Kitchen gardening for beginners

258 Pages·2013·73.587 MB·English

by  Akeroyd, Simon

Kitchen
Gardening
for beginners

K itchen
Garden ing
for be gin n ers
Simon Akeroyd
Contents
LONDON, NEW YORK, MUNICH,
MELBOURNE, DELHI
Project Editors May Corfield, Introduction 6
Hilary Mandleberg About this book 8
Senior Art Editor Alison Gardner
Senior Editor Chauney Dunford
Steps 1–10 to preparing your plot
Photography Peter Anderson
Projects Alexander Storch
p1 p6
Jacket Designer Rosie Levine ste Assessing your site ste Watering & weeding
Senior Producer Seyhan Esen Assessing your site 14 Watering methods 66
Producer, pre-production George Nimmo Different types of sites 16 Weeds & weeding 68
Picture Research Susie Peachey
Managing Editor Penny Warren step2 Preparing your soil step7 What to grow
Managing Art Editor Alison Donovan Know your soil 20 Which plants will suit
Publisher Mary Ling Improving your soil 22 your soil & exposure 72
Art Director Jane Bull Project: Double digging 24 Choosing crops 74
Flowers 76
DK Publishing p3
North American Consultant Kate Johnsen ste Creating your space p8
Beds & borders 28 ste Creating a style
Senior Editor Rebecca Warren
Choosing your paths 30 Your style 80

First American Edition, 2013 Project: Paths Seating & socializing 82
Published in the United States by DK Publishing, Mark out the area 32 Project: Bench 82
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014
13 14 15 16 17 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Prepare the edges 34 Herbs & the kitchen garden 84
001—187261—Apr/2013 Prepare the surface 36 Children 85
Copyright © 2013 Dorling Kindersley Limited Raised beds 38 Project: Herb parterre 86
All rights reserved
Chickens 88
Without limiting the rights under copyright p4
reserved above, no part of this publication may ste Protecting crops Bees 89
be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a
Protection from wind,
retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, p9
or by any means (electronic, mechanical, frost, & pests 42 ste Crop rotation
photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without
the prior written permission of both the copyright Project: Rabbit-proof fencing 44 Crop rotation 92
owner and the above publisher of this book. Greenhouses & cold frames 48 Catch crops & interplanting 94
Published in Great Britain by
Dorling Kindersley Limited. Project: Cold frame 50 Project: Planting sweet corn 94
A catalog record for this book is available from Cloches 52
tIShBe NL i9b7ra8r-1y- 4o6f 5C4on-0g9r6e1s-s4. Project: Hanging basket cloche 53 step10 Sowing & planting
Printed and bound by p5 Starting plants inside 98
South China Co. Ltd China. ste Feeding & mulching Starting plants outside 100
Discover more at www.dk.com
Fertilizers & mulch 56 Planting methods 102
Project: Liquid comfrey 58
Composting & compost bins 60
Project: Compost bin 62
Simon Akeroyd was brought up in a family Society, and has worked at both RHS Wisley and
of professional cooks, but discovered from an early RHS Harlow Carr. He also worked for the BBC
age that he preferred growing food to cooking it. as a horticultural researcher and producer. He has
He has written for numerous gardening magazines, an allotment in Surrey and is an avid beekeeper.
including the monthly Allotment Gardener pages His previous books include Shrubs and Small
for Grow Your Own magazine. He was previously Trees, Lawns and Ground Cover, The RHS
a Garden Manager for the Royal Horticultural Allotment Handbook, and Grow Your Own Fruit.
Vegetables— Sweet potatoes 156 Blackberries & Hybrids 202
Growing & storing Onions & Shallots 158 Gooseberries 204
Garlic 160 Currants 205
Green onions 161
Leafy crops Project: Onion drying rack 162 Trees & vines
Cabbage & Asian brassicas 110 Florence fennel & Kohlrabi 164 Apples 208
Brussels sprouts 112 Celery root & Parsnips 166 Pears 210
Spinach & Chard 114 Rutabagas & Turnips 168 Plums, Gages, & Damsons 212
Lettuce & Salad greens 116 Beets 170 Project: Planting a fruit tree 214
Chicory & Endive 118 Radishes 172 Cherries 216
Kale 119 Jerusalem artichokes 173 Peaches & Nectarines 218
Apricots 219
Fruiting & flowering Stems Citrus & Medlars 220
Tomatoes 122 Leeks 176 Figs 221
Cucumbers 124 Celery 177 Quinces 222
Eggplant 125 Rhubarb 178 Mulberries 223
Broccoli & Cauliflower 126 Asparagus 179 Grapes 224
Zucchini & Summer squash 128 Melons 226
Pumpkins 130 Herbs
Squash 132 Annual & Perennial herbs 182 Help—
Bell peppers & Chiles 134 Shrubby herbs 184
Troubleshooting guide
Sweet corn 136
Globe artichokes 138 Dealing with problems 230
Fruit—Growing & storing
Gallery of pests 232
Beans & pods Soft fruit Gallery of diseases 234
Green & String beans 142 Strawberries 190 Gallery of deficiencies 237
Project: String bean support 144 Project: Fruit cage 192 Gallery of weeds 238
Fava beans 146 Raspberries 194 Pruning 240
Peas & Snow peas 148 Project: Pruning fruit bushes 243
Raspberry cane support 196 Propagating plants 244
Bulbs & roots
Blueberries & Cranberries 198
Potatoes 152 Project: Glossary 246
Carrots 154 Sunken blueberry bed 200 Index & Acknowledgments 249
6 Kitchen Gardening for Beginners
Introduction
Tools
The popularity of kitchen gardens has increased enormously Every gardener needs decent
tools to do the job. Don’t rush
over the last few years, which is no surprise. Many of us live to the nearest garden center
though; you can often buy
hectic desk-bound lifestyles and eat supermarket produce. We
secondhand tools via online
crave open spaces and homegrown fruit and vegetables—not ads or at auctions or yard
sales. Choose tools that suit
to mention a little exercise. Working in the garden answers all
your height and build, and be
these needs. Give it a try and you’ll never look back. sure they feel comfortable and
balanced to hold. Look after
them well and clean them
after use, then they will last a
Reaping the benefits
lifetime. The list of basic tools
to get you started includes:
Growing your own food gets you outdoors and into the fresh air
• a spade • garden twine
but it also brings many other benefits and rewards.
• a fork or string
◆
KITCHEN GARDENERS eat more healthily than many. • a landscape • a trowel
rake • a hand fork
Having grown the recommended five-a-day portions of fruit and
• a dibber • a long-handled
vegetables, they will not want to let them go to waste.
cultivator
◆
WORKING IN the garden provides a fantastic • Dutch and
draw hoes
outdoor workout; your muscles will ache but only
• a watering can
in a good way. • a wheelbarrow
◆
RELAX YOUR MIND while you garden. Leave your • edging shears
• a mower (for
worries behind as you concentrate on your plants.
grass paths)
◆
YOUR GARDENING expertise will increase along
with the range of fruit and vegetables you grow.
◆ Having the
ENJOY SAVING MONEY while you work. You are
right tools for the
bound to appreciate harvesting tasty, fresh produce job makes working
in the garden
for the cost of only a few packets of seeds. considerably easier.
Old to new Established plants will
prove to be a blessing when you
Gardens pass from
are just starting out.
homeowner to homeowner.
Hopefully, when you purchase
your home there will be Wooden pallets dumped
on the plot can be transformed
elements in your yard that
into a compost bin.
you would be wise to retain.
Old fruit bushes and trees can
be revived; dilapidated raised
beds and overgrown paths can Patio slabs left lying
be restored. Think renovation around can be used for paths
instead of demolition. or even seating areas.
Introduction 7
Making friends
Whether you are retired, want to grow enough to feed
your family, or just love feeling the soil between your
fingers, the gardening life can be truly fulfilling. You
may already be an experienced gardener, but if you
have recently moved and are working in a new yard,
you may encounter new gardening challenges. New
homes mean new neighbors, and they may have
Gardening is a great way of spending
expertise in dealing with the same issues that
quality time with the family. Not only
you are facing. Many of these gardeners will do children enjoy gardening, but it gets
them away from computers and TV
be only too pleased to offer help and advice,
screens and out in the fresh air.
some of which will have come from their
years of experience. It is like having your very
own panel of gardening experts. Watch for
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When you begin to garden, you will
according to the space
available in your yard and quickly discover how to become a master of
your interest in growing a
recycling. You won’t let anything go to waste.
variety of produce. These
days, sizes of plots vary ◆ HANG OLD CDs among your crops and they will act as bird
enormously and there are no
scarers; empty toilet paper rolls miraculously become seed starters;
hard-and-fast rules. If you are
just starting out, it is better to and old tires filled with soil prove perfect for growing potatoes.
start small; a full-sized plot ◆
can be daunting and will often REUSE PLASTIC POTS and
involve considerably more flats; you can never have
maintenance than you may
enough at seed-sowing time.
have expected. If you don’t
feel confident taking on a ◆ PLASTIC BOTTLES make
large garden on your own,
cloches for protecting young
consider asking a friend to
help share in the cost and seedlings. Pushed into the soil
maintenance. Both of your
and filled with water, they
families can then benefit from
the fruits of your labors. become handy reservoirs.
8 Kitchen Gardening for Beginners
About this book
The first three chapters of this book show the progression of a newly
acquired garden, from planning and preparation, to the well-earned
harvest. These chapters also feature step-by-step projects, built and
photographed in a real garden, to show what can be achieved in the first
year. The final chapter explains how to troubleshoot problems, while a
useful glossary will help you understand unfamiliar gardening terminology.
Real garden Watch the Chapter 1:
development of a real plot
over the course of a year. Preparing the plot
Practical help Advice This chapter explains the 10
panels help get the best
essential steps required to bring
from even difficult sites.
a new garden to life. Starting
with assessing the site to decide
what crops will grow best, it
10 steps to preparing shows how to prepare the soil,
your plot Starting with
a new garden, follow the sow seeds under cover or
steps in sequence to ensure
outside, then illustrates all the
success. Take time to assess
and plan your site properly tasks and techniques necessary
before starting work, to
avoid problems later on. for a bumper crop. The chapter
also features simple step-by-step
Raised beds Follow projects to help make the most
the step-by-step guide
to make your own. of the site. These include laying
paths and making raised beds,
erecting rabbit-proof fencing,
Materials needed
Use these guides as a and making a cold frame. This
shopping list, so you have
everything you need at chapter also reminds you to
every stage.
enjoy your plot, and to take
time to make it your own.
Projects You don’t have to
be an expert at DIY to follow
these straightforward guides
to making features for your Additional info boxes
plot. All projects involve These provide useful tips to
simple tools and materials make tasks easier, or suggest
that are widely available. other options.