UNDER COVER

PLANT OUT THE POLYTUNNEL Finally, it is

CLIMBING HIGH

It’s really hard to beat beans for their good looks and outstanding yields. Benedict Vanheems offers some pointers to pack in the pods this summer

HORTICULTURE MEETS HERITAGE

The restoration of the 17th-century Bardney Manor’s Victorian walled garden is currently under way

Welcome

Can you feel the force? It’s that force of nature that is so obvious in May

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TOP JOBS FOR MAY

STEPHANIE HAFFERTY OUTLINES THE ESSENTIAL TASKS FOR YOUR VEG PATCH AND PROTECTED CROPS

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

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QUESTION TIME

GOT A FRUIT OR VEG PROBLEM? ASK KG FOR HELP

OUR TOP PLOTTERS

Last summer we launched a competition to find our Top Plotters, with the top three winning some great prizes and all being featured in Kitchen Garden magazine this year. Here we feature another of our runners-up

DOWN ON THE PLOT

KG reader Peter Dean has been very busy on his allotment, sowing, planting and planning what crops he will be growing over the summer

ON THE PLOT WITH THE 3 Mudketeers

The KG team offer chat, tips and gardening gossip

GROW WITH BELLE

GROW CARROTS!

PRICKING OUT & POTTING UP

This month Martin Fish offers practical advice and top tips for two essential gardening tasks

BEYOND THE PLOT BEETROOT

If you’re looking for a vegetable that you can preserve well, look no further than beetroot. There are so many different ways you can do this, as Rob Smith explains

GROWING VEG AND GROWING COMMUNITY

Tanya Bowman joined her local community garden and ended up not just helping to grow veg but also helping to grow the enterprise to involve more people and the wider community

PROTECTING OUR PLANT HERITAGE

Experts at Garden Organic share their experience of looking after three National Plant Collections – and what it takes to secure this horticultural heritage for future generations

The VEG-GROWING VETERANS

The therapeutic and well-being benefits of gardening are well known. Sally Clifford visits a veterans’ allotment, a place where plotters have time to talk and the chance to grow produce for the wider community

GROW FLAVORSOME FENNEL

Florence fennel, with its feathery leaves and white bulb-like stems that have many culinary uses, is a versatile vegetable that’s also an attractive plant to have on your plot

Fresh food for the impatient

Garden Organic’s Anton Rosenfeld shares his tips for quick and easy windowsill greens

GROW A TASTE THAT’S UNFORGETTABLEE

Home-grown produce always tastes better but harvesting your first melon is one moment you will always remember. Emma Rawlings has some tips on growing this delicious fruit

Keeping bees A beginner’s guide

Beekeeper and founder of Buzz Box Mark Meadows introduces the world of beekeeping for all to enjoy

OUR FRIEND THE WASP

We often see wasps as a bit of a foe but they are actually of great benefit to gardeners, as Becky Searle explains

SUPERFAST STRAWBERIES

If planted now, strawberries can be cropping in a mere 60 days. Here’s how!

SLUGS and SNAILS and OLD WIVES’ TALES

In this extract from his book The Good Slug Guide, author Jo Kirby casts doubt on who the natural predators of slugs and snails really are. Have gardeners been getting it all wrong?

HERB OF THE MOΝΤΗ Lemon balm

This month we look at the deliciously scented herb Melissa officinalis that you will love to grow

IT’S A PLUM JOB!

Fruit expert David Patch explains how and when to prune plum trees and experiments with growing one as a cordon, which is not traditional practise

ENJOY YOUR FREE SEEDS

We explain how to get the best from your free gifts of kale, carrot and lettuce seeds

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MAY THE FARE BE WITH YOU

Spring is upon us and this month Anna Cairns Pettigrew has been busy creating some tasty and nutritious dishes featuring radishes, purslane and peas