The Veg Grower Podcast

This week has been a little different here at the Veg Grower Podcast. While the allotment and kitchen garden have mostly seen me planting out the last of the season’s young plants, the real highlight has been my annual trip to the Gardener’s World Spring Fair at Beaulieu. It’s a show I look forward to every single year, and once again it didn’t disappoint. From catching up with friends like Aid Sellers and Lucy Chamberlain to exploring the inspiring show gardens and stalls, it was a day packed with ideas, conversations, and a good dose of gardening joy. Here’s what I’ve been up to.

Catching Up With Friends at the Show

One of the things I love most about these events is the people. Gardeners often work alone in their plots, but shows like this remind us that we’re part of a huge, enthusiastic community.

I caught up with Ade Sellers, who was hosting the “In Conversation With” stage. Aid spoke passionately about the joy of seeing audiences engage with speakers — from seasoned growers to complete beginners. He described those moments when someone hears a single nugget of advice and you can almost see the lightbulb switch on. That’s what these shows are all about.

Later, I met up with Lucy Chamberlain, who, alongside De Graft, created the “Make a Metre Matter” garden. Divided into nine one‑metre squares, it showcased everything from punchy salad leaves to wildlife habitats, including a beautifully crafted hedgehog nest made entirely from natural, easy‑to‑source materials. Lucy’s enthusiasm for small‑space growing was infectious — proof that even a single square metre can transform a space.

A Picnic Worth Talking About

Of course, no day out is complete without food, and this week’s Recipe of the Week was designed with picnics in mind: a Spring Garden Quiche filled with asparagus, spring onions, herbs, and a creamy egg mixture. I cheated with shop‑bought pastry (don’t judge!), but the result was delicious — perfect for eating on the lawn between exploring the gardens and stalls. The full recipe is on the website if you fancy giving it a go.

Exploring the Show

We arrived at Beaulieu just as the gates opened, with Amanda and Roxy joining me thanks to a mercifully cloudy forecast. The gardens were my first stop — they always are — and the designers had done a fantastic job. From wildlife‑friendly planting to clever small‑space ideas, there was plenty to take home and try.

As always, I couldn’t resist a bit of shopping. I came away with:

Two bottles of Rudecello (rhubarb‑infused vodka — surprisingly good!)

A few carnivorous plants to help with indoor pests

Four young trees from Jurassic Plants:

Two citrus

A greengage

A Chinese quince

The afternoon brought rain, and the showground emptied almost instantly, but even that didn’t dampen the mood. It was a brilliant day out — full of ideas, friendly faces, and that unmistakable buzz that only a gardening show can bring.

Looking Ahead

I’m already looking forward to Gardeners’ World Live in June and Audley End in September, where Lucy will be creating another Make a Metre Matter garden. If you’ve never been to one of these shows, I can’t recommend them enough. They’re friendly, practical, and packed with inspiration for gardeners of all levels.

If you were at the Spring Fair, I’d love to hear what you thought. And as always, if you enjoy the podcast, a rating or review helps more people discover the joy of growing their own food.

We’re at the end of April and everything suddenly feels early this year. Warm days, fast growth, and that sense that the season has properly kicked into gear. I’ve taken a few risks in the kitchen garden, made good progress down on the allotment, and had a beekeeping experience that’s left me more excited than ever about keeping my own hive. Here’s what’s been happening.

From the Kitchen Garden; Planting Early

I’ve done something I don’t normally do at this time of year: I planted out all my tender plants. Tomatoes, aubergines, chillies, peppers, courgettes — they’re all in the ground. It’s a gamble, but with fleece ready and plenty of backup plants, I’m willing to take the chance.

The kitchen garden looks full now, even though a few brassicas are still flowering before they come out. A big job finally ticked off was moving the Belfast sinks that hold our herbs. With my brother’s help, they’re now in front of the potting shed and look much better there.

Seed sowing is calming down, although I did lose a batch of sweetcorn after leaving them too long in the heated propagator. A reminder that airflow matters. I’ve also sown Crown Prince pumpkins — one of my favourites — and I’m hoping to save seed from them later in the year.

Watering has suddenly become a daily job. Mulching with compost is helping, but if this dry spell continues, we’ll be relying heavily on the water butts.

Down the Allotment; Protecting Brassicas

It’s been warm enough that I regretted not taking water with me, so a reminder to take fluids, sunscreen and a hat. I’ve made myself ill before by ignoring that.

The last of the potatoes went in this week — King Edwards — finishing off six weeks of staggered planting. Compost is always tight, but we had just enough to mulch the bed.

The brassicas are all planted out too: sprouts, cabbages, cauliflowers, kale. A bit of lime, firm soil, and a good watering. The pigeons have already shown interest, but instead of netting, I’ve put up children’s windmill toys. They move in the breeze, scare off pigeons, and still let the smaller birds in to deal with slugs and snails.

A quick mow made the whole plot look better, and the asparagus bed is now producing well. I picked a good handful this week, and more spears are appearing every day.

Recipe of the Week

With early peas and fresh mint ready, I made a simple pea and mint soup. Butter, onion, garlic, peas, stock, fresh mint — blended until smooth and served with crusty bread. It tastes like spring in a bowl and is a great way to use those first early peas.

From the Podding Shed; My First Real Beekeeping Experience

For my birthday, my wife booked me onto a beekeeping experience day, and it was fascinating. The beekeeper I visited manages 140 hives across Sussex, and as we arrived, a swarm was already moving between trees. Standing in the middle of thousands of bees was incredible — they weren’t aggressive, just busy.

We suited up and went through several hives, checking for eggs, honey stores, pollen and queen cells. I learned a huge amount, including how to spot signs of swarming. One hive was a bit angry, and after we took our suits off, I did get stung twice, but it hasn’t put me off at all.

What it has done is confirm that keeping bees at home isn’t suitable — too close to neighbours. The allotment is the better option, but the council requires experience before granting permission, which is tricky when you can’t get experience without keeping bees. I’m working with them to find a way forward.

I’m more excited than ever to start keeping bees properly.

This week on the Veg Grower Podcast, Richard takes us through that wonderful mid‑April moment when everything suddenly bursts into life. The allotment is waking up fast, the kitchen garden is buzzing with activity, and even the potting shed has a surprisingly important topic to tackle. There’s been planting, sowing, weeding, rescuing, and—thanks to a small accident—some very seasonal cooking too. It’s been a full and productive week, and Richard shares it all.

On the Allotment

Richard begins the week down on the allotment, where the next batch of potatoes has gone into the ground. This time it’s the Maris Piper, the first of the maincrop varieties and one of Richard’s favourites for roasting and chipping. The method stays simple: a hole, a seed potato, a sprinkle of fertiliser, a layer of compost and a good watering.

There’s excitement too, because the Rocket potatoes planted earlier in the season have now pushed their first leaves through the soil. Those tiny green shoots are always a reassuring sight, a sign that the season is moving forward and that the first harvest isn’t too far away.

A few weeks ago Richard sowed carrots and parsnips on the south side of the greenhouse, and they’ve now germinated. They’re still tiny, but they’re up, and that’s what matters. They’ll need careful watering, but it’s another sign that spring is well underway.

Richard has also planted out onions grown from seed—a fiddly job, but one that should pay off with fewer bolted onions later in the year. And the broad beans have gone in too, both the overwintered plants and the January‑sown experiment. They’re now tucked into the old straw bale bed and mulched with straw to help keep the moisture in.

Seed saving is a big focus for Richard this year, so a couple of parsnip plants have been left in the ground to flower. They still look like ordinary parsnips for now, but once they bolt, they’ll provide seed for next year.

And while weeding the asparagus bed, Richard accidentally snapped off a couple of spears. Not ideal, but they came home and ended up inspiring this week’s recipe.

In the Kitchen Garden

Back home, the kitchen garden has been just as busy. The greenhouse has been warm—very warm—and the autopots have kept the tomatoes, cucumbers, chillies and peppers perfectly watered. They’re growing strongly and won’t be long before they start flowering.

The cold frame, however, has been a battleground. Slugs and snails have found their way in and eaten Richard’s cucumbers. Because he doesn’t use pellets, it’s back to the usual routine of nightly slug patrols, a bucket, and the chickens enjoying the spoils the next morning. The upside‑down clay pot trick is still working well, giving the slugs a cool hiding place that makes them easy to collect.

Out in the main beds, Richard has been tackling the weeding in small, manageable sections. One area by the shed had become a bit of a dumping ground for pots, so he cleared it, trimmed the grass, and planted an apple tree there instead. It won’t fruit this year, but it’s a long‑term improvement to the space.

Some of the potted fruit trees haven’t survived last year’s dry summer and this winter’s cold snap, including the citrus. A few might still come back, but replacements may be needed. Meanwhile, the seed sowing continues in the shed—more beans, more sweetcorn, more of everything really—and the heated propagators have now been switched off for the season.

Recipe of the Week: Asparagus & Potato Traybake

This week’s recipe came about thanks to those accidentally harvested asparagus spears. Asparagus has such a short season and such a delicate flavour that when it’s ready, you really do have to make the most of it.

Richard made a simple asparagus and potato traybake with a lemon and herb dressing. Potatoes were roasted first, then chopped asparagus and red onion were added along with a little more oil and seasoning. While that finished cooking,

This week’s episode takes us from a sun‑soaked kitchen garden to a windswept allotment and finally into the potting shed, where a familiar spring pest has been causing more trouble than usual. With seedlings on the move, potatoes going into the ground, and straw bales warming up for the season ahead, Episode 653 is packed with early‑season momentum — and a few challenges along the way.

In the Kitchen Garden: Bees, Weeds & a Big VegePod Move

The week began with one of those in‑between moments — waiting for the hairdresser to arrive, not enough time for a big job, but too much time to sit still. So Richard grabbed his gloves and did what many gardeners do: a quick “just a few weeds” session.

That small job revealed something wonderful.

The brassicas left to flower — Brussels sprouts, kale, cabbages, cauliflower — were alive with bees. Clouds of them. A simple decision to let plants bolt for seed saving has turned into a pollinator magnet, proving how tiny choices can make a huge difference to wildlife.

Another major task was finally moving the large VegePod to join the small and medium pods near the shed. After harvesting the last beetroot and parsnips, all the compost was dug out, refreshed with perlite and new compost, and the whole unit shifted a metre back to free up patio space. Freshly sown carrots, parsnips, beetroot and more are already settling into their new home.

And of course — it’s April — so it’s been a manic sowing week. Pumpkins, melons, courgettes, squash, French beans, runner beans, cannellini beans… the seed trays are filling fast. Potting on continues daily, though a damaged cold frame lid (thanks to strong winds) has added a small frustration to the week.

Down on the Allotment: Potatoes, Shallots & a Green Manure Dilemma

Despite the wind, the allotment has been basking in sunshine, and the first walk‑around revealed a plot full of promise.

Garlic and onions are thriving under their straw mulch.

The apple tree is covered in pink‑and‑white blossom.

The pear tree is already forming tiny fruitlets.

And self‑seeded poppies are popping up everywhere — a welcome splash of colour and a gift to pollinators.

But one bed has raised a question: the winter tares green manure sown in autumn has exploded into lush growth, shading out weeds beautifully. With tomatoes and cucumbers due to go into that bed in four weeks, the debate is whether to cut it now or let it keep working. A classic gardener’s quandary.

Potatoes were next on the list — this week’s variety was Wilja, the final second early before main crops begin next week. They went into freshly dug holes with potato fertiliser and a generous topping of homemade compost from the insulated “fridge door” compost bin, which has produced rich, black, crumbly material at impressive speed.

Shallots also made an appearance. After struggling to find sets this year, a bag of Red Sun was finally sourced and planted. The plan? Save some for replanting next year.

And finally, the straw bale garden is back for another season. Last year’s bales have broken down into gorgeous compost, and this year’s bales are now in the conditioning phase — urea, water, and soon nettle tea. Squash plants will be the stars of this year’s straw bale experiment.

In the Potting Shed: The Aphid Problem Returns

The final segment of the episode dives into a problem many gardeners are facing right now: aphids on young seedlings.

Richard noticed the tell‑tale signs — curled leaves, sticky residue, slow growth — and soon spotted whitefly and greenfly clustered on plants grown indoors. The warm, still air of the kitchen had become a perfect breeding ground.

Moving the seedlings to the shed made an immediate difference. Cooler nights and natural airflow helped slow the aphids down, proving once again that environment matters just as much as intervention.

True to his ethos, Richard avoids insecticides — even organic ones. Instead,

This Easter weekend has been a rare treat. Four full days in the garden, decent weather, and plenty of progress across both the allotment and the kitchen garden. In this week’s episode, I share what’s been happening on the plot, the projects completed at home, and my thoughts on the hunger gap as we move deeper into spring.

Allotment Update

I spent two full days on the allotment and made a real dent in the to‑do list. The first job was cutting the grass. My allotment mower failed last week, so I brought the kitchen‑garden mower down to stand in for now. The old Ryobi will get a closer look soon, but six years of allotment life is not bad going for a budget machine.

With the grass sorted, I moved on to potatoes. This week I planted ‘Nicola’, a second early variety I’ve grown many times. That brings me to one and a half beds planted, with the same amount still to go. The compost from the corrugated‑iron bin has mulched the beds beautifully, although that bin is now empty. Next week I’ll find out whether the remaining compost is ready to use.

The allotment greenhouse also had a tidy. A large pile of plastic pots has finally been taken home, freeing up space for tomatoes and cucumbers soon. Outside, the beds have been hoed, fed and prepared for the busy month ahead. The brassicas are ready to go into the taller corrugated beds, where netting can be added easily to keep pigeons away.

Watering has been important this week. The soil is drying quickly, so the potatoes, onions and garlic have all had a good drink. The garlic looks especially strong, and I’m hopeful the straw mulch may help reduce leek rust by stopping soil splash. The carrots and parsnips in the concrete drainpipes aren’t showing yet, but they’ve been watered and left to settle.

With the fruit trees in blossom and the straw bales ready for conditioning, the allotment feels set for the season ahead.

Kitchen Garden Update

Back home, the other two days of the Easter weekend were spent on long‑planned projects. The biggest job was finally getting electricity into the potting shed. Instead of running mains power, I’ve chosen to use the AllPowers S2000 battery pack — the same one that powered the chainsaw during the tree removal. With an LED overhead light and safe cabling installed, the shed is now a proper workspace for potting on during darker evenings.

I also tackled the plastic pot collection. With a new council dustbin arriving, the old bin has been cleaned with Jeyes Fluid and repurposed for pot storage. Clearing this area gave me access to the two‑tier cold frame, which has now been moved beside the greenhouse. It’s already being used to harden off young plants.

Inside the greenhouse, the AutoPot system has been cleaned, refilled and planted up with tomatoes, cucumbers, chillies, peppers and strawberries. The peach tree and grapevine are still being moved in and out to avoid peach leaf curl, but the greenhouse is now fully in action.

In the Kitchen

Chef Scott brings an Easter‑themed recipe this week: a roast vegetable hash with herby eggs. It’s a great way to use up leftover veg from Easter lunch, and everything in the dish was home‑grown. Carrots, parsnips, potatoes, leeks and cabbage are chopped, crisped in a pan, mixed with fresh herbs and finished with eggs cooked in small wells. Simple, delicious and perfect for reducing waste.

The Hunger Gap

In the potting shed, I’ve been thinking about the hunger gap — that awkward stretch where winter stores are almost gone and the new season’s crops aren’t ready yet. The last leeks are looking tired, the kale is bolting, and the freezers are emptying. Meanwhile, the greenhouse is full of seedlings that promise abundance… just not yet.

To soften the hunger gap in future years, staggered sowings make a big difference. Overwintered onions, garlic, leeks and hardy salads help carry us through winter. Monthly sowings of leeks, carrots and cabbages spread the harvest across the year....