MICHAEL AND MYFANWY ELLARD FROM NORFOLK
Michael tends an allotment with his wife Myfanwy and also enjoys sharing his growing experiences writing for his local garden club. We chat to him here.
How long have you been growing veg?
I was influenced from my schooldays and helped in the garden in Cornwall and had my first allotment at the age of 16, which my parents got for me.
What do you find most challenging about growing your own veg?
The weather and going away, especially soft fruit time, and we need to mulch and water plants for when we're away. We stand pots in trays, so they have a reservoir of water to tide them over.
Have you one piece of advice you could pass on to other readers?
Talk to your fellow plotters on the allotment as they might give you a better solution in what they are doing.
Can you name some of your favourite crops to grow?
Strawberries are our favourite. And we've started growing Daubenton's kale. I took some cuttings last year as they don't make seed, and these are a great standby for fresh greens all the year round and fairly pest-resistant. We even have a variegated variety now but it is not so vigorous.
We grow autumn raspberries as these don't require protection from birds and the season lasts a long time. We can eat them all the time for breakfast on our cereals and dinner as a dessert. We even started making food bars with them in. It's nice to decide what you want and collect it from the allotment. Of course, we can't grow everything, so we tend to eat seasonally and there is always something to harvest. We grow more in pots now and extend the season with a polytunnel and have started growing samphire for fish dinners.
Do you grow flowers on the plot?
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der June 2024-Ausgabe von Kitchen Garden.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der June 2024-Ausgabe von Kitchen Garden.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
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A FOOD FOR ALL SEASONS
Another Christmas has passed in a whirl of twinkling lights, naff jumpers and Brussels sprouts. No doubt we smug kitchen gardeners were patting ourselves on the back after another year of home-grown delights on the dinner table. Frost-sweetened parsnips dripping with butter, tender carrots and potatoes grown and roasted by our good selves. Not to mention the swede, turnips, cabbages and other winter treats. If you're reading this while Christmas memories are fresh, you might feel your waistline expanding just thinking about it. For some, it might even be too soon to talk about food full stop!
DIGGING THE DIRT THINGS THAT GO CLUNK IN THE LIGHT
John Holloway finds the mechanical and electrical tools on his allotment site somewhat 'challenging', shall we say. But has he found the perfect solution?
THE BIG (OR LITTLE) PARSNIP GROW-ALONG
Back in December we included a free packet of parsnip seeds with every issue and invited readers to join us in growing the longest root. Here are some top tips to get you started
DIGGING FOR DEVON!
Rhiannon Alcock thought gardening was definitely not for her. So who could have foreseen that one day she would go on to found a thriving community project growing food for food banks?
WINTER WONDERFUL
This month Anna Cairns Pettigrew has prepped a range of delicious and nutritious dishes for us all to try, with mustards, Savoy cabbage and 'Cavolo Nero' kale on the menu
MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR COMPOST
Dr Anton Rosenfeld from Garden Organic shares some great ideas for ways to use your composted waste effectively
A wildlife pond is born
Jane Kelly finally got round to making her own pond in the hope that it would attract a variety of wildlife. And it did!
UNDER COVER
HARVEST WINTER SALADS - Winter salads, whether they have been growing outside, on a windowsill or under cover in the garden, will be starting to grow faster as the day length increases. Regular picking of the outer leaves helps to keep the plants healthy and producing for much longer.
HERB OF THE MONTH: SAGE ADVICE
Sage has been an important culinary and medicinal herb for centuries but it also comes in a range of leaf colours that makes it a real treat for the eyes (and nose) in borders and pots
CREATING A POTAGER GARDEN
Creating vegetable beds in patterns with dividing pathways can be an attractive and practical way to grow. Emma Rawlings offers some tips on making a potager
