There’s a definite change happening in the garden now. Summer might still be hanging on, but I’m already looking ahead to autumn, winter and, believe it or not, the growing season of 2027.

The recent rain has been very welcome after such a dry year and it has made a big difference to the garden. There’s plenty going on as we start preparing for the months ahead, so let’s get into this week’s episode.

The rain has finally arrived, and after such a dry year I certainly wasn’t complaining. The moisture has made the soil much easier to work and, more importantly, it has made pulling those pesky weeds out considerably easier.

I’ve been getting stuck into the autumn and winter growing season, planting out winter and spring cabbages, kale and cauliflowers. Some of the kale planted earlier struggled during the dry weather, but the new plants are now going into the ground with much better conditions.

I’m also preparing beds for my overwintering crops. The garlic will be going in towards the end of September, with the overwintering onion sets following in October, so now is the time to get those beds ready with compost and make sure they are weed-free and in good condition.

Green manures are also playing a big part. I’ve been sowing winter tares between my rows of leeks and using green manures in other beds where there is still space. It’s a technique I’ve been experimenting with, effectively getting two jobs done in the same space while the soil is still warm enough for those green manures to establish.

This week I also take a look at what’s been happening in the Veg Grower Podcast Supporters Club.

September’s seed pack is now being sent out, with a selection of seeds chosen specifically for sowing during the month. This includes winter tares, cauliflower, mibuna, tatsoi and spring onion ‘White Lisbon’, along with our herb seed of the month, chervil.

The Supporters Club costs just £5 a month and includes extra podcasts, the monthly seed pack and our monthly newspaper, which contains growing instructions, jobs to do and space to keep track of what you’re growing.

This month’s seed of the month is spring onion ‘White Lisbon’ from Premier Seeds Direct.

Spring onions might traditionally make us think of spring and summer, but ‘White Lisbon’ is a great variety for growing through the cooler months. I like to sow them every few weeks from September through to March, giving us a succession of spring onions to harvest.

They can be sown directly into the ground, or started off in trays and planted out later. They don’t need a huge amount of attention, but keeping them moist and weed-free will help them along.

Once established, they can be harvested from around six to eight weeks, although I prefer to let mine get to a decent pencil thickness before pulling them up.

There’s still plenty happening in the kitchen garden despite the change in season.

The recent moisture has brought some of the carrots that were sown earlier in the year back to life, with seeds that had been sitting in the dry soil finally germinating. Hopefully that means we’ll get a late crop of carrots from those beds.

I’ve also been continuing with my polyculture approach, filling spaces as they become available with winter and spring brassicas. Cauliflowers, kale and cabbages are all being planted out, while some plants have been thinned out and potted on to give them a little more time to grow before going into their final positions.

I’ve also been adding more herbs around the garden. Cuttings of rosemary and sage have been rooted and potted on, while thyme and other herbs are being planted around the edges of the beds. The idea is that these plants will eventually help create a useful border, provide some shelter and act as companion plants.

And we’re still harvesting plenty of summer produce, including tomatoes, aubergines, peppers, chillies and courgettes. The grapes have also been particularly good this year, with plenty being harvested and enjoyed fresh – although there are plans to do something else with some of them too!

This week’s recipe makes the most of two crops that are producing well right now: aubergines and tomatoes.

I take two small aubergines, slice and fry them in olive oil until golden, then set them aside while I cook tomatoes and garlic in the same pan.

Meanwhile, breadcrumbs are fried with butter, oil and herbs until crisp. The aubergines are then topped with the tomato mixture, crispy herby breadcrumbs and some grated cheese.

It’s a really simple dish, but it makes a delicious meal and is a great way to use some of those late-summer harvests.

Throughout August we’ve been reading The Plot on the Hill: The Carrot Catastrophe by Ade Sellers, and this week Ade joins me in the Potting Shed to talk about the book.

We chat about Ade’s journey from working in television and film to becoming a gardener, writer and garden media personality, as well as his allotment and the inspiration behind the book.

The Plot on the Hill: The Carrot Catastrophe is aimed primarily at children aged around 8 to 12 and is built around the magic and imagination of an allotment. At the centre of the story is Hornbeam, a little sprite who lives beneath an allotment shed and acts as a guardian of the plot, along with a collection of animal friends.

Ade explains how his own childhood experiences of visiting an allotment with his dad helped inspire the story, and we talk about encouraging children to put down their phones, get outside, get muddy and let their imaginations run wild.

We also look at the possibility of future books in the series and Ade’s work on the In Conversation stage at Gardeners’ World Live.

This week Lynn gets in touch with a question about overwintering onions grown from seed.

She’s already sown her onion seeds and wants to know when they should be planted out and whether they need any protection over winter.

I explain why it’s important to let the plants get strong before planting them out, why September and October can be good times to get them into the garden, and how hardy onions actually are.

That’s another packed episode of the Veg Grower Podcast.

As we move towards September, it’s easy to think that the growing season is coming to an end. But for me, it feels much more like the beginning of the next season. There are brassicas to plant, garlic and onions to prepare for, green manures to sow and plenty of crops still producing food.

So don’t put the gardening tools away just yet – there’s still plenty to grow.

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After one of the driest Julys I can remember, this week finally brought the kind of rain that transforms a garden overnight. Every one of my sixteen water butts refilled, the soil softened enough to dig again, and the whole plot seemed to sigh with relief. It’s amazing how quickly things bounce back once moisture returns, and it’s given me a renewed push to get winter crops established while conditions are favourable.

The kitchen garden has responded brilliantly to the rain. Outdoor tomatoes are ripening beautifully, with a good mix of varieties coming through now that they’ve had a proper drink. The greenhouse, however, has been a challenge — temperatures hitting 32°C have stalled both tomatoes and cucumbers. Ventilation is top of the winter improvement list, and I’m working on a way to keep the greenhouse door propped open without it slamming shut.

Herbs, beans and late brassicas have perked up noticeably. The chickens are laying consistently too — three eggs a day in mixed colours — which always feels like a small daily reward for keeping things ticking over.

Water management has been a big focus. With the butts full again, I’m back to experimenting with irrigation aids. Clay pot reservoirs are proving effective, and the AutoPot spider has been a standout success — the tomato planted over it is outperforming every other plant in the bed. I’ll be investing in more of these. Greywater is still part of the routine, but with the rain arriving I can rely on it a little less.

The allotment has been transformed by the rain. After weeks of rock‑hard soil, I can finally weed properly, dig out bramble roots and tidy the gooseberry area. Winter brassicas — kale and cabbages — are going in now that the ground is workable again.

One frustration this week was discovering that almost all the pears have vanished from my tree. No windfalls, no half‑eaten fruit, nothing on the ground — which sadly suggests they’ve been taken. It’s disheartening, and I may need to consider some gentle deterrents in future.

Apples are looking promising, and grapes have been a pleasant surprise both at home and when visiting friends. Compost production has slowed due to the lack of lawn clippings, so I’m filling extra bins with woody material and saving what I can for next year’s potato beds.

With more rain forecast, the priority now is catching up on planting and strengthening the plot’s drought resilience for future seasons.

This week’s recipe is a comforting late‑summer bake that makes brilliant use of current harvests.

Thinly slice parboiled potatoes and layer them with blanched green beans, onion, garlic, herbs and olive oil. Add cherry tomatoes or cheese if you fancy it. Bake until golden and bubbling. It’s simple, hearty and freezes well — perfect for using up those beans that suddenly arrive all at once.

I revisited Lisa and Alistair’s new vegetable garden this week, and they’ve made fantastic progress. They’ve pruned the fruit trees, cleared dead wood, reclaimed planting space and even sourced a greenhouse from Facebook Marketplace.

The next steps are clear and manageable:

Their grape harvest has been a real highlight, and it’s exciting to see their plot taking shape. They’re building a garden with intention, and it’s going to serve them well.

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Welcome to this week’s episode of the Veg Grower Podcast. This week we’re taking a look at what’s happening both down on the allotment and in the kitchen garden, with plenty of harvesting, a few pest problems and some thoughts on storing our home-grown potatoes.

We start the episode down on the allotment on a beautifully cool morning after another spell of very warm weather.

There’s plenty to talk about, including some damage to one of my sweetcorn cobs. Something has managed to pull the cob down and has been helping itself to the corn, so I’m trying to work out what might have caused the damage and what I can do to protect the remaining crop.

I’m also finding cabbage white butterfly eggs on my brassicas again. After dealing with a previous wave of caterpillars, it looks like we have another lot of eggs to contend with. Luckily, I spotted them early and have been removing them before they have a chance to hatch.

Despite the problems, there are some good harvests coming from the allotment, with courgettes and runner beans doing particularly well.

Back in the kitchen garden, the tomatoes are continuing to produce, although the heat is having an effect.

The tomatoes in the greenhouse at home aren’t producing particularly well, while the greenhouse tomatoes down on the allotment and the outdoor plants are doing much better. I’m also noticing tougher skins on some of the tomatoes, which I suspect is down to the lack of moisture.

I’m keeping a close eye on the apples and pears too, with the pears looking very close to being ready and the apples not far behind.

I’ve also been making use of our local community orchard and picking some apples, which is a great way of making the most of what is available locally.

This week’s recipe of the week takes our home-grown produce and turns it into another tasty meal.

[Recipe details to be added from the remainder of the transcript.]

And finally, we head into the Podding Shed, where this week we’re talking about potatoes.

I’ve been harvesting more of my potatoes and looking at how we can store some of that home-grown harvest so we can keep enjoying our potatoes rather than having to use them all at once.

It’s all about making that harvest go a little bit further and getting the most from the food we’ve grown ourselves.

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This week’s episode comes from the second week of August, following one of the driest Julys on record. The allotment and kitchen garden are both feeling the strain, with soil baked so hard that water beads on the surface and runs off rather than soaking in. Despite the challenges, progress continues — from experimenting with greywater filtration to planning green manures and keeping established crops alive through the drought.

The main theme this week is hydrophobic soil — ground so dry and compacted that it actively repels water. Beds have become rock‑hard, making digging, planting and watering difficult. Watering still has to be done by hand with cans, taking up to two hours to give each bed a proper deep soak. It’s heavy work, but essential for keeping established crops alive.

With conditions too harsh for planting out young plants, the focus has shifted to:

Green manures have been a success in previous seasons, helping reduce pests and disease, and with blight not yet appearing this year, it’s a good moment to prepare beds for next year’s potato rotation.

At home, the drought has prompted a deeper look at greywater reuse. After a failed experiment using water mint as a natural filter, a more structured filtration system has been tested:

It’s an ongoing experiment, but a promising step toward making greywater safer for garden use during droughts.

Other practical jobs this week include:

This week’s recipe is a vibrant summer dish that makes the most of seasonal produce:

Smoked sweetcorn and courgette salad with chilli butter croutons

It’s colourful, flavourful and pairs beautifully with grilled chicken — a perfect late‑summer plate.

The episode closes with a detailed look at hydrophobic soil — what causes it, how to fix it, and how to prevent it in future droughts.

These techniques help rebuild soil structure, improve moisture retention and make gardens more resilient as droughts become more frequent.

Despite one of the driest periods in recent memory, progress continues across both the allotment and kitchen garden. With careful watering, thoughtful planning and a focus on soil health, the garden is still producing — and laying the groundwork for better seasons ahead.

Listeners are thanked for their support, and the podcast celebrates placing tenth in Feedspot’s Top 100 Horticulture Podcasts. As always, feedback, questions and tips are warmly welcomed.

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August has arrived, and this week’s episode moves between the kitchen garden, allotment and podding shed. I choose spinach Medania as the seed of the month, share progress during a stubborn dry spell, turn ripe tomatoes into a quick pasta supper and revisit a gardening book that puts flavour first.

Spinach Medania is a strong choice for an August sowing. Sow seeds one to two centimetres deep and keep them moist; germination normally takes seven to fourteen days. Module-grown seedlings can be planted out at twenty to twenty-five centimetres apart. Pick young outer leaves regularly, or allow plants to mature for generous autumn harvests. Protect later crops with fleece or a cloche in colder weather. Its dark-green leaves work equally well in salads and cooked dishes.

With nesting season over, I carefully checked and trimmed the congested blackberry and tayberry growth. I am also experimenting with aquatic plants and grey water during the drought, while treating this as a cautious trial rather than a ready-made irrigation solution. The Vegepod continues to supply plenty of salad, while the allotment has produced an enormous courgette, more space around the gooseberries and room for another planting of leeks. Regular hand-picking seems to have reduced the caterpillar pressure on the brassicas.

This weeks recipe of the week is roasted tomato and basil pasta. A delicous and easy dish to cook up using some of those lovely homegrown tomatoes that are in abbundance right now.

Bob Flowerdew’s The Gourmet Gardener argues for choosing crops and varieties for exceptional taste, freshness and enjoyment. Its detailed organic-growing guidance and preserving ideas make it a useful reference for confident growers, even if beginners may prefer to browse one crop at a time. In August, the podcast reading choice moves to Ade Sellars’ The Plot on the Hill: The Carrot Catastrophe, a magical allotment adventure for younger readers.

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

This week’s episode is all about focus, tidying, and keeping the garden productive during a long dry spell. Richard starts at the allotment, where he’s been tackling untidy borders, harvesting potatoes and filling gaps with new plantings. Back home, a big organisational job has transformed the plant‑pot collection into a neat, usable system.

We also have a seasonal recipe, a timely listener email about grey water, and a quick update on the bees.

Richard starts the week by assessing the allotment and creating a list of areas to concentrate on. The borders and edges, often the first places to become untidy, are prioritised for improvement. This structured approach helps break the plot into manageable zones.

Potato harvesting continues, adding to the week’s produce. Newly cleared spaces are immediately replanted:

This ensures that the allotment remains productive even during drought conditions.

A single large job was chosen for the kitchen garden this week: sorting the extensive collection of plant pots. Over time, pots had accumulated from various projects and purchases, creating a substantial backlog.

The sorting process included:

The result is a more organised and efficient workspace.

This week’s recipe features a simple yet delicious tomato and courgette gratin that perfectly captures the essence of summer. Bursting with fresh, seasonal ingredients, this dish is a wonderful way to make the most of your garden’s bounty. Whether you’re looking for a comforting side or a light main, this gratin offers a satisfying blend of flavors and textures.

For the full recipe and step-by-step instructions, follow the link below to discover how to create this golden, bubbling delight in your own kitchen. It’s an ideal way to use up those abundant summer courgettes and enjoy a taste of the season..

A listener email from Lynn raises the topic of using grey water in the garden, a relevant issue as parts of the UK face hosepipe bans and prolonged dry weather.

Topics discussed include:

Lynn also requests a bee update, and Richard shares the latest news on the colony.

This week on the Veg Grower Podcast, Richard tackles caterpillars on the brassicas, gets his leeks planted at last, enjoys a strong run of summer harvests, completes a few kitchen‑garden jobs, shares a simple stir‑fried bean recipe, and looks at the best ways to store soft fruit.

The allotment kept Richard busy with pests this week. While tending the broccoli, he spotted cabbage white caterpillars chewing through the leaves. Instead of using pesticides, he checked each leaf, picked off the caterpillars by hand, destroyed the eggs and took the caterpillars home for the chickens. Netting helps keep butterflies out, but it also makes day‑to‑day care awkward, so Richard plans to attract more birds to the plot with feeders and bird houses.

The leeks — sown back in January — finally went into the ground after the garlic came out. Each leek dropped into a dibbed hole and received a good soak. Daily watering will help them settle in. Harvests this week included courgettes, tomatoes, blackberries, currants, rhubarb, cabbage and second early potatoes, which performed much better than the first earlies. The soil remains very dry and the allotment badly needs rain.

A few small jobs kept the kitchen garden productive. Richard trimmed thyme, rosemary and sage to encourage fresh growth and better flavour. Soft prunings went straight into the kitchen, and healthy stems went into water to root into new plants. He also extended the chicken area with poultry netting, giving the hens more space to forage while keeping them safe from foxes and Roxy the dog.

The hot bin ran smoothly this week. Richard removed finished compost from the bottom and added fresh material to the top. The mix of greens and browns keeps the bin hot and active, producing crumbly compost much faster than a traditional heap.

This week’s recipe is a quick stir‑fried bean dish made with runner beans, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, honey and sesame oil. The beans cook until bright and tender, then get coated in the fragrant sauce and finished with sesame seeds. It’s simple, fresh and perfect alongside grilled meats, noodles or rice.

Soft fruit spoils quickly, so Richard explored the best ways to store it. Freezing works well when fruit is frozen individually on trays before bagging. Raspberry jam is the easiest preserve to make, and jellies offer a smooth alternative. Bottling gives long‑lasting results without using freezer space. Fruit wines — raspberry, blackberry, gooseberry, rhubarb and elderflower — offer another way to preserve flavour. Dehydrating creates fruit leathers and chewy snacks that store well.

Storing soft fruit properly reduces waste and keeps summer flavours available all year.

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Welcome to Episode 666 of the Veg Grower Podcast. This week Richard has been juggling warm, humid weather, kitchen‑garden pruning, allotment challenges, and an exciting new project helping a young couple start their very first vegetable garden. It’s a classic midsummer mix of maintenance, problem‑solving and inspiration.

Here’s what’s been happening.

The week began with early‑morning gardening sessions — the only time cool enough to work comfortably. Richard has been potting on cucumbers, cabbages, cauliflowers and kale, watering in the mornings to reduce slug activity, and making steady progress despite the heat.

A major job this week was pruning and training the productive grapevine. Richard explains how careful thinning improves fruit size and airflow, and shares his experiment with a Bramley apple grown from seed and trained as a step‑over tree. It’s decorative, compact, and a fun long‑term project.

A new rainwater collection system has been attached to the greenhouse, along with an additional water butt. With rainfall scarce, every drop counts.

Warm, humid weather has made allotment visits tricky, but straw mulch continues to keep beds moist and plants healthy. Richard has been heading down early at weekends to stay on top of jobs.

A late frost in early May killed the foliage of the first‑early potatoes, and the harvest has been disappointing — only enough for a couple of meals from a whole bed. Richard reflects on how weather extremes affect yields and why growing your own food matters more than ever.

Despite the potato setback, other crops have been more encouraging:

Broad bean plants have been cut back, with roots left in the soil to return nitrogen.

Straw mulch has once again proved invaluable, keeping potatoes and other crops less stressed and prompting Richard to buy another bale to replace what’s been used.

This week’s recipe is a simple, delicious cabbage dish perfect as a barbecue side. Finely shredded cabbage is sautéed with onions, garlic, wholegrain mustard, butter and fresh herbs. Quick cooking keeps it sweet, and it’s a great way to use summer cabbage

One of the most exciting parts of this week’s episode is the start of a brand‑new edible garden for Lisa and Alistair, who have just moved into a house with a large front garden.

Richard visited to help them plan their first vegetable patch, offering guidance on:

Garden designers John and Bryony will help shape the layout, and Richard will be checking in monthly to track progress. Listeners can follow the project on Instagram at Rooted at Belvedere.

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Welcome to Episode 665 of the Veg Grower Podcast. This week Richard shares a classic mix of summer gardening jobs — fruit thinning, sweetcorn planting, slug control, greenhouse tidying — plus our Seed of the Month, a refreshing cabbage slaw recipe, and a look at July’s Book of the Month.

It’s been warm and humid on the allotment, but thanks to straw mulch and careful watering, everything is thriving. Let’s dive into what’s been happening this week.

The allotment has been busy with seasonal tasks, starting with fruit thinning after the June drop. Richard explains why apples and pears shed fruit naturally, and why thinning further helps produce bigger, tastier fruit and prevents biennial bearing. It’s a job that feels counter‑intuitive, but the long-term benefits are worth it.

Gooseberries are ready, but harvesting them has become nearly impossible due to thorns and invading brambles. Richard shares his difficult decision to dig up the existing bushes and replant with thornless varieties to make the area more productive and easier to maintain.

Elsewhere on the plot:

Tune in to hear the full story and Richard’s thoughts on keeping the allotment productive.

This month’s seed is kohlrabi, a quirky root crop that looks alien but tastes fantastic — sweeter than turnips and incredibly versatile.

Richard shares:

It’s a great crop for summer sowing and offers two harvests from one plant.

The kitchen garden has been all about organisation this week. Richard tidied the area in front of the greenhouse, sorted pots, removed weeds, and potted up cabbage, swede and late brassicas. The chickens’ area also had a tidy, making the whole garden feel calmer and more productive.

Slugs and snails have been relentless this year, especially around the bean plants. Richard shares several methods he’s using:

It’s a constant challenge, but numbers are slowly coming down.

The kitchen garden is productive, colourful and full of life.

This week’s recipe turns a humble summer cabbage into something exciting. Richard grates cabbage, carrot and red onion, adds fresh herbs and chili, and finishes with a zingy lime dressing and roasted peanuts.

It’s crunchy, refreshing, and perfect for warm weather. You can find the full recipe on the blog.

Richard reviews this classic book, which accompanies the BBC series of the same name. He explores:

He reflects on how these traditional methods still inspire modern gardening, from mulching to careful observation, and why the book feels grounding and motivating.

Next month’s book will be The Gourmet Gardener by Bob Flowerdew.

Ellen emailed a brilliant moisture‑saving idea: placing rhubarb leaves on the soil to conserve water. It’s similar to chop‑and‑drop mulching and works surprisingly well.

Lynne commented on Spotify that she was gardening at 6am, following Richard’s discussion last week. Her area recorded the hottest temperature in the country that day — proof that early starts can make a big difference.

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

Welcome to Episode 664 of the Veg Grower Podcast. This week has been shaped by one thing: heat. With temperatures soaring and humidity making everything feel heavier, Richard has been adapting his gardening routine to keep both the kitchen garden and the allotment thriving during a heatwave.

In this episode, he shares how early mornings, deep watering, mulching, and a few clever tools have helped him stay on top of things during a UK heatwave. If you’re growing food in hot weather — or want to be prepared for when the next heatwave arrives — this is an episode worth listening to.

The kitchen garden has been a challenge and a joy this week. With the house feeling like an oven, Richard has been heading outside at 5:30am to make the most of the cooler hours. These peaceful early mornings have become the perfect time to water, tidy, and enjoy the garden before the heat sets in.

In the podcast, Richard talks about:

If you want to hear how the kitchen garden is coping — and what’s thriving — tune in to the full episode.

It’s been a productive week on the allotment too, especially with a fantastic 6kg harvest of Morello cherries. Richard shares how he processed them and what’s next for the stone fruit trees now that harvesting is complete.

In the episode, you’ll hear about:

If you’re looking for practical allotment tips for hot weather, this segment is packed with them.

This week’s recipe is a refreshing, no‑cook dish perfect for hot weather and ideal for using up homegrown tomatoes and herbs.

You’ll find the full recipe in its own blog post.

In this week’s reflective segment, Richard talks about how gardening is changing as UK summers become hotter. He shares his thoughts on adapting our growing methods, staying safe in extreme heat, and planning for the future.

Topics include:

It’s a thoughtful discussion about how we can all continue growing food even as the climate shifts.

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