest and theopportunity to savour the taste of tender spears.

Rhubarb is so easy to grow and anothergreat example of why perennial veg is so

popular; yes it appreciates a little TLC, buteven if neglected it will produce a small cropno matter what the weather throws at it.

Finally if you ever needed a reason forgrowing your own, the crunchy, fresh taste ofspring greens, properly cooked, after monthsof stored or imported crops is surely it.Whether shredded and lightly steamed or usedin more sophisticated ways (see p106-107) it isa delight to the tastebuds and a wondefulprecursor to summer brassicas.

SEASONAL RECIPES

4PAGES OFTASTY

RECIPES

YOUR VIEWS

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Ithink I would be a little below the average age for aplot holder. I have grown up with computers, mobilephones, internet access and satellite TV. I havegrown up in a time when everything gets quicker

and quicker and quicker. Today, it is all about ‘I want it, if Ican’t have it right now I must have it as quickly as possible’.

The other day while using my most frequently employedgardening tool – my wallet – I almost rejected a packet ofmallow seeds when I noticed germination could takebetween 21 and 30 days.

Imagine – a whole month. A whole month of waitingand waiting. But then I stopped and thought. I realisedthat it is probably the waiting and the patience that makesgardening as relaxing as it is. It is a bit like reading a reallygood book – slowly, but surely, you reach the climax of thetale. Exciting stuff.

Exciting like seeing the first peas swell in that pod.Exciting like biting into that first tomato or strawberrystraight off the plant.

Even gardening has met with this ‘I want everythingquickly’ approach. There are numerous packets of seedsnow that boast ‘ready in just six weeks’. And of coursethere were the gardening makeover programmes.

This led me back to my own plot. I’ve had it for threegrowing seasons now. When I got my allotment following afive-year wait – it was overrun with all kind of weeds.As much as I was tempted, I have never used any kind ofweedkiller on it. The first year was difficult. Everywhere,literally everywhere, couch grass, creeping buttercupsand docks just kept reappearing. I persevered. Peoplesuggested that I should use the option of weedkiller. I wastempted. I even read up on how safe they can be thesedays, but in the end I decided to persevere with handweeding. The following season I noticed a big reduction inthe docks, but still plenty of couch grass. By the thirdseason I was actually amazed at how this constant tendingand weeding had left hardly any perennial nasties. It isnow a source of pride to me that I did not take the quick,easy option!

It is even more amazing still, that the slow patientskill that is gardening always throws up sudden surprisesof its own – the first daffodil, unashamedly showy, thespear of rhubarb bursting from the soil, or those daysin late spring when the plants seem to almost growbefore your eyes! Gardening – slow, patient andsuddenly surprising! ■

Richard Mulcahy of Co Antrim, Northern Ireland has discovered that gardeningteaches appreciation of the little things in our ‘must have it now’ culture.

LAST WORD