DIGGING THE DIRT PARSNIP WARS

All's fair in love and war, as John Holloway recounts the friendly rivalry he shares with fellow allotmenteer Joe

Paying it forward

We meet Ross Pearson, a gardening writer and horticultural lecturer from Northumberland, who was inspired and helped by his grandfather and now passes on his experience to the next generation of gardeners

ASPARAGUS TIPS

Asparagus can be expensive to buy in the shops, but given a little space and time, it’s easy to grow this gourmet treat in your own back garden. Here’s how...

HUW'S HEROES!

This month Huw Richards explains a method of organising your choice of crop varieties - with reliable stalwarts on the one side and those offering something more demanding on the other

FLOWERS TO feast on!

In this extract taken from A Floral Feast: A Guide to Growing and Cooking with Edible Flowers, Foliage, Herbs and Seeds, Carolyn Dunster focuses on three beautiful and popular annuals

GARDENING WITH MINIMAL DISTURBANCE

Gardening is about balance, says Huw Richards. This month he explains the underlying principles that inform his approach to gardening

THE MAGIC

Not one to do things by halves, Instagrammer Helen Hutchings Cox has fully embraced the adventure of growing her own crops

GO EARLY WITH PEAS

Home-grown peas are a taste sensation and they are so easy to grow. Early varieties can be sown from the middle of the month. Here are some of our favourites

CASH CROPS

Food prices remain inflated, with prices of staples - including fruits and vegetables rocketing over the past few years. So what's to be done? The solution, of course, lies in our own muddy hands, as Benedict Vanheems explains

DAHLIAS

From being totally unenamoured with dahlias for many years, Jane Kelly had a road to Damascus moment and now she just adores them...or is it that she's just getting older?

OUR PLOTTER OF THE MONTH

Our annual competition to find 12 readers and their plots to appear in Kitchen Garden magazine had a great response. Meet another of this year's creative and talented winners

TOMATOES

From garden classics to modern marvels, Rob Smith surveys the wonderful world of one of summer's most popular crops

POLYECO

THE ULTIMATE GROWING SPACE

One in a million

For many species, including wasps, lacewings and small birds, aphids are the bread and butter of survival; nutritious, defenceless and plentiful. Jack Edmonds takes a closer look at their amazing lifecycle

Kitchen garden!

This month Martin Fish begins a new series documenting the development of a kitchen garden at Ivy Cottage in Lincolnshire, his and Jill's new home. Plus another tasty recipe from Jill

A tuber full of potential!

Garden Organic's Anton Rosenfeld shares his advice for growing this unusual root vegetable, which can be eaten like a potato

PEAT

This month Becky Searle explains why peat and its preservation are so important and offers advice on peat-free composts

HERITAGE APPLES A growing legacy

Kirsty Williams visits the heritage fruit tree nursery of Tom Adams and finds a fascinating range of once-forgotten apple varieties now available for the home gardener

OUR PLOTTER OF THE MONTH

Last year we launched a competition to find 12 readers and their plots that would appear in Kitchen Garden magazine this year. Meet another of our creative and talented winners

CAULIFLOWERS UNCOVERED

More expert advice from Martin Fish on one of the more difficult veg to grow, while Jill serves up a delicious cauliflower and mustard soup

GROWN TO A FINE ART

Fibre artist Emma Davies tells Sally Clifford how growing her own inspires her creations

CARROT GOLD

Rooted in tradition, bursting with flavour and with so many varieties to choose from, carrots are a must-grow veg in Rob Smith's garden

FLAVOURSOME FRUIT GOOSEBERRIES

Gooseberries may have fallen out of favour but certainly not out of flavour, as fruit expert David Patch explains

DIGGING THE DIRT POO BARE

There's something quite malodorous in the air down on John Holloway's allotment site... but maybe that's a good thing

Ladybird, ladybird...

If there's something green, sucking leaves and wood, who you gonna call? Well aside from lacewing larvae, parasitic wasps, rove beetles and predatory midges, you might want to call a ladybird. And ask it to bring some friends, says nature watcher

THE VEG THAT KEEPS ON VEGGING

This month Becky Searle sings the praises of perennial vegetables and encourages you to find a space for them on your plot

LIVING THE DREAM!

A summer temp job at a garden centre was the starting point for Steph Young's journey to veg growing enthusiast and avid Instagrammer

HANDLE WITH CARE

Garden Organic's Anton Rosenfeld shares his secrets for success with transplanting seedlings

LET'S GET SORTED!

This month Jane Kelly considers the range of resources you can call on when planning your garden and recording what you do in it

December plants

Åsa Gregers-Warg rounds off her year of plants with a winter-flowering clematis, exotic-looking succulent and a burst of sunshine from a lemon-coloured marguerite