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

Planning your allotment year

25th November 2015 Steve Ott Blog, Tips and Advice

December and January is a good time to plan your vegetable growing or allotmenteering for the season ahead… There is plenty to think about including crop rotation, which crops you would like to grow, preparation of the soil, and ordering your seeds early. Crop rotation Crop rotation is a vital part of the planning process as you need to move…

The top 5 tastiest flowers (Yes! You can eat them!)

16th November 2015 Steve Ott 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,…

Succeed with Strawberries

20th May 2015 Steve Ott 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…

Quick growing tips

20th May 2015 Steve Ott 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…

Chives: Star of the Herb Garden

15th May 2015 Tony Flanagan Tips and Advice

We created a small herb garden last year. The first year it looked a bit sad but this year, with spring rain and warmth, it’s looking lush! But the star of the patch has got to be these chives. The flowers are so beautiful and what’s more, edible. In fact, last night we chopped them up and added them to…

Top tips for better beetroot!

22nd April 2015 Steve Ott Tips and Advice

Want better beetroot in 2016? Read on for our top tips… Sow small numbers regularly to avoid gluts. Roots take roughly 90 days to mature from sowing. Choose a sunny, sheltered site for your crop. In a crop rotation, beetroot are usually grouped with other roots such as carrots and also onions. If using older varieties you will find that…

Veg plot in a bag

21st April 2015 Emma Rawlings Tips and Advice

There is one product that has opened up the world of cultivating veg like no other and that’s the growing bag. One of the best inventions ever for gardeners has to be the growing bag and whatever size of plot you have the growing bag has a place. They are most often used in greenhouses to grow tomatoes and cucumbers,…

Jobs for the month: March 2015

27th February 2015 Steve Ott Tips and Advice

Sue Stickland brings you the essential tasks for the month in the polytunnel and greenhouse and offers her top tips for early sowings and harvests. Poor germination? If seedlings emerge in patches – or not at all – the temptation is to blame the seed, but in reality poor conditions or pests are equally likely to be culprits. Slugs can…

Strawberries – Sweet Success

27th February 2015 Steve Ott Tips and Advice

With spring around the corner there’s no better time to make plans for a haul of sweet and succulent #strawberries. #BenedictVanheems recommends his favourite varieties and creates a strawberry bed It’s almost the start of another promising growing season. If there’s one way to bring on the excitement of summer plenty it’s to make preparations for that best-loved of home-grown…