Guides / Herbs and edibles
Herbs and edibles
Fruit, vegetables and herbs worth the space they take. Sowing and harvest timings are for the temperate Northern Hemisphere, and every guide names which parts are food and which are not.
A
Apple
Malus domestica
How to grow apples, Malus domestica. Rootstocks and what they control, pollination groups explained plainly, winter pruning, and the cyanide in the pips.
Apricot
Prunus armeniaca
How to grow apricot, Prunus armeniaca. The earliest blossom of any fruit tree, protecting it from frost, and choosing a cultivar bred for a British climate.
Asparagus
Asparagus officinalis
How to grow asparagus, Asparagus officinalis. Waiting three years before the first cut, stopping cutting on midsummer's day, and dealing with asparagus beetle.
B
Bay laurel
Laurus nobilis
How to grow bay, Laurus nobilis. Clipping a standard, overwintering it in a pot, treating bay sucker and scale, and telling true bay from poisonous cherry laurel.
Beetroot
Beta vulgaris
How to grow beetroot, Beta vulgaris. Why each seed is a cluster, sowing to avoid bolting, eating the leaves, and the harmless red urine that alarms people.
Blackberry
Rubus fruticosus
How to grow blackberries, Rubus fruticosus. Choosing a thornless variety, training the canes so you never cut the wrong ones, and why the fruit turns sour after Michaelmas.
Blackcurrant
Ribes nigrum
How to grow blackcurrants, Ribes nigrum. Planting deep to make a stool, pruning a third out each winter, big bud mite and reversion, and the wartime vitamin C story.
Blueberry
Vaccinium corymbosum
How to grow blueberries, Vaccinium corymbosum. Why they need ericaceous compost and rainwater, planting two for cross-pollination, and the pruning that keeps a bush cropping.
Broad Bean
Vicia faba
How to grow broad beans, Vicia faba. Autumn against spring sowing, pinching out for blackfly, and the inherited condition that makes this bean dangerous for some people.
Broccoli
Brassica oleracea var. italica
How to grow broccoli, Brassica oleracea var. italica. Calabrese and purple sprouting are different crops, cutting for side shoots, and getting a spring harvest.
Brussels sprouts
Brassica oleracea var. gemmifera
How to grow Brussels sprouts, Brassica oleracea var. gemmifera. Firm ground and staking, picking from the bottom up, and why blown sprouts happen.
C
Cabbage
Brassica oleracea var. capitata
How to grow cabbage, Brassica oleracea var. capitata. Firming the soil properly, beating cabbage white caterpillars with mesh, and what to do about club root.
Carrot
Daucus carota subsp. sativus
How to grow carrots, Daucus carota subsp. sativus. Stone-free soil, why you must not thin them in daylight, beating carrot fly, and sowing for a Christmas crop.
Cauliflower
Brassica oleracea var. botrytis
How to grow cauliflower, Brassica oleracea var. botrytis. The hardest brassica, why buttoning and blindness happen, and blanching the curd white.
Cherry
Prunus avium
How to grow cherries, Prunus avium. Choosing a dwarfing rootstock, netting against birds, why the fruit splits in rain, and pruning only in summer to avoid silver leaf.
Chilli Pepper
Capsicum annuum
How to grow chilli peppers, Capsicum annuum. Sowing early enough, where the heat sits in the fruit, overwintering a plant, and what to do about capsaicin on your hands.
Chives
Allium schoenoprasum
How to grow chives, Allium schoenoprasum. Cutting for tender regrowth, dividing congested clumps, the edible flowers, and why a herb you can eat is dangerous to cats and dogs.
Common Sage
Salvia officinalis
How to grow Salvia officinalis. The pruning cut that kills it, why a four-year-old plant stops earning its place, when the leaves taste strongest, and the thujone question.
Common Thyme
Thymus vulgaris
How to grow common thyme, Thymus vulgaris. Drainage, the trim that stops it going woody, harvesting when the oils peak, and why it belongs in gravel rather than good soil.
Coriander
Coriandrum sativum
How to grow coriander, Coriandrum sativum. Why it bolts, why you must sow it direct rather than transplant, succession sowing for a steady supply, and harvesting the seed.
Courgette
Cucurbita pepo
How to grow courgettes, Cucurbita pepo. Why two plants are plenty, hand pollination, powdery mildew, and the bitterness that can make a home-saved fruit dangerous.
Cucumber
Cucumis sativus
How to grow cucumbers, Cucumis sativus. Greenhouse and ridge types, training up strings, why fruit turns bitter, and the male flower rule that only applies to some varieties.
Curly Parsley
Petroselinum crispum
How to grow Petroselinum crispum. Why the seed takes a month to appear, why year two is a write-off, the difference between curly and flat-leaf, and the rash it can give you.
F
Fennel
Foeniculum vulgare
How to grow fennel, Foeniculum vulgare. The difference between herb fennel and Florence fennel, stopping the bulb bolting, and the yellow flowers that separate it from every poisonous lookalike.
Fig
Ficus carica
How to grow figs, Ficus carica. Restricting the roots to force fruiting, which embryo figs to keep over winter, and the sap that burns skin in sunlight.
French bean
Phaseolus vulgaris
How to grow French beans, Phaseolus vulgaris. Dwarf against climbing, why they must not be sown cold, picking to keep them coming, and drying the pods for haricots.
G
Garden Pea
Pisum sativum
How to grow garden peas, Pisum sativum. Sowing dates, supports, why mice take the seed, and how a crop that feeds itself with nitrogen should be treated at the end of the season.
Garlic
Allium sativum
How to grow garlic, Allium sativum. Why it must go in before Christmas, hardneck against softneck, scapes, rust, and why garlic is dangerous to dogs and cats.
Ginger
Zingiber officinale
How to grow ginger, Zingiber officinale. Starting a supermarket rhizome, the warmth and humidity it needs indoors, and harvesting after eight months.
Gooseberry
Ribes uva-crispa
How to grow gooseberries, Ribes uva-crispa. Growing on a leg, thinning for dessert fruit, American gooseberry mildew, and the sawfly that strips a bush in days.
Grape vine
Vitis vinifera
How to grow grapes, Vitis vinifera. Choosing outdoor or greenhouse varieties, the rod and spur system, thinning the bunches, and why powdery mildew decides the crop.
L
Leek
Allium porrum
How to grow leeks, Allium porrum. Dropping seedlings into dibbed holes for a long white shank, earthing up, and dealing with leek moth and allium rust.
Lemon
Citrus limon
How to grow Citrus limon in Britain. The cold bright winter it needs instead of a warm room, why the leaves drop in October, the two different feeds, and which variety to buy.
Lemon balm
Melissa officinalis
How to grow lemon balm, Melissa officinalis. Cutting it back before it seeds, why it takes over a bed, and drying the leaves for tea.
Lettuce
Lactuca sativa
How to grow lettuce, Lactuca sativa. The four types, sowing little and often, why lettuce bolts in hot weather, and the milky sap that gives it its name.
O
Olive
Olea europaea
How to grow olive, Olea europaea. Keeping one alive through a British winter, why it rarely fruits here, and the cold period it needs to flower.
Onion
Allium cepa
How to grow onions, Allium cepa. Sets against seed, why bolting happens, ripening and curing for storage, and why onions are toxic to cats and dogs.
Oregano
Origanum vulgare
How to grow oregano, Origanum vulgare. Why poor dry soil gives better flavour, cutting back for a second flush, and the difference between oregano and marjoram.
P
Peach
Prunus persica
How to grow peach, Prunus persica. Keeping peach leaf curl off with a rain shelter, hand pollinating in February, and thinning the fruit for size.
Pear
Pyrus communis
How to grow pears, Pyrus communis. Quince rootstocks, why pears flower earlier than apples and lose more to frost, picking before they are ripe, and pear rust.
Peppermint
Mentha x piperita
How to grow peppermint, Mentha x piperita. Containing the runners, cutting back for clean growth, why it cannot be grown from seed, and the mint that is dangerous.
Plum
Prunus domestica
How to grow plums, Prunus domestica. Why you must never prune in winter, thinning to stop branches snapping, silver leaf and bacterial canker, and the cyanide in the stones.
Potato
Solanum tuberosum
How to grow potatoes, Solanum tuberosum. Chitting, earthing up, first and second earlies against maincrop, blight, and why a green potato should go in the bin.
Prickly Pear Cactus
Opuntia ficus-indica
How to grow Opuntia ficus-indica. Why the invisible bristles are worse than the spines, how to prepare the pads and fruit, growing it in Britain, and the moth that saved Australia.
R
Radish
Raphanus sativus
How to grow radish, Raphanus sativus. The fastest crop in the garden, why they go woody or all leaf, and sowing winter radishes for storage.
Raspberry
Rubus idaeus
How to grow raspberries, Rubus idaeus. Summer against autumn fruiting and why the pruning differs completely, building the support, and raspberry beetle.
Redcurrant
Ribes rubrum
How to grow redcurrants, Ribes rubrum. Why they are pruned on a spur system rather than as a stool, growing them as cordons on a shaded wall, and netting against bullfinches.
Rhubarb
Rheum rhabarbarum
How to grow rhubarb, Rheum rhabarbarum. Forcing for early pink stems, why you pull rather than cut, when to stop picking, and why the leaves must never be eaten.
Rosemary
Salvia rosmarinus
How to grow rosemary, Salvia rosmarinus. Drainage above all, pruning without killing it, taking cuttings, and why the botanists moved it into the sages.
Runner Bean
Phaseolus coccineus
How to grow runner beans, Phaseolus coccineus. Building the support, why the flowers drop without setting, picking to keep them coming, and why you must never eat them raw.
S
Spinach
Spinacia oleracea
How to grow spinach, Spinacia oleracea. Stopping it bolting in summer, sowing for autumn and spring crops, and the perpetual spinach that does not bolt.
Stinging nettle
Urtica dioica
How to grow nettles on purpose, Urtica dioica. Picking the tops for the kitchen, siting a patch butterflies will use, making liquid feed, and why the sting works.
Strawberry
Fragaria x ananassa
How to grow strawberries, Fragaria x ananassa. Planting depth, runners, straw under the fruit, and why plants need replacing every three years.
Sweet Basil
Ocimum basilicum
How to grow sweet basil, Ocimum basilicum. Warmth, morning watering, pinching to delay flowering, and how to rescue a supermarket pot.
Sweet chestnut
Castanea sativa
How to grow sweet chestnut, Castanea sativa. Telling it from horse chestnut, why British nuts are usually small, and the blight and canker to watch for.
Sweetcorn
Zea mays
How to grow sweetcorn, Zea mays. Planting in a block for wind pollination, testing the cobs for ripeness, and why supersweet types must be grown alone.
T
Tarragon
Artemisia dracunculus
How to grow tarragon, Artemisia dracunculus. Why French tarragon must be bought as a plant, telling it from Russian, and overwintering it in Britain.
Tomato
Solanum lycopersicum
How to grow tomatoes, Solanum lycopersicum. Cordon and bush types, side-shooting, blossom end rot, blight, and which parts of the plant you must not eat.
W
Walnut
Juglans regia
How to grow walnut, Juglans regia. Picking green for pickling in June, the juglone that kills what grows beneath it, and buying a grafted tree.
Watercress
Nasturtium officinale
How to grow watercress, Nasturtium officinale. Growing it safely in a bucket or a pot, why picking it from the wild risks liver fluke, and the deadly plant that shares its ditches.
Wild garlic
Allium ursinum
How to grow wild garlic, Allium ursinum. Planting it in the green, keeping it in bounds, when to pick, and the deadly lookalikes that catch foragers every spring.
Winter squash
Cucurbita maxima
How to grow winter squash and pumpkins, Cucurbita maxima. Feeding a hungry plant, restricting the fruit for size, and the curing that decides whether they store.
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