Time to stay positive and turn to your garden or allotment for a healthy outlook! KG will be here with news, chat and tips to cheer you.
This is a super month in the fruit and veg garden (and not just because my birthday falls in May), writes KG editor Steve Ott. For most of us spring has well and truly sprung and there are vibrant green shoots all around. The garden always seems to be bursting with pent-up energy; drop a seed into the soil and you feel it’s bound to grow!
When I think of spring I think of the wonderful fresh salads that improving conditions allow us to grow with relative ease now and in this issue KG regular Ben Vanheems brings you bags of advice to help you grow your own plentiful supplies. This is also a time when our thoughts turn to tender crops and although it may still be a little early for some, gardeners in the south might be thinking about sowing runner beans. Allotment enthusiast Rob Smith offers his top tips for a bumper harvest and also reveals his favourite varieties.
Cucumbers are another summer favourite and one I love to grow. This year has been designated Year of the Cucumber by the Fleuroselect Home Garden Association and in the May issue I reveal how I like to grow my greenhouse crop. We also have some great growing guides on other diverse and delicious crops, including Florence fennel, yams, herbs and mulberries and if you turn to page 86, KG staff writer Tony Flanagan gives you his verdict on new and distinctive cherry tomato, ‘Shimmer F1’.
What else is new on the KG plot for the May issue?
Do a runner! Veg expert Rob Smith turns his attention skywards and offers his advice for growing the very best runner beans. Here’s Rob’s pet border terrier, Winston, admiring last year’s amazing crop!
As we can’t go out and about to see friends and family at this time, and many people are unable to go to work or are having to work from home, it’s a great opportunity to take stock of your plot. The garden is a safe and pleasant place to be, and the summery sunshine is great for lifting the mood. If you don’t have a very big garden, maybe it’s time to get creative! Have you any small spaces that could be turned into a growing area? Your KG magazines have been packed with free seeds, and even sowing some salad leaves will offer something to look forward to.
But if you can’t get out to buy your copy in the supermarket or newsagent, don’t forget that you can always subscribe… it’s easy, you will save money AND you will get your copy before it appears in the shops… delivered to your door!
Stay safe and well!
