Welcome... May 2012

Of course just as the plants we sow put in an appearance, so do those we may not be so keen on. A sharp hoe is all you need to keep on top of the weeds while they are small, and with that in mind we have tested 12 tools to find out which are the most efficient weapons in the war on weeds. However, there are always several ways of looking at things and permaculture guru Aranya might well see the same weeds as a soil-covering mulch and green manure. You can read his take on weed control on page 61 as well as Joyce Russell’s advice to help you get the best from weed-suppressing mulches on page 50.

Back to the things we all want to grow – delicious crops – and as usual we have bags of growing advice from Britain’s best gardeners for you in this issue. Starting on page 57 Toby Buckland offers his tips for growing great peppers and bravely taste tests some of the hottest (as a result we think the Scoville scale for measuring the heat of chilli fruits could soon be replaced by the Buckland scale. This uses the degree of pain on Toby’s face as a much more visual and immediate guide).

Joe Maiden sings the praises of kale on page 42 as he brings you the results of his trial of some of the most reliable varieties from his Yorkshire plot; and starting on page 92, Andrew Tokely shows you how to grow your best ever runner beans with more than a little help from son Louie.

Many gardeners have dabbled with peat-free composts for raising seeds and pot-grown veg. It’s fair to say that opinions have been divided on the results although products have been slowly improving. In this issue John Walker puts a range of peat replacements through their paces and brings you the results of his own long-term tests. He comes up with some surprising results so make sure you read his advice before you buy your next bag.

Finally we do hope you enjoy your copy of Green Times, a FREE supplement with KG this month. Aimed at those wishing to grow their crops in a more sustainable way, it is packed with great advice, news and views from some of Britain’s best organic gardeners. Together with your bumper 116-page issue of KG and free packet of seeds, we hope you’ll agree that Kitchen Garden magazine offers the best value around for dedicated gardeners.

Happy plotting,

Steve