Author: Steve Ott

Steve Ott is editor of Kitchen Garden magazine and started his career as a professional grower, producing everything from cut flowers to vegetables. He has been growing fruit and veg all his life and spends most of his spare time in his garden in the East Midlands. He loves to experiment with crops and varieties he has never grown before and when he isn’t gardening is to be found out in the countryside bird watching and walking his dog Ted.
Bedworth Seed Swap takes place on February 13 2021

VISIT THE FIRST BEDWORTH SEED SWAP

Diary Dates
The first Bedworth Seed Swap will take place between 11.00am-2.00pm, on Saturday 13th February 2021, at St Giles Church, Ash Green, Near Coventry. The event will be a dedicated opportunity for local growers and gardening enthusiasts to come together and exchange their unwanted seeds for something more exciting. The organisers hope to promote the saving of home-produced, open-pollinated seed, and…
Continue reading
The winning lawn by Andrew Wain of Euridge Manor

Fourth-time lucky Allett Creative Lawn Stripes winner

News
The quintessentially British striped lawn is idealised across the world and in celebration of this Allett Mowers opened up their annual Allett Creative Lawn Stripes competition internationally. This year’s stiff competition attracted a truly global set of entries in what has been a tough year for everyone going through the coronavirus pandemic. It has meant, however, homeowners around the world…
Continue reading
A mixed organic allotment also provides a home for wildlife

Start the journey to organic gardening in five easy steps

News
Gardening without harming the environment is a lot easier than you may think says Garden Organic, one of Britain’s leading organic gardening charities Feeding your soil with homemade organic compost, ditching the use of toxic chemicals such as slug pellets, and attracting more wildlife into your garden are the first easy steps.  An informative guide produced by national charity, Garden…
Continue reading
Mulberries are harvested at Hardwick Hall

A crop fit for a queen

News
 National Trust staff at one of the greatest surviving Elizabethan houses, Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire, have begun harvesting what they hope will be a ‘bumper’ crop of black mulberries using traditional harvesting methods. Garden staff believe this year’s fine spring helped create ideal conditions for the 10 trees on the Hall’s Mulberry Walk, which are fruiting about a week early…
Continue reading
The Black Farmer, Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones MBE calls for more allotments to be amde available by the UK's big landowners

The Black Farmer Calls For Land Owners To Make More Allotment Space Available

Features, News
A 45% spike in the interest in obtaining information about urban allotments during the coronavirus outbreak accentuates 6-18 month waiting lists, according to the National Allotment Society (NAS). There are an estimated 330,000 allotment plots today in Britain, the vast majority of which are the responsibility of local councils. The National Trust has also provided many sites. NAS recommends that…
Continue reading