The season of mists and mellow fruitfulness is fast approaching, which is reflected in the cover of the October issue of Kitchen Garden.
Kitchen Garden editor Steve Ott, pictured below, writes: “The days are shortening and it’s time to gather in those harvests. It has been a great year for fruit for many of us and with that in mind our resident expert David Patch has some top tips for harvesting and storing your fruit crops. Organic gardener Ben Vanheems looks to the future as he explains how to go about planning and planting your own orchard – no matter how small your garden.
“Gardening author and no-dig expert Stephanie Hafferty celebrates autumn by harvesting sweetcorn and squashes and planting garlic, broad beans and peas. Home gardener Rob Smith is also busy, this time planting shallots for an early crop next year.
“We aren’t all blessed with the perfect spot to grow our crops so if you garden on a windy, exposed site we have some simple solutions to help you grow super fruit and veg, while starting on page 30 we extol the virtues of an often neglected, but important technique – mulching. We show you how it can help you to get the best from your soil and your crops as well as saving you lots of hard work.
“We have two super features from top online gardeners and KG contributors which prove perfectly just how growing your own can benefit more than just your appetite. Annabelle Padwick (from blog Life at No.27) visits some beautiful therapy gardens run by many dedicated folk with the sole purpose of improving the well-being of their clients, while Nigel Jewkes (aka YouTuber Muddybootz), visits allotment troubleshooter Dave Taylor, a man on a mission to bring neglected or even derelict allotment plots back into service and doing what they do best – building, as well as feeding, local communities.”
The latest issue also contains more delicious recipes from the imaginative kitchen of resident KG chef Anna Cairns Pettigrew, including this delicious saag aloo, which you can make with your own home-grown potatoes, spinach, chard or kale. Great to tuck into on a chilly evening!
