Guides / Fruit and vegetables
Fruit and vegetables
Edible crops for kitchen gardens and allotments.
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
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.
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.
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.
F
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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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