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Growing your own doesn’t need to be difficult at all…
…but where on earth do you begin?
Well, your best bet is to think of things you like eating and start there, but – once you know what you want to grow, how do you grow them? Luckily there’s a great new book on the scene, from Gardener’s World’s Rekha Mistry. Rekha’s Kitchen Garden combines all the information you absolutely need to know to start growing your own, whether its for your garden, allotment or even a balcony sized space.
But, lets get to know Rekha a little more before we delve into the book. Rekha’s rise to kitchen garden notoriety began on 2015’s Big Allotment Challenge, after which she studied for an RHS Diplmona in Horticulture. Soon after this she began writing for numerous magazines and her love of all things ‘grow your own’ continues to this date, culminating in this new kitchen garden bible!
Fortunately because of all this, anything that Rekha doesn’t know, isn’t worth knowing – as she guides us through, start to finish, of how to grow all manner of kitchen garden staples.
But other than that, this book also takes us on a journey on how to even set up your space before the first seed or plant gets in the ground. Rekha shows us how she created an organic plot from an expanse of nothing but clay soil, touching on what she already knew, combined with knowledge she gained from her fellow plot-holders. There are other essentials in here too, such as crop rotation, basic pest and disease prevention and a passage on companion planting too.
After all of this, Rekha then gives us an idea of what a year on her plot looks like and how it could possibly look for you too. Covering off 40 of the crops that she grows with information on sowing, planting and harvesting of each, there’s not a lot left to learn except for giving it a go and gaining your own experiences with your space.
Rekha’s Kitchen Garden is out now from DK books with an RRP of £18.99, or you can get it here for just £16!
Do make sure you follow along on Rekha’s Instagram page @rekha.garden.kitchen or Twitter, where you can find her at @rekha181
And, if you’d like to hear more from Rekha, do subscribe to my podcast Tales From The Potting Bench to hear her on an upcoming episode of the next season very soon.
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