October 2018
October 2018   


Kitchen Garden - October 2018

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CONTENTS

YOU & YOUR PLOT

6 ON THE VEG PATCH
Gardening expert Martin Fish this month is
lifting carrots and potatoes, netting brassicas
and training cordon apples

10 IN THE GREENHOUSE
In this issue gardening expert Joyce Russell
is harvesting cucumbers, peppers and salads,
plus sowing parsley

12 WHAT’S NEW?
The latest news, comment and advice from the
world of kitchen gardening

14 YOUR LETTERS AND TIPS
Learn what other KG readers have been up to
and pick up some great first-hand advice

20 KG PROBLEM SOLVER
This month our experts turn their attention
to beetroot, blackberries, broad beans and onions

66 NEXT MONTH
Some of the highlights to be found in your
November issue

85 DIARY DATES
See what’s on in your neck of the woods and
make a note to book yourself on to a course
or visit a great event

98 LAST WORD
Mark Bartram of LawnmowersDirect.co.uk
explores developments in gardening robotics

GET GROWING

16 ON THE PLOT WITH THE THREE MUDKETEERS
This month the intrepid trio are harvesting
container-grown spuds and chillies and
preserving tomatoes

17 GNOME GROWN: GROW WITH DAUCUS
Gardening tips and projects for children

18 FLOWERS FOR YOUR PATCH
Tony Flanagan offers his growing guide to
helichrysum, or everlasting flowers

22 GROWING ONLINE
Our pick of gardening social media
and websites

26 GRAPES MADE EASY ✪
Fruit specialist David Patch takes the
mystery out of viticulture with his
no-nonsense advice

31 THE GIFT OF GARLIC ✪
Allotmenteer Rob Smith explores the
various kinds of garlic and how to grow
bumper crops

36 MAKE ROOM FOR MUSHROOMS
Organic gardener Wendy Pillar loves fresh
mushrooms and shares her simple recipe for
growing her own

40 BLUE FINGER FOOD!
The strange blue finger-like fruits of
decaisnea are just the thing for Halloween,
says exotic crop expert, Sally Cunningham

42 MEET THE GOLDEN BAGGERS ✪
Gardening writer Steve Neal travels to the
Capital to meet some determined gardeners
growing veg in a concrete jungle

48 MAKE YOUR GARDEN WASTE BIN REDUNDANT ✪
Be selfish with your garden waste, says deputy editor Emma Rawlings.
It’s much (or mulch!) too good to throw away!

52 PASSIONATE PLOTTER
We launch our Passionate Plotter competition
2018. Send in your photos to win some great
prizes for your veg garden

57 CHICKEN-ASSISTED COMPOSTING ✪
Learn how just a few hens can transform your okay
compost into great compost – and provide eggs, too!

61 DRIED & TASTED ✪
KG regular Benedict Vanheems extols the virtues
of food drying as a way to preserve your produce

68 MAKE THE MOST OF SUMMER PLENTY ✪
Our resident chef Anna Pettigrew cooks up
some super ways to beat summer gluts

74 MULBERRY MAGIC ✪
KG editor Steve Ott has some top tips on
growing this lesser-known fruit

82 MAKE A SALAD TABLE ✪
Joyce Russell has a plan for a simple salad-
growing table made from recycled pallets

WHAT TO BUY

76 INSTANT SAVERS
This month make some great savings on
young plants, crop protection, a vinegar-maker

78 GARDEN STORE
More great new products and services to help
to boost your harvests

80 GREAT READER OFFERS ✪
Claim your free* autumn planting onion,
shallot and garlic bulb collection worth £10.85
(*Just pay p&p) plus many more great savings
and mulch

86 GREAT GIVEAWAYS WORTH OVER £1124 ✪
This month you could win Family Christmas
Trail tickets and power tools from Mountfield

89 TRIED AND TESTED –
This month the KG team puts composting
accessories to the test