The Kitchen Gardener: Grow Your Own Fruit and Veg

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Although every garden is different, what is similar is that a garden keeps us closely connected with the changing seasons and offers us continuous sources of inspiration, enjoyment, and flavour no matter what month. The kitchen garden affords me all the benefits of gardening without the back-breaking work or hassle. However a little confusing at first if one is used to reading seed packets where the information is contained in one or two lines and not three. A kitchen garden is really just a portion of your outdoor space that's set aside for the specific purpose of growing food for your kitchen.

The popularity of growing food comes and goes in waves, often influenced by global or political pressures. Construct the beds and improve your soil by sprinkling over some peat-free compost, well-rotted farmyard manure or mushroom compost. In Botany of the Kitchen Garden, Kew expert Hélèna Dove expertly combines horticulture and science in this essential reference on food crops: which part of the plant are we harvesting, how are plants adapted and how does this effect the grower? Consider growing some companion plants as a more ornamental element, edging beds with marigolds and growing sweet peas up obelisks and over arches. Taking us beyond the cultivation of the carrot and cabbage, Hélèna offers a wealth of knowledge on growing a broad range of produce, many of which would have once been considered unusual.The Kitchen Garden at Clumber Park, Nottinghamshire Beside the house that was originally home to the Dukes of Newcastle, the Kitchen Garden at Clumber Park has the longest glasshouse in our care. There’s a wealth of information for organic food producers not to mention stories and features from a tight-knit community of allotment specialists. Why you may want to grow some plants in pots on your patio if you have an allotment which is two miles down the road. They are also a rich source of fibre, iron and calcium, making this tasty vegetable part of a healthy, balanced diet. You can apply the exact principles to cooking; you have the freedom to apply creativity and personality to whatever you make, and as time progresses, your cooking style will evolve.

It has lifted the veil from the eyes of the population as to where our food comes from, and how reliant we are on the seemingly unfaltering chain of international trade. A pristine example of an old-fashioned kitchen garden, this wonderful Edwardian walled garden at West Dean College has immaculate rows of fruit, vegetables and flowers. It’s worth noting that sweet potatoes thrive in warm, humid conditions, and they can either be grown inside, such as in a greenhouse, or outside in a sunny yet sheltered position. Victor and John Campbell, our gardener, work months in advance to give the chefs the best produce grown for you in our restaurants.Covering eight acres, the gardens showcase sustainable techniques and organic principles, and feature many varieties that would have been grown here in the 19th century. The gardeners use the Three Sisters method – an ancient sustainable gardening technique of companion planting. Potatoes should be given their own bed as they need plenty of space, but salad crops and radishes can be grown wherever there’s room. Brussels sprouts are brimming with nutrients, including vitamin A to boost your body’s natural defences against infection, and sulforaphane for reducing inflammation.

To plant the slips, place each one into a small pot of multi-purpose compost, making sure that the entire stem is covered by the soil.

When water is allowed to slowly soak into the topsoil, it travels deep past the roots, drawing them to follow along, improving stability and anchorage of the plant. Even with proper implementation of these techniques, we are still at the mercy of Mother Nature and weather. In a nutshell, it offers down-to-earth advice from the finest minds in gardening to make sure you get the tastiest produce from your plot. I've actually installed kitchen gardens that were just 4' x 4' beds, so 16 square feet of growing space. We do all this while also providing a mixture of wild habitats such as ponds, log piles, flowering weeds, seed heads and uncut margins for beneficial creatures to feed, hunt, sleep, bask, breed and hibernate in.

This isn't heavy lifting, just a little pruning here, a little planting there, again and again throughout the growing season. This design is perfect for large spaces that are square or nearly so in shape and at least 15 feet wide. With expert advice on all aspects of growing, from preparing soil to harvesting, plus mouth-watering recipes, Kitchen Garden has everything you need to help your garden thrive.No chemicals are used, no extensive planning required, just three plants growing in harmony, as they have done dating back to when Native Americans discovered the method.