Stay at home: Zucchini / Courgettes and Squash seeds to sow

Top left: Genovese, Rugosa Friuliana & Striato 

Starting your kitchen garden? Grow Zucchini & Squash

Custard White

If there was ever a vegetable plant made for the novice gardener, it has got to be the humble courgette (zucchini).  Easy to sow from seed and generally low maintenance they produce an abundance of fruit throughout the growing season making it one of the most productive in the kitchen garden.

This year, I am sowing not just zucchini but also squash seeds from Italian company Franchi. They stock interesting and unusual varieties that will make your zucchino growing journey anything but boring.

Note: I ordered seeds from their website during the UK covid-19 lockdown and they arrived within the week.

Here are some that I've grown in the past from the Franchi range:

Rugosa Friuliana (zuchetta) - a firm favourite of mine with knobbly, pale yellow fruit and tasty dense flesh.  There is no need to peel them and they are delicious.

Custard white (zucchino) is pretty round fruit with scalloped edges and their shape makes them perfect for the summer barbecue (sliced).  The fruit can be harvested both small (sometimes sold commercially as 'patty pan squash' in it's baby form) or larger. The skin is delicate and there is no need to peel them before cooking/eating.

Genovese and Striato are both typical classic shaped zucchini but their colouring is what makes them striking. The former is a pale green, creamy fleshed variety from Genova and the latter a dark green striped one.

This year, I am going to try Bolognese with oval fruits, Greyzini Ibrido F1 and Spaghetti squash.

Rugosa Friuliana (Zuchetta) 

Genovese (Zucchino)

Zucchini and squash do require a good amount of space as these are large plants (about 90cm between plants). They are prickly too, so best not placed in a spot where you are likely to brush up against them.  It goes without saying that good soil is a must and I like to boost the plants with seaweed fertiliser (like Maxicrop). Once they start producing, the general rule of thumb is to keep picking them small and pick, pick, pick or you'll end up with marrows (and lots of them!). 

And importantly, don't plant out seedlings too early - it is generally safer from June once the risk of frost has passed.

Franchi seeds can be purchased online from Seeds of Italy here (UK Only).

Stay at home : Harvest & Preserve herbs

Harvesting and Preserving herbs from the garden

Getting food into the house has proven to be challenging over the last few weeks. We normally use Ocado for food deliveries but in recent weeks, both their app and website have been impossible to get into.  We are gradually adapting to our new way of life but being in isolation means we can't simply just pop out to the stores as we have done so often in the past.

With dwindling fridge supplies, I walked around the garden today for a breather and was grateful to find three clumps of largely neglected chive plants - two in the herb garden and one in the vegetable patch.

There was rhubarb and herbs too; bay leaves from a potted bay plant, marjoram with new growth, hardy rosemary and some overgrown spring onions.  I breathe a sigh of relief - we won't starve - sign of life in the garden means we won't starve. 

My plan is to keep harvesting new leaves for preserving (either by drying or freezing). The plants should then continue to grow over the coming months, leaving me with a bountiful harvest of herbs by the winter when the plants slow or die down.

Stay at home: Conserving and Extending spring onions

UK lockdown:  Day 4

Self isolation: Day 14 

Our family of three have been 'self isolating' as we have symptoms of the coronavirus. It has been 14 days now and our last food delivery was over a week ago.

At a time when getting food and supplies to the house has become increasingly challenging, I am trying to conserve what I can and make it last just that little bit longer. Herbs, garnish all seem a little lavish in the current climate when so many are struggling to get basic essentials.

Even More Spring Onions
Here's something you can do that will extend the life of your spring onions. Ask the kids to help and be responsible for caring for their plants.

Growing Tomato & Zucchini in my greenhouse...

Tomato plants in the raised bed

Tomato seedlings

The last few months have been busy in our garden. My dream greenhouse build was finally completed and ever since, it has been a flurry of activity as we try to get all our seeds sown.  

Here is a quick look inside my new greenhouse.

Grow your own Salad - Wasabi Rocket

Last year, I was introduced to a new variety of rocket at the Thompson and Morgan show garden - the Wasabi Rocket.

What about the flavour?
Similar to a traditional rocket with a hot peppery flavour, it also has the distinctive flavour of wasabi root. Essentially, it is like having wasabi in a salad leaf form.

How to grow?
You can buy Wild Rocket seeds from Thompson & Morgan here at the trial price of £0.99 (for 500 seeds).

Harvesting and podding delicious broad beans

The last few weeks, I have been happily twisting large pods off the broad bean plants. Some pods have decided to go wonky but most are surprisingly straight. Despite what everyone says about picking them teeny tiny, I do leave some of the pods until they are medium sized as I like a mix of the 'meatier' beans and the smaller sweeter ones.  

I'm featured in Kitchen Garden Magazine

I'm really pleased to be featured in this month's Kitchen Garden Magazine (KG) - July edition.

Every month, KG features a grow guide and I was approached to write this article on growing oriental vegetables for their July edition.

It is titled 'Oriental Vegetables at a glance' and covers sowing, planting through to harvesting.

There are also a few recipe ideas for Chinese green vegetables like Kai Lan, Choy Sum and Pak Choi.

Autumn sown broad beans

These broad bean plants were sown from seed last October. They've finally started to flower - lovely white petals with dark centres.

The variety is 'Aquadulce Claudia', which is suitable for sowing in Autumn for an earlier harvest in May/ June. These have been overwintered under a cloche (which I have taken off in recent weeks).

I'll soon be sowing more broad beans ('Stereo') in April.

The plants have all been staked with bamboo canes and twine to provide them with some support. 

Also pinch out the tops of the plants once the first beans form, to deter blackfly.

I also remove any side shoots that emerge from the base.

You can buy:

'Aquadulce Claudia' broad beans from Thompson & Morgan 

The broad beans were picked and were delicious. 

• Harvesting and podding broad beans

Sowing Tomato seeds - Fenda & Corazon

This year, I'm growing two new varieties of tomato: 'Fenda' and 'Corazon'. After all the excitement of The Big Allotment Challenge, it was nice to receive these seed packets from Marshall's seeds inviting me to do a seed trial.

Tomato 'Fenda' is a rose pink 'Rose de Berne' type tomato. It is fleshy and almost seedless, which will be interesting. Hopefully, they will be brilliant for making sauces and jams. 

Tomato 'Corazon' is an oxheart 'Albenga' type tomato. The fruits are large with few seeds and has a "superbly tasty, meaty flesh".  

Swiss Chard growing in the garden!

The colourful and vibrant "Five colour Silverbeet" Swiss Chard growing in our garden.  It's surprising what you can find in the kitchen garden at this time of the year...

Seeds by: Thompson & Morgan (Heritage collection)

See also this earlier post:
Growing tasty and vibrant Swiss Chard 

Pumpkin Parade : pumpkin varieties to grow

Pumpkin inspiration... down the pumpkin parade at Kew Gardens...

There are so many pumpkin and squash varieties to grow, it is hard to know where to start.  I recently went to the Kew IncrEdibles Festival at Kew Gardens, and walked along the Pumpkin Parade, filled with incredible pumpkins, gourds, squashes and courgettes of all different shapes and sizes.  

Kale crisps flavoured with honey and soy

Cavolo Nero crisps with honeyed walnuts

Kale crisps flavoured with soy and honey with a few honeyed walnuts thrown into the mix...

For a while now, I have been dreaming about kale crisps - ever since the day I stumbled across packets of these veggie crisps at an organic food store.  The thing with kale crisps is you either love them and crave them constantly, or you can't understand the concept of them and loathe the idea. Either way, at £3.60 a packet, these crisps don't come cheap.

Swiss Chard, Walnut & Miso Pesto

Swiss Chard, Walnut & Miso Pesto 

A Swiss Chard Pesto recipe infused with Asian ingredients.

When it is overcast and grey outside, and large drops of rain have begun to fall from the skies, there is little motivation to tend the vegetable patch, and all I want to do is huddle up indoors with some nourishing, comforting food.  It is days like this that I dream of wholesome spaghetti drenched in warm, delicious green nuttiness.

Growing Courgettes in the Summer Rain...

Growing Yellow Courgettes

It's late August and the light pitter patter of summer rain has by now, become a familiar sound.  Outside, plump, juicy courgettes await us in the kitchen garden.  They are ready for picking, and are a lovely deep yellow colour, almost gold when the sun is about to set and the rays are low.

Stir-fried Spicy Swiss Chard (Malaysian style) Recipe

Stir-Fry Swiss Chard with garlic, chillies for a tasty Malaysian style vegetable dish..

It is late Summer, and the kitchen garden is filled with a wonderful assortment of edibles awaiting harvest.  Amongst them, tall handsome golden stalks are interspersed with hot pink and creamy coloured stems, momentarily catching the eye of the beholder, in the sea of dark green glossy leaves.

Growing Asparagus Peas (not quite the same as the Asian Winged Bean)...

A bean emerging from its stem is not normally something that one writes home about, but it is the frills on this particular one that makes it rather a unique and peculiar sight.  Unlike ordinary peas or beans, the Asparagus Pea has four sides, and each of these has a delicate and pretty frilled edge.

Pulling up beetroot, dirt and all .....

Pulling up baby beetroot straight from the kitchen garden during the summer, these beets are as fresh as vegetables get. Each one is plucked directly from the soil with a quick yank.  They need to be washed and trimmed up, of course.  And yes, the preparation does take a little longer when you grow your own - there is grit, dirt and sand that needs to be washed off.  It makes me feel a little sheepish now, thinking back on all the times I have picked through vegetables at the supermarket, selecting only the "cleanest" vegetables with no traces of dirt on them, and somehow associating this with "freshness".  

The red veined leaves come away with a gentle twist, and are put aside.  These leaves are fresh as can be, not like the wilted, blackened ones that store bought beets often come with.  The best leaves are selected and reserved, for later use - they are a little like spinach and can be stir-fried together with the Swiss Chard that is growing in the garden.

Beetroot in the garden tends to be pretty trouble free - and unlike parsnips or carrots which grow underground, these globes grow above the ground so you can watch them eagerly as they get larger and you will always know when they are the right size for picking.

Tip:  Twisting the leaves off beetroot helps to prevent it from "bleeding".

Growing young and tender baby Beetroot through the summer...

A few beetroot seeds carefully sprinkled into the ground, some water to help them along, oh, and time, of course, time and a little patience - that's all you need for these lovely little beets to work their magic and emerge from the ground.  With time, their roots will start to swell, and before you know it, these baby beets will be ready for picking.

In the summer, these young and tender baby beets are tossed in olive oil, thrown into a pan and roasted for about 40 minutes. How sweet and delicious they are!  The baby leaves can be picked and used in salads, and the larger leaves, can be cooked as you would, any other green vegetable like spinach or chard.

Tip:  Sow little but often, and harvest when the roots are about the size of golf balls (while they are still young and tender).

Swiss Chard & Feta Parcels Recipe

With all this wonderful Swiss Chard growing in the kitchen garden, I am fast running out of recipe ideas to keep this spinach like vegetable interesting for the dinner table.  In our household, we usually stir-fry chard with garlic, but I found this Spinach & feta parcel recipe and adapted it for use with Swiss Chard.

Homegrown Swiss Chard is delicious stir-fried!

Fancy some bright sherbet coloured vegetables for dinner?  Try growing rainbow coloured Swiss Chard in your kitchen garden; it is closely related to Spinach, and has a similar, but more delicate taste.  It's stems grow in a variety of colours - pink, yellow, cream and orange, so very enticing, which makes me wonder why this vegetable is not more commonly found on supermarket shelves, as they make for a lovely change to ordinary green vegetables.  It is also a great alternative for Chinese/ Asian greens.