This week’s episode is the final Veg Grower Podcast of 2025, and I wanted to take a step back and reflect on what has been a huge year here in the kitchen garden and down on the allotment.

From new systems and new beds, to challenges with drought, job changes, and the reminder of just how powerful growing food can be for our mental health, this episode is very much about looking at what worked, what didn’t, and what I’ve learned along the way.

2025 has been a brilliant year for the kitchen garden. Being able to step straight outside and spend even a few minutes tidying, mulching or weeding has made a massive difference, especially during busy periods.

One of the biggest upgrades this year was installing an AutoPot system in the greenhouse, and it has more than paid for itself. Tomatoes, cucumbers and other greenhouse crops have thrived with very little intervention, producing an abundance of food for minimal effort.

Other highlights from the kitchen garden include:

Beyond the harvests, the kitchen garden has played a huge role in supporting my mental health this year. During times of change and disruption, simply being outside, focused on small achievable jobs, made a real difference.

Down on the allotment, 2025 was all about productivity, resilience and learning how to work with less time available.

One of the standout successes this year has been using straw as a mulch. At around £3.50 per bale, it’s been a cost-effective way to protect soil, retain moisture during a very dry year, and massively improve yields – particularly with potatoes.

Other key lessons and highlights include:

The goal for 2026 is clear: add even more organic matter, improve soil structure, and push productivity even further.

This week’s recipe is a proper post-Christmas classic: Bubble and Squeak.

It’s a fantastic way to use up leftover roast potatoes and vegetables, lightly mashed, mixed together and fried until crisp and golden. Perfect with an egg for breakfast, or served alongside cold meats – and it freezes beautifully too.

You’ll find the full recipe on the website.

Every year I aim to grow £5,000 worth of food, based on supermarket prices. While I didn’t quite hit the target in 2025, we still managed an impressive £4,500 worth of home-grown food.

Fruit crops were the real stars this year, with tomatoes, peppers, chillies, cucumbers and soft fruit delivering huge value – and there’s plenty of scope to push that total even higher next year.

As I say goodbye to 2025, I want to thank everyone who has listened, commented, shared the podcast, or supported the show through the Supporters Club. Your support genuinely keeps this podcast going.

I’ll be back in 2026 with more growing, more learning, and more food from whatever space you have available.

If you would like to support this podcast then please consider becoming a member of our supporters club or use some of affiliate links below for items you might be buying. We might get a little commission