Welcome to this week’s blog post accompanying Episode 632 of The Veg Grower Podcast. In this episode, Richard shares what’s been happening on the allotment and in the kitchen garden during mid-November, tackles a few tricky areas, takes us through pruning summer raspberries, and explains why bare-root fruit trees can save you a fortune.

After a very wet Saturday, the weather dried up enough for a productive session on the allotment. Mid-November brings a noticeable shift: fewer people around, shorter days, and trees only now beginning to drop their leaves thanks to the mild autumn.

Richard focuses on a few tricky spots this week:

Back home, the focus is on pruning summer raspberries.

Summer-fruiting raspberries fruit on second-year canes. So the job now is to:

Richard uses a system where one side of the raspberry bed is first-year growth and the other is second-year, making pruning simple and repeatable.

The autumn raspberries are still fruiting and even flowering, so they’ll be left until winter before being cut down.

Things are still thriving:

With so many chillies still producing, Richard shares a beautifully balanced homemade hot sauce. It works with any type of chilli and stores well in the fridge.

The full recipe is available on the website.

It’s the perfect season for bare-root fruit trees — usually available from November to February — and they’re one of the best ways to save money when expanding your fruit patch.

Richard also mentions his chosen tree for the year — a Cornish Gold pear, grown especially for juicing.

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This week on The Veg Grower Podcast, Richard reflects on another busy week in the garden and allotment. With mild weather still hanging on, there’s plenty of fresh food to harvest — from kale and leeks to the last of the tomatoes and chillies. But as winter creeps closer, Richard’s focus turns to preparing for the months ahead and keeping the growing going indoors.

Despite the changing season, the kitchen garden is still producing well. Richard talks about his continued harvests of late crops and how the mild weather has delayed the first frost. He shares how vital homemade compost has been this year — improving soil moisture and helping crops like parsnips thrive even after a dry summer.

With 16 water butts already in place, he’s been busy transferring rainwater between them to make the most of every drop. Richard also discusses plans to add an IBC tank to boost rainwater storage and the benefits of composting for soil health, including his ongoing success with the Hotbin composter.

Its mentioned about some black Fridays deals from HOTBIN composters that might be of interest to you and can be found here, or by using BF2025 in your cart when checking out

There’s both good and bad news in the chicken coop this week. A compulsory housing order is now in place across the UK due to bird flu, meaning all poultry must be kept indoors. Richard shares how he’s keeping his flock safe — and the joy of discovering the very first egg from one of his new hens, a beautiful small blue-green egg laid by Panther.

At the allotment, the focus has shifted to clearing and preparing beds for winter. Richard discusses the importance of green manures for protecting and improving soil health. He’s experimenting with different types — from phacelia to winter tares and forage rye — to see which works best in his soil.

He’s also noticed some of his raised bed timbers are starting to rot, a good reminder that winter is the perfect time for maintenance projects like replacing boards and refreshing bed edges.

This we week we have a perfect seasonal recipe — Roasted Root Vegetable and Apple Soup. This simple dish combines carrots, parsnips, swede and apples for a sweet, hearty winter warmer that’s ideal for using up stored crops.

Richard finishes the episode talking about growing indoors — from microgreens on the kitchen windowsill to experiments with hydroponics. He explains how grow lights, heated propagators, and even small hydro systems can keep gardeners growing all winter long.

Even when it’s cold and dark outside, the gardening doesn’t have to stop. With a few trays of microgreens or herbs, there’s always something fresh to enjoy — and plenty of ways to scratch that gardening itch through the winter.

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This week, I’ve been experimenting with something a little different — late-night gardening under torchlight!
With the clocks changing, I found myself missing the allotment after work, so I thought I’d give working by flashlight a try. Let’s just say, it’s not something I’ll be repeating. Between juggling a torch and trying to weed one-handed, it was more trouble than it’s worth.

Still, it was good to see how things are ticking along. There’s not too much to do this time of year — overwintering crops are established and looking after themselves — but I did take the chance to observe the health of my soil.

Lately, I’ve been noticing a lot of mycorrhizal fungi in the soil, those delicate white strands that form a natural network underground. It’s often called the “internet of the soil,” helping plants communicate and share nutrients. Seeing that tells me my soil is alive and healthy.

Good soil health is everything. Adding organic matter, compost, leaf mould and mulches all feed the soil and the life within it — worms, fungi, bacteria — which in turn feeds our plants. That’s why we say, “feed the soil, not the plants.”
With winter approaching, I’ll be leaving most of the work for the weekends, focusing on mulching and protecting the soil ready for next spring.

Back home, it’s been a similar story of abundance. Despite being November, the beds are still bursting with produce — tomatoes, chillies, aubergines, kale, broccoli, cabbages, and peas. Even the nasturtiums and dahlias are still flowering, giving the garden a slightly overgrown but wonderfully productive look.

The chickens are doing well too, though we’ve had a bird flu alert from DEFRA. Thankfully, I’m not in a protection zone, but I’ve started taking precautions — covering the run, moving feeders, and preparing to disinfect boots when going in and out of the coop if needed. It’s important to stay vigilant and protect our birds as winter sets in.

Our Seed of the Month for November is Winter Purslane, also known as Claytonia or Miner’s Lettuce.
It’s one of the easiest and most rewarding crops to grow at this time of year.

Sow the seeds thinly on the surface of moist, peat-free compost and cover lightly. It doesn’t need warmth — in fact, it prefers cool temperatures and short days. It’s perfectly happy in a cold frame, greenhouse, or even a windowsill pot.

Harvest the young leaves regularly for salads. They have a soft, refreshing texture, a little like spinach, and are full of vitamin C. A perfect way to add a splash of green to winter meals.

Get your seeds here.

This weeks recipe has been inspired by our Seed of the Month and has created a Winter Purslane and Potato Salad with Mustard Dressing.
This simple dish combines the mild lemony flavour of Winter Purslane with warm potatoes and a tangy mustard dressing — proving that even in the depths of autumn, the garden can still put dinner on the table.
You can find the full recipe on our website.

This week, I’ve been reading Digging for Victory by Twigs Way and Mike Brown — a fascinating look at how gardeners in wartime Britain grew their own food and wasted nothing. That led me to think about wood ash, which ties in nicely with Bonfire Night.

If you have a fire or bonfire, save that ash!
Wood ash is rich in potassium, which supports flowering and fruiting plants. You can sprinkle it over vegetable beds or add it in small amounts to the compost heap. Just avoid using ash from treated wood or coal, and don’t add it where potatoes will grow next year, as it can encourage scab.

Store it dry in a metal container, and it’ll be a valuable soil improver come spring.

It’s been a productive and reflective week — experimenting on the allotment, enjoying the abundance in the kitchen garden, and thinking ahead to how we can use every resource, even wood ash, to improve our plots.

This week on The Veg Grower Podcast, Richard enjoys a productive weekend of gardening, with mild autumn weather, a few fireworks for the dog to contend with, and plenty of composting, tidying, and planning for the colder months ahead.

After a lovely weekend of good gardening weather, Richard shares how it’s left him smiling — the kind of days that remind us why we love being outside this time of year.

With the dog and chickens safely tucked away during the firework noise, the focus has been on tidying up the beds and adding more compost to improve the soil before winter sets in.

Most of the compost used is home-made — the result of months of careful recycling and turning — but for anyone needing to top up, Richard recommends PSA100 compost bought in bulk as a cost-effective alternative.

The same approach has been used in the Vegepod area, where the beds have been cleared and prepped ready for the next round of sowing. It’s all part of setting the garden up so it’s ready to burst into life again next spring.

As always, Richard pauses to thank his Supporters Club members for helping keep the podcast running.
Members receive extra behind-the-scenes podcasts and a monthly seed pack to sow, along with exclusive growing tips and access to a friendly online community.

You can join the Supporters Club for just £5 a month at theveggrowerpodcast.co.uk.

Over on the allotment, Richard has now lifted the last of the potatoes for the year — a satisfying job that marks the end of another growing season.

The leftover straw mulch from the potato beds has been repurposed to cover the rhubarb and other perennial vegetables, helping protect them from the winter cold and frost.

It’s a small but effective way to reuse materials and make sure the soil — and plants — stay healthy through the winter months.

Chef Scott makes his return this week with a recipe for Quince Jam, perfect for making use of those seasonal fruits. His recipe is simple, fragrant, and a lovely way to preserve autumn flavours for the months ahead.

You’ll find the full recipe over on the website.

Back in the shed, Richard turns his attention to a timely topic — heating the greenhouse.

The first step, he says, is always insulation. Bubble wrap or fleece can help trap warmth and protect plants from frost.

He also uses a water butt full of water as a thermal battery, storing warmth during the day and releasing it at night.

In the past, he even experimented with a compost heap for heating, inspired by the Victorians’ pineapple houses — though this proved less effective in practice.

When it comes to heating options, paraffin heaters can work well but bring concerns about safety and ventilation. For reliability and peace of mind, Richard now leans towards an electric greenhouse heater fitted with a thermostat to keep conditions steady without wasting energy.

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 on The Veg Grower Podcast, Richard shares another busy few days of tidying, planning and preparing for the colder months ahead — and reflects on where he finds his garden design inspiration.

Down on the allotment, the big tidy-up continues. With the days drawing shorter, time after work is now limited, so Richard has been making the most of every dry spell.

This week he’s been tackling weeds, laying down mulch, and organising tools and materials ready for winter. Straw has once again proven to be a fantastic mulch — keeping weeds at bay and making maintenance much easier.

He’s also been sorting through canes and supports, using a simple but clever trick for storing them neatly: fixing a bungee cord to the shed wall and slipping the canes behind it. It’s easy, quick, and stops everything falling about in the wind — a great tip for anyone short on shed space.

Plastic pots have also had a bit of a tidy. While Richard prefers to reuse rather than throw away, he’s been organising them into bins and boxes to keep things under control. The goal this winter is clear — get the plot tidy, mulched, and ready for another productive year.

Back home in the kitchen garden, listener Stuart Jackson got in touch with a great question: how do you overwinter chillies?

Chillies are actually perennials, so with the right care, they can keep going for years. The trick is to move potted plants indoors — a shed, greenhouse, or even a bright windowsill works well — and keep them just ticking over.

Richard recommends pruning each branch back to about a third, watering sparingly, and keeping them frost-free but not too warm. Then, when spring returns, the plants can burst back into growth and reward you with an early crop.

It’s a simple method that helps keep those favourite chilli plants alive year after year.

At home, the brassicas are thriving — Brussels sprouts, kale, cabbages and cauliflowers all doing well. The new chickens are settling in, though not yet laying, while the older hens continue to keep the egg basket full.

Remarkably, the courgette plants are still producing flowers and fruit — quite something for October. And there’s plenty of beetroot too, recently harvested for a batch of delicious beetroot and chocolate brownies.

This week’s recipe is Spicy Autumn Potato Soup, perfect for a chilly October day. It’s a simple, warming dish that uses stored potatoes, late chillies and peppers for a kick of flavour.

You’ll find the full recipe on the website — ideal for using up seasonal veg and serving with crusty bread after a day in the garden.

As the rain fell outside, Richard found himself thinking about garden design — not just for practicality, but for beauty too.

After ten years in the same home, the kitchen garden continues to evolve. The ambition now is to make it look amazing while still being productive. To do that, Richard’s been looking everywhere for inspiration — from social media to stately homes, RHS shows and hotel gardens.

He’s already bringing ideas home, like training apple and pear trees over a small arch — a miniature take on the grand designs seen at places like West Dean or Bewley Gardens. It’s proof that even in a modest garden, we can borrow the elegance of larger spaces while keeping things edible and functional.

So, where do you get your garden inspiration? Get in touch and let Richard know.

This week on The Veg Grower Podcast, I’ve been busy both at home in the kitchen garden and down on the allotment. Autumn is certainly upon us, and that means it’s time to tidy, store, and prepare for the months ahead.

At home, my main focus has been on checking over our stored fruit and vegetables. I always try to do this regularly – especially the ones that aren’t in the freezer. Apples and pears are kept in crates in the garage where it’s cool, dark, and dry, with just enough space between each fruit for airflow. It’s important to remove any showing signs of rot before it spreads to the rest.

The same goes for the onions in sacks and root vegetables stored in damp sand. It’s a simple but vital job to keep our homegrown produce lasting right through winter.

The chickens have now fully integrated into one flock, all sleeping together in the same coop, which is great to see. They’re not quite laying yet, but they’re certainly settled in. I’ve also been preparing for the colder weather by moving tender plants such as my peach, lemon, and potted grapevine into the greenhouse. The fleece is on standby in case of frost.

My grapevine in the ground, though, has been incredibly productive this year, producing a mountain of dessert grapes – small but delicious. Alongside that, we’re still harvesting spinach, mustards, beetroot, and cabbage, while the pumpkins and winter squash are now safely stored after a good year.

Down on the allotment, I’ve been continuing the long-running task of tidying from the bottom of the plot upwards, a little at a time each visit. This week, the big project has been building a new compost bin.

Using reclaimed corrugated iron from an old shed, I’ve bolted together panels with wooden posts to create a strong, practical bin about 1.5 metres long by 1 metre wide. It joins my existing bins, including one made from old fridge doors – not the prettiest, but it does the job!

I’ve already begun filling the new bin with grass clippings and trimmings, and it’s satisfying to see the allotment looking tidier and more productive again.

Another key job this week was planting out overwintering onions, both from sets and from seed. The sets go about 5 cm deep before being backfilled and watered. They’ll provide an early crop next year. It’s one of those repetitive tasks that feels endless at the time but pays off later.

We’ve also still got a few tomatoes hanging on, though blight has begun to appear on the larger varieties, so those plants have been cleared and composted. The smaller tomatoes are still ripening slowly, and we’re continuing to harvest apples, pears, chillies, peppers, and late carrots.

This week’s Recipe of the Week is my Autumn Ratatouille – a great way to use up the last of the summer harvest.

It’s a simple mix of onion, garlic, aubergine, courgette, peppers, and tomatoes, all gently cooked down with olive oil and herbs into a rich, warming dish. It’s perfect with pasta, as a side to a roast, or even spooned onto toast with a poached egg.

You’ll find the full recipe on our website.

Back in the shed, I’ve been sorting through my seed collection – a job I do every autumn. My seeds are stored in labelled boxes inside an old fridge to keep them cool, dry, and safe from mice.

This week I’ve been checking expiry dates, removing old packets, and making a list of what I already have before I start looking through seed catalogues. It saves money and prevents duplication.

Out-of-date seeds often still germinate but at a lower rate, so I donate them to local gardening charities or use them to feed the birds.

If you fancy a bit of homework this week – go through your own seed collection, see what’s missing, and start planning what you’d like to grow next year. It’s a great way to get ahead before spring arrives.

Before signing off, a big thank you to Lynn on Spotify for her lovely review and message about trying strawberries and straw bale gardening next year. I’ll be covering that in a future episode.

As always, I’d love to hear from you — what are you tidying, harvesting, or planning in your garden right now? You can leave a comment on the website, drop me an email at [email protected], or send a voicemail to feature in a future show.

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 on The Veg Grower Podcast, it’s been a wild and windy one as Storm Amy rolled through the south coast — but that didn’t stop progress in the allotment or the kitchen garden. I’ve been tidying up, sowing broad beans, and starting to make some exciting plans for the 2026 growing season.

Back home in the kitchen garden, the stormy weather certainly made things interesting. Thankfully, there was no serious damage — just a few wind-fallen apples and pears.

With the strong winds making outdoor jobs difficult, I took refuge in the greenhouse. The tomatoes had reached the end of their season, so it was time for a tidy-up and clear-out. Once the spent plants were composted, I realised how much space I had for winter crops such as winter lettuce and land cress.

A good reminder came to light during this process — a clean greenhouse lets in far more light. Over the year, dirt builds up on the glass, blocking valuable sunlight. So I gave the glass a thorough scrub, inside and out, using just water and a stiff brush. No harsh chemicals here — I like to keep it natural, especially in a space where I grow food.

As I tidied around, I reflected on how gardeners can sometimes be too tidy in autumn. Leaving some hollow stems and seed heads gives insects and other wildlife a place to overwinter. Nature is our friend — those ladybirds, bees, and lacewings will help with pest control next year.

Down on the allotment, I was relieved to find everything intact after the storm. No broken glass, no collapsed sheds — just a blustery mess to sort out.

Inside the greenhouse, I spent time tidying and preparing for the next phase — sowing broad beans. I’ve chosen two overwintering varieties: Aquadulce Claudia and Saturn. These are going into root trainers for now, ready to be hardened off and planted outside in about a month.

Broad beans are easy to grow and incredibly resilient. They’ll sit quietly through the colder months, then burst into growth in spring, often cropping before spring-sown varieties. Another advantage? Overwintered broad beans tend to suffer less from blackfly.

I also like to companion plant with nasturtiums, which attract blackfly away from the beans. When it comes to harvest time, I prefer picking the pods young and tender for the best flavour — though the pods themselves can also be battered and fried for something a bit different!

Once the plants are finished, I cut them down at the base, leaving the roots in place to add a little nitrogen back into the soil.

This week, Chef Scott wasn’t available, but I stepped in with a recipe that ties perfectly to our Seed of the Month – Broad Beans.

Try my Broad Bean and Mint Hummus — a simple, fresh twist on a classic.

You’ll need:

Boil the beans for a few minutes, drain, and pop them out of their skins if they’re large. Blend everything together until smooth, adding a splash of water or extra oil if needed. Season to taste, and serve with flatbreads or toast — it’s especially good with a poached egg on top.

Find the full recipe at theveggrowerpodcast.co.uk.

With the storm keeping me indoors, I took the chance to start mapping out plans for next year. For me, autumn marks the start of the gardening year — garlic and onions are going in, and it’s the perfect time to dream and plan.

In 2026, I want my kitchen garden to be more than just productive — I want it to look beautiful too. Inspired by some of the stunning kitchen gardens I’ve seen around the UK, I’m focusing on my own SNAP principles:

S – Simple
N – Natural
A – And
P – Productive

I’ll be embracing polyculture — growing different plants side by side to maximise space, encourage beneficial insects, and make the garden feel alive and full. Garlic, for instance, will line the edges of beds, freeing up the centres for mixed planting.

On the allotment, productivity remains the goal. My straw bale gardening experiment has been a huge success, providing great crops in tricky soil. The straw mulch has reduced weeding, conserved water, and even helped build compost. I’ll be continuing that next year while working towards producing even more of my own compost to fill every bed.

And who knows — maybe 2026 will finally be the year I glaze that allotment greenhouse!

Despite the wild weather, it’s been a productive week and a great reminder that even in stormy conditions, there’s plenty we can be doing — tidying, cleaning, sowing, and planning.

I’d love to know — what plans do you have for 2026? Are you changing your gardening style or trying something new? Let me know in the comments or on social media.

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 on the Veg Grower Podcast we’re embracing the arrival of autumn. I’ve been reflecting on the kitchen garden, making plans for the allotment through the colder months, and sharing why leaf mould is one of the most valuable resources we can collect at this time of year.

The kitchen garden is still full of food. Kale, turnips, radicchio, beetroot, parsnips, leeks, spinach, cabbages, cauliflowers, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts are all growing strongly — not to mention the fruit scattered throughout the space.

That said, this week I’ve felt a little overwhelmed. The grass had grown long, crops were finishing, and I wasn’t sure where to begin. Clearing away spent summer crops was my first job. Beans and peas were cut at ground level, leaving the roots in place to enrich the soil. This not only feeds the soil with nitrogen but also helps improve its structure.

I’ve been topping beds with leftover compost from seed trays and pots, giving the soil a boost of organic matter. It’s a reminder that soil health underpins everything — and why no-dig gardening and constant mulching are at the heart of my approach.

Pumpkins have also started coming in, with my first small but perfectly ripe one harvested this week. Properly stored, squashes and pumpkins will last us right through winter, making them one of the most rewarding crops to grow. Root crops like beetroot, carrots, and turnips are also ready, while parsnips will be left until after the first frost for extra sweetness.

Down on the allotment, colder mornings are a reminder that autumn is well and truly here. Much of my work has focused on weeding and sowing green manures in empty spaces to protect and enrich the soil over winter.

Leeks and parsnips have finally put on a growth spurt, thanks to recent rainfall. It’s highlighted the importance of organic matter in the soil, something I plan to improve with more compost and possibly manure in the months ahead.

An unexpected globe artichoke appeared in an empty bed — self-seeded from somewhere — which I’ve potted up rather than waste. Meanwhile, a beefsteak tomato plant has produced some enormous fruits that stubbornly refuse to ripen. I’ve stripped away leaves to encourage ripening, but if the cold comes first, they’ll be picked and ripened indoors with a banana.

Perhaps most importantly, I’ve sat down and written a full winter to-do list for the allotment: compost bins, greenhouse repairs, shed tidying, and more. I’ve added it all into Notion, creating a timeline to keep me on track. Having that plan in place makes the workload feel manageable and ensures I’m ready for spring.

Chef Scott returns with something special: Spiced Poached Quince with Vanilla Ice Cream.

Quinces may not be a common sight in shops, but they’re worth growing or seeking out. Slowly poached with cinnamon, star anise, and lemon, they develop a deep red colour and an incredible fragrance. Served hot with vanilla ice cream, it’s a true autumn treat.

You’ll find the full recipe on the blog.

With leaves now falling fast, it’s the perfect time to collect them. Leaf mould may not be high in nutrients, but it’s a fantastic soil conditioner, seed-sowing medium, and mulch.

I collect mine from recreation fields where leaves would otherwise be wasted, never from woodlands or roadsides. At the allotment I use homemade bins from wood and chicken wire to store and rot down the leaves. Over time they break down into a crumbly, woodland-like compost.

Leaf mould can be used to mulch fruit trees, protect rhubarb crowns, or improve soil structure. It reduces significantly in volume as it rots, so I also use spare Dalek bins to handle the surplus until it can be transferred.

It’s a free, abundant resource that really shouldn’t be wasted — and one that makes a big difference to the garden.

Autumn is often seen as the end of the growing year, but I see it as a beginning. Pumpkins and root crops are being harvested, green manures sown, and plans are being made for winter projects.

This is also the time to make use of resources like falling leaves — turning waste into something valuable.

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 on the Veg Grower Podcast I’ve been busy with one of my favourite tasks of the year — planting garlic. Added to that, there are new chickens in the kitchen garden, and I share my thoughts on green manures as we move into autumn.

Saturday 20th September is always a big date in my calendar. It’s my wedding anniversary, yes — but it’s also the day I traditionally plant my garlic. Garlic is one of my favourite crops to grow because it sits in the ground over winter and makes the allotment look alive during the colder months.

I prepared the bed by clearing weeds, cutting old plants off at ground level to leave the roots in place, and topping with compost. After regular hoeing to keep it tidy, I planted my saved garlic cloves about 10cm deep and 10cm apart, pointy end up. A scattering of garlic fertiliser from the Garlic Farm (or blood, fish and bone if you prefer) and a good watering finished the job. Elephant garlic also went in.

From here it’s simply a case of monthly feeding, keeping it weed-free, and watering in dry spells until harvest next summer. The only real challenge I’ve faced in past years is leek rust, but good ventilation usually keeps it at bay.

Beyond garlic, the allotment is still providing well. Chillies, aubergines, peppers, apples, and pears are all being harvested. I’ve also been trialling straw bale gardening, which has given excellent results with chillies and aubergines. The moisture-holding, slowly decaying bales feed the plants well, and I plan to expand this trial next season.

Back at home, the big news is the arrival of two new chickens. Sadly, my oldest hen passed away recently, so I’ve added two new ones to the flock — a skyline and a moss belle, named Steel and Panther. Between them they’ll provide beautiful green and blue eggs once they start laying, hopefully by Halloween.

For now, they’re separated from the older hens while they get used to each other, but they’re already settling in. I always say chickens complete the kitchen garden: not only for eggs, but also for pest control, compost, and manure.

It’s also been a special weekend in the garden for another reason. On our anniversary trip we stopped at a garden near Brighton and found a reclamation yard next door. There we came across an antique aluminium garden bench with a matching bistro table and chairs — exactly what we’d been looking for. We brought it home as a gift to each other. Seating is such an important part of a garden, giving us space to pause and enjoy what we’ve created.

With the cooler weather setting in, nothing beats a tray of roasted autumn veg with garlic and herbs. Using aubergines, broccoli, garlic, chillies, and even apples or pears for sweetness, it’s a simple one-pan dish that makes the most of the harvest. You can find the full recipe on the blog.

This week’s shed chat is all about green manures. These cover crops are a brilliant way to protect and enrich the soil through autumn and winter.

Green manures such as clover, vetch, rye, mustard, buckwheat, phacelia, and field beans help prevent soil erosion, add organic matter, and improve fertility — particularly by fixing nitrogen in the case of legumes.

They’re easy to sow: just scatter seeds on cleared ground, rake or tread them in, and let them grow. Some die back over winter naturally, while others can be cut down and left to rot on the surface or dug in before planting spring crops.

I’m sowing winter tares and field beans this year, as well as trialling mixes designed for potato and sweetcorn beds. For me, green manures are essential to good soil health and far better than leaving ground bare or covering it with plastic.

From garlic planting to green manures, new chickens to garden benches, it’s been a weekend that has set us up well for the season ahead. The allotment and kitchen garden are still full of life, and now is the time to make plans that will carry us through into next year.

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 on the Veg Grower Podcast, the weather has been the main story. With heavy showers and strong winds, I’ve had to adapt my plans in both the kitchen garden and on the allotment.

At home, the wet weather kept me indoors more than I’d like, but I still managed to get some useful jobs done under cover. Seed sowing has continued in trays in the shed and greenhouse, ensuring a steady flow of crops as we move into autumn. These small steps mean the garden will keep providing, even when the weather isn’t on our side.

The allotment has been a mix of challenges and small wins. The rain made weeding a little easier, and I managed to get a fair amount cleared. However, bigger jobs such as building a new compost bin had to be postponed thanks to the conditions.

With the stormy winds picking up, I also spent some time checking and securing things around the plot. It’s a reminder to us all at this time of year that a sudden gust can undo a lot of hard work if we’re not prepared.

This week I’ve also been in the podding shed, where I shared a voicemail from listener Maria, who’s had trouble with slugs getting to her pumpkins. It’s a problem many of us face, and it’s always helpful to hear these challenges so we can share ideas and solutions together.

I also urged listeners to follow what I’ve been doing lately — taking some time to plan ahead for the coming year. Start by writing a list of the crops you’d really like to grow, then sketch out your allotment or garden space. Even a rough plan can make a huge difference in making the most of your growing area and ensuring everything has its place.

It hasn’t been the most productive of weekends, but that’s often the way when the weather turns against us. Still, there’s always something to do — whether it’s seed sowing under cover, planning for next season, or simply tidying what we can.