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.
National Trust puts cider apples at its core

National Trust puts cider apples at its core

News
An important collection of cider apples, with almost 300 varieties, has been given to the National Trust to help secure its future… Slack-ma-Girdle, Netherton Late Blower and Billy Down Pippin are just three of the apple varieties in the ‘National cider apple’ collection established over the course of more than 25 years by collector and donor Henry May. A process…
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mudandgluts - first post of 2016

mudandgluts – first post of 2016

Blog
So here we go again, another shiny new year! To mark the occasion my propagator is back on the kitchen windowsill from its short holiday under the bed, stuffed with onions, cerinthe and a third of my sweet peas. Unfortunately my Long Red Florence shallot seeds are lost in the wilderness that is my flat. Once it’s been de-Christmassed I…
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Leek, Broccoli & Blue Cheese Quiche

Leek, Broccoli & Blue Cheese Quiche

Recipes
Although they’re a winter crop, leeks have a delicacy of flavour that suggests spring, especially when paired with purple sprouting… Serves 4 90g (3¼oz) plain flour 80g (3oz) butter 125g (4½oz) Shropshire Blue or similar cheese, finely diced 150g (5½oz) leeks, trimmed and sliced 50g (1¾oz) purple sprouting broccoli (prepared weight), trimmed and separated into small florets 1 clove garlic,…
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Gardening for the senses at Naomi House

Gardening for the senses at Naomi House

News
Following a major refurbishment, the children and their families at Naomi House hospice in Hampshire now have a new garden Numerous studies show that having access to outdoor spaces, gardens and plants provide numerous health benefits, not least their ability to create a sense of tranquility and well-being – two aspects of life that many of the children at Naomi…
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From the forum… Pale carrots

Blog
The Kitchen Garden Forum is a fun, thriving community of people like you. Each week we highlight a thread for further discussion. Forum user Monika asks:  I know there are some very pale varieties of carrots but some of our carrots this year (Amsterdam 3 and Autumn King 2) are really pale and look ‘sickly’ though they are a decent size…
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The top 5 tastiest flowers (Yes! You can eat them!)

Advertising Features, Recipes, Reviews, Tips and Advice
Flowers were first recorded as being used in food in 140 BC, many different cultures since incorporated them into everyday foods. 1. Calendula Calendula flower petals make a tasty addition to summer salads and stir-fries. Sow: March-May thinly direct into finely raked, moist, warm, weed free soil where the plants are to flower 13mm (½”) deep. As the seedlings develop,…
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Succeed with Strawberries

Succeed with Strawberries

Tips and Advice
Many of you will have sown the bulk of your favourite crops by early June and I bet you’ll have wished for that little bit more space. Not one to waste a spare inch of growing space, veteran veg-grower #JoeMaiden shares his top tips on growing herbs in large pots; while #BenVanheems encourages us to look to the skies in…
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Quick growing tips

Quick growing tips

Tips and Advice
Joyce Russell shares some of her top growing tips for May… It’s worth making a second sowing of anything that failed from an earlier one. On the other hand, it will save valuable growing time if you can find young plants to buy in instead. Look for strong, healthy growth and try not to import any problems. Sow in situ…
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Chelsea Fringe at Nine Elms on the South Bank

Chelsea Fringe at Nine Elms on the South Bank

News
Nine Elms on the South Bank is drawing together a programme of local activities as part of #Chelsea Fringe. The international garden festival that’s now in its fourth year and celebrates everything from guerrilla gardeners to community projects and large-scale installations. The programme at Nine Elms draws inspiration from the area’s horticultural and industrial heritage, celebrates the area’s flourishing green…
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