Tips and Advice Archives Page 7 of 9 - Kitchen Garden Magazine

Watch out for worms!

2nd June 2016 Steve Ott Tips and Advice

Gardeners are being asked to sign up to Earthworm Watch Gardeners are being asked to sign up to Earthworm Watch, a citizen science survey organised by Earthwatch, the Natural History Museum and the Earthworm Society of Britain. It’s well known that earthworms increase soil fertility and carbon storage by mixing in dead plant material. However, data about earthworms is severely…

Grow with KG

28th April 2016 Steve Ott News, Tips and Advice

The perfect pocket-sized guide to your garden, Grow with KG is the perfect accompaniment for any Kitchen Garden reader – out now! We’ve made it easier than ever to have all the information you need this season at your (green) fingertips! Packed with advice for growing your favourite fruit and veg, as well as some more obscure and challenging varieties,…

Pollinating indoor strawberries

25th April 2016 Tony Flanagan Blog, Tips and Advice

If you’ve been growing strawberries under cover, don’t forget you can help with their pollination It’s April and the strawberries in my polytunnel are starting to flower, which is great! However, although strawberries are self-fertile (which means they are self-pollinating) they may need a little help if you’re growing them under cover. Outside strawberry flowers will have the wind and…

VIDEO: Sowing Sweetcorn in Rootrainers

16th April 2016 Steve Ott Tips and Advice, Video

Soil temperature might still be too cold for sowing outside, so why not use rootrainers and germinate them in a greenhouse in mid-April? Thank you to Crowders.co.uk for supplying us with these great Haxnicks Rootrainers for filming! You can purchase their Deep Rootrainers and Rapid Rootrainers for just £7.99 via their website now. …

VIDEO: Sowing Courgettes

16th April 2016 Steve Ott Tips and Advice, Video

Courgettes are a great crop for beginners: easy to grow, heavy cropping and great in pots. Watch to find out how to get started……

Sowing Carrots

15th April 2016 Tony Flanagan Blog, Tips and Advice

Here are a few tips you might find useful for sowing carrots The main sowing period is March through to June, though I have sown in July too with good results Don’t sow in soil that has been freshly manured or your carrots will fork If sowing in early spring, warm the ground up a little by covering it with…

Carolina Reaper’: too hot to handle?

15th April 2016 Tony Flanagan Blog, Tips and Advice

So why grow the world’s hottest chilli? Well, a bit like climbing Mount Everest, ‘cos it’s there! Well here’s a chilli that needs some careful handling…literally. The ‘Carolina Reaper’ is the hottest chilli in the world. Chillies are one of my favourite plants so I thought – more out of curiosity than anything else – I’d give this one a…

The Millipede: Friend or Foe?

15th April 2016 Tony Flanagan Blog, Tips and Advice

Here’s a little creature you’re bound to come across as you work the soil, so what should you do when you find one? You will often find these little beauties in the soil. They are thinnish (compared to grubs), brown, segmented and when you pick them up they will curl themselves up. Oh yes, and they have lots of pairs…

What’s in a hoe?

13th April 2016 Tony Flanagan Blog, Tips and Advice

In addition to Dutch hoes, there are plenty of other types on the market but which one is best for you? SpeedhoePersonally, I think it’s hard to beat a Dutch hoe for weeding, especially between rows. A lot depends on what you’re growing, the space you have and whether on the level or in a raised bed. In our April…

Recycle your compost bags

13th April 2016 Tony Flanagan Tips and Advice

Don’t throw your compost bags away, you can use them for container growing, especially early potatoes…. Compost bags are ideal as containers for growing early potatoes. So here’s how to do it: Roll the sides of each bag down half way. Add multi-purpose compost to a depth of 15cm (6inches) Plant one or two seed potatoes (first or second earlies)…

Handy Hacks for your Garden

12th April 2016 Steve Ott Tips and Advice, Video

We’ve teamed up with the friendly folk at Crowders.co.uk to bring you regular garden hack videos! Turn your average milk bottle into a watering can… Get recycling – sow sweetcorn in toilet roll tubes! Re-purpose old bean canes and pegs to help mark out your plot! View all our videos on our YouTube channel! …

Why chives?

12th April 2016 Tony Flanagan Blog, Tips and Advice

Chives are not only great in the kitchen but they’re a truly beautiful herb when left to flower I do get impatient waiting for spring onions to mature so I tend to use chives in salads instead. They’re easy to cultivate and, as a perennial herb, they’re there for cutting year on year. If you have a herb patch, the…