Discover the impressive and inspiring range of houseplants you’ll find on display in the conservatories, orangeries and glasshouses in the Trust’s care. There will be failed crops, there will be awful weather at both ends of the spectrum, there will be a wild Muntjac that hops your fence at the sight of dinner and you will come back from holiday to find your vegetables swamped in chickweed and nettles, but it will be all worth it. Victor and John Campbell, our gardener, work months in advance to give the chefs the best produce grown for you in our restaurants. There will be a few posts not related to any garden produce, but I do hope you find my posts interesting. With expert advice on all aspects of growing, from preparing soil to harvesting, plus mouth-watering recipes, Kitchen Garden has everything you need to help your garden thrive.

If we learn to save some of our own seeds we not only save money but over time we actually nurture varieties that do especially well on our own plots. Achieving this also requires giving due respect to, sharing the space with, and nurturing the tapestry of beneficial microbes, plants, insects and animals that support and bring balance to a healthy and thriving local ecosystem. Every month with a Kitchen Garden magazine subscription you will learn new and handy techniques to cultivate your fruit and vegetables, plus regular features containing recipes to turn your fresh veg into tasty meals.

For even more inspiration and clever tips for your kitchen garden, some of the keen veg growers in the Earth Trust team recommend you take a look at Huw Richards’ YouTube channel – the guru of no dig kitchen gardening! A versatile vegetable, carrots can be roasted to be served alongside your Sunday lunch, or chopped and peeled to be dipped into hummus. From asparagus, cabbage, lettuce and raspberry to pineapple, tomatillo and okra, each comprehensive plant entry and includes information on etymology, cultivation history, growing habits, cultivars and varieties, and much more.

A kitchen garden is relatively small, ranging from 25 to 250 square feet, while a farm or vegetable garden could be huge and sprawling, with thousands of square feet of growing space. In fact, carrots thrive in light, well-drained soil that’s moisture-retentive, so you might want to add some well-rotted organic matter too. Today as I made garden rounds, I spotted the first tiny sprouts having germinated from last week’s seed plantings. Some of the most toxic materials known to man are derived from plants so it should not be assumed that natural is safe.It can be grown from seed, but you might find it easier, and just as satisfying, to plant a one-year-old dormant plant, known as a crown. There are tips on how to grow a wide range of fruit, vegetables and herbs and how to control troublesome pests, plus what to do on your patch each month.