WELCOME

There’s plenty to do this month as we continue to sow

TOP JOBS FOR MAY

TASKS FOR YOUR VEGETABLE PATCH BY JOYCE RUSSELL

IN THE GREENHOUSE

Your monthly roundup of jobs to do in the greenhouse and polytunnel

WHAT’S NEW?

ALL THE LATEST NEWS, PRODUCTS & FACTS FROM THE WORLD OF KITCHEN GARDENING

HAVE YOUR SAY

CONTACT US WITH YOUR LETTERS AND TIPS:TFLANAGAN@MORTONS.CO.UK

MUDKETEERS' CLUB

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KG PROBLEM SOLVER

GOT A FRUIT OR VEG PROBLEM? ASK KG FOR HELP

NEXT MONTH

SUPER FREE GIFTS IN EVERY ISSUE!

OUR PLOTTER OF THE MONTH

Last year we officially launched a competition to find 12 readers and their plots that would feature in Kitchen Garden magazine this year. Here we feature one of those winners

A WOMAN OF MANY PARTS

She has a lifetime of experience at the forefront of horticulture. Lecturer, author and regular guest on BBC Radio 4’s Gardeners’ Question Time, Christine Walkden, chats with The Village Grapevine podcast host, Daniel Heighes

ON THE PLOT WITH THE 3 MUDKETEERS

The KG team offer chat, tips and gardening gossip

GROW WITH BELLE

GROW A GIANT BEANSTALk!

GROWING ONLINE

We dig deep into the World Wide Web to harvest some great websites, tips and gardening chit-chat

THIS YEAR’S MUST BUYS!

Products perfect for your plot this growing season.

DREAM BEANS

Rob Smith likes a veg that is happy to look after itself most of the time and is a great cropper. Enter the broad bean, a bean that means business

THE PAINTERLY PLOT

Sue Ling hadn’t grown vegetables until two years ago. Now look at her allotment! Dedication and a painterly eye transformed the plot. Garden writer Benedict Vanheems paid a visit

WISE UP TO WEEDS!

Dr Anton Rosenfeld, knowledge officer of Garden Organic, advises on how to manage weeds without recourse to chemicals

KG’S TOP 10 CROPS TO GROW

The Kitchen Garden team decided to come up with their best crops to grow and used three criteria to choose them

6 PLOT PLANS

TO SAVE THE PLANET Deputy editor Emma Rawlings offers some ideas you could include on your plot to make a big difference to your local environment, your pocket and the planet

A GARDEN SAVED BY A PRINCE

Janice Hopper visits Dumfries House in Ayrshire and finds a kitchen garden organically managed and teeming with heritage fruit and veg

TAKE A FRESH LOOK AT MINT

With more than 600 varieties available there are many to savour, says herb grower Liz Nieburg, of family-owned and run Hetty’s Herbs & Plants

INCREASE YOUR HERBS

A fun, simple and thrifty way of stocking your herb garden with delicious fragrant plants is to take softwood cuttings. Stephanie Hafferty explains how

ONIONS ON TRIAL

Vegetable trials veteran Colin Randel reports on the latest trial of onions from seed, held at RHS Wisley Gardens in Surrey and reveals the top performers for your plot

HOW TO GROW… CHIVE ‘CHA CHA’

Now here’s a cool little chive with an interesting growth habit. Emma Rawlings takes a look at this peculiar herb

FUN WITH FUNGI

Why not harness the power of fungi to fill your larder? In this extract from his new book, mushroom expert Folko Kullmann introduces one of the easiest to master

THE CHAMOMILE CURE

For its medicinal qualities alone chamomile is worth growing but you can use it in other ways too. Annabelle Padwick explains

GET TO GRIPS WITH GRAPES

Indoors, outdoors, grow them in a pot, this month David Patch maps out the options for growing grapes in the UK

GROW YOUR OWN LOOFAH

The popular bathroom accessory the loofah can actually be grown on our plots. Emma Rawlings looks at this unusual crop and its uses in the home

PLASTIC-FREE CROP PROTECTION

In this extract from her book, Fiona Thackeray, head of operations for Trellis, Scotland’s therapeutic gardening charity, describes ways to mulch and protect without resorting to plastics

THE SCENT OF SPRING

Wallflowers are easy to grow and bring a wonderful splash of colour and rich fragrance to the garden in spring and summer. KG editor and wallflower fan Steve Ott offers his top tips for a great display

GARDENING GLOVES

This month we’re trying out a range of garden gloves suitable for light tasks around the garden (not suitable for pruning)

WORKING HAND IN GLOVE

So what other kinds of garden gloves are available?

READER OFFERS

EXCLUSIVE SAVINGS TO HELP MAKE YOUR MONEY GO FURTHER

GIVEAWAYS

TO ENTER OUR GIVEAWAYS SEE PAGE 114 OR VISIT THE KG WEBSITE

GARDEN STORE

Are you a subscriber to Kitchen Garden magazine? Then visit www.mudketeers.co.uk for details of how you can take advantage of the exclusive subscriber-only deals on these pages!

CROSSING CONTINENTS

There’s something of an international theme in the kitchen this month, as Anna Cairns Pettigrew welcomes in the spring with all the goodness of Chinese leaves, turnips and broad beans