It's s surprising how quickly a new no-dig garden can start to look productive. Even though I only started the beds I here at the beginning of April, they are filling up with lovely veg, including radish and parsnips, which are starting to sprout. To make the most of the space I'm interplanting as much as I can, such as lettuces between brassicas and radish between parsnips.
In early May, summer crops – - including squash, beans, tomatoes and courgettes, started in the greenhouse – are almost ready to plant outside in the middle of the month. I keep fleece on standby as protection against any cold nights. It is cooler here on my Welsh hillside than it was in my Somerset garden and having only been here for a few weeks I am not sure what to expect, weather-wise!
LOCATION, LOCATION
There is much to learn and experience in a new garden, especially when the location is so very different. Although Bruton where I lived before is in rural Somerset, it is a small market town, and my garden and allotment were mostly surrounded by housing estates. Here in Wales my neighbours and I are completely surrounded by fields on a hillside with far-reaching views over miles to distant mountains. Fortunately, there are plenty of established trees and hedgerows to break some of the wind as it is rather exposed.
This story is from the May 2022 edition of Kitchen Garden.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the May 2022 edition of Kitchen Garden.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
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
FLAVOURSOME FRUIT GROWING IN CONTAINERS
Want to grow fruit in pots on your patio or in your backyard? Top tips and advice this month from fruit expert David Patch
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...
THE CREATURE FEATURE Beauty and the thief
We all know how valuable bees are on the plot - without their pollinating power, our harvests would be pretty pathetic. This month, Jack Edmonds takes a look at some common April plot visitors, the mining bees, and the parasitic nomad bees out to spoil their fun...
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
HARD TO BEET
Tony Flanagan offers a whistle-stop guide to growing this much-loved root and picks out some varieties you might like to try
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
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
Kitchen +Garden TOP PICKS
It's time to get growing and you'll need the very best products for sure-fire success this spring. Check out this selection of must-have products from some of our trusted partners, which should be on your shopping list this month
MIND THE GAP
Garden Organic's Anton Rosenfeld shows you how to plug the 'hungry gap' in spring and have ready supplies of home-grown food all year round