Cambo House and Estate lies on the east coast of Fife, seven miles south of St Andrews. It’s home to the Erskine family, but it’s the gardens, rather than the country pile, that attract the tourists.
Head gardener Katherine Taylor explains: “When Cambo Heritage Trust – a charity that aims to promote education and volunteering in horticulture, the natural environment, arts, culture and heritage – took over the management of the garden, it was decided to create a new Edible Garden in an unused area adjacent to the main walled garden. It’s a lovely sheltered site, surrounded on two sides by the Cambo Burn and on another by a south-facing sunny wall. We’re now very much an all-year-round visitor attraction. That means we’re constantly looking at how to make the garden look good in every season.”
Last year the Edible Garden produced cucumbers, three types of pea, kale and chard, five types of potato, eight types of tomatoes and nine types of squash – plus lettuce, rocket, mizuna, bok choi, radish, mustard, sweetcorn and more. There’s a polytunnel for salads, and the garden operates on no-dig principles.
Despite its beautiful situation, Cambo has gardening pros and cons. Katherine says: “We’re in a lovely sheltered spot here just a mile from the sea – and Cambo seems to have its own microclimate. We have very few frosts and lots of sunshine, and our soil is a lovely sandy loam, which has been cultivated for several hundred years.
“One of the main challenges is simply the fact that the garden is so big! The walled garden and Edible Garden are around 3.5 acres and we also look after another 2.5 acres of less formal woodland gardens.”
This story is from the April 2023 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 April 2023 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
EASY DOES IT!
As the growing season gathers pace there's one thing often in short supply: time! Ever feel like you're chasing your tail? Benedict Vanheems offers some tips to save valuable time and effort
A NEW Kitchen garden!
It's time for sowing and planting in the new garden and while Martin is busy with that, Jill is making a tasty asparagus soup
OUR PLOTTER OF THE MONTH
Kitchen Garden readers rose to the challenge when we asked for pictures of their plots to appear in the magazine this year. It's time to meet another of our talented competition winners
MANAGING WEEDS, NATURALLY
Weeds are never far away but you can keep them at bay without recourse to weedkillers
Meet the apple doctor
KG editor Steve Ott chats to Glyn Smith, head gardener for the National Trust's Erddig estate in Wrexham, about his career and love of the garden he has tended for 38 years
A CORNUCOPIA OF COURGETTES
It's time to sow a first batch of tender crops such as courgettes for picking through the summer months. KG editor Steve Ott has some tips for a super harvest
FLAVOURSOME FRUIT CURRANTS
you If I want to plant some soft fruit that is easy to grow and will give you plenty of flavour, how about trying currants?
TRY AMARANTH! The dual-purpose veg
Garden Organic's research manager Anton Rosenfeld extols the virtues of amaranth and how to grow it
A SPACE APART
Instagrammer James Martin shares his love of gardening and how much it has helped him and his family both mentally and physically under very difficult circumstances
HITTING THE SWEET SPOT
Welcome to the wonderful world of sweetcorn as Rob Smith takes a look at both old and newer varieties, with some growing advice too