hilton garden

Welcome back to another episode of the Veg Grower Podcast, where I share what’s happening on my allotment and in my kitchen garden here in Littlehampton, West Sussex. This week has been a busy one with summer pruning, experimenting with soil testing, and answering a brilliant listener question about fermentation. Allotment Update – Summer Pruning The bank holiday weekend gave me extra time on the plot, and I’ve focused on summer pruning. Stone fruits like cherries and plums can’t be pruned in winter, so this is the time to give them attention. Starting with dead, diseased, or damaged wood, I worked through shaping the trees and preventing crossing branches. Apples and pears also had a light tidy-up to keep them healthy. It always feels counterintuitive to cut branches off, but it makes such a big difference to the harvest. I mention a good book I ahve found for pruning and this book canbe found here . Kitchen Garden – Soil Testing Back at home, I carried out a soil test to find ...

Hi, it’s Scott here with this week’s recipe. We’re heading into late summer now, and that means one thing – stone fruit season. This week I’m cooking up roast greengages with star anise and orange , served with a silky vanilla mascarpone and topped with crunchy pistachios. If you’re not growing greengages or can’t find them in the shops, don’t worry – plums work just as well. You might just need to tweak the sugar depending on how sweet your fruit is. Ingredients For the roasted fruit: 650 g greengages (stones removed) 2 star anise 100 g caster sugar Juice of 2 oranges For the vanilla mascarpone: 300 g mascarpone 100 ml softly whipped cream 1 tsp vanilla paste 50 g icing sugar To serve: Chopped pistachio nuts for garnish Method Preheat the oven to 160°C (fan) . Place the greengages, star anise, caster sugar and orange juice in a roasting dish. Roast for 30 minutes , until the fruit is tender and the juices have thickened slightly. While the fruit is roasting,...

This week’s episode of The Veg Grower Podcast is packed with jobs on the allotment, progress in the kitchen garden, and a listener’s question about slugs. With summer harvests in full swing, it’s been a busy and productive week – plus I share a recipe of the week while Chef Scott is away. Allotment Update The main focus on the allotment has been seed saving . I’ve been busy collecting seeds from peas and beans – always reliable and easy to do – as well as saving poppy seeds that appeared on the plot without me ever sowing them. I also talk through why saving squash seeds can be tricky due to cross-pollination, and why crops like carrots and parsnips need two years to produce viable seed. I share a past experiment with potatoes too – growing out “seed plants” to store tubers for replanting the following year, which worked surprisingly well. Of course, alongside seed saving, it’s been the usual jobs of mowing, strimming, weeding, and watering in the warm weather. Kitchen Garden Up...

This week, with Chef Scott away, I’m stepping in with a recipe of my own – one that celebrates the patty pan squash, a fun and slightly underrated vegetable that’s been cropping well here in my garden. Patty pan squash have a delicate, buttery flavour and a slightly nutty bite. Roasting them is my favourite way to enjoy them, as it brings out their natural sweetness while keeping them tender. Ingredients 4–5 small patty pan squashes, halved or quartered depending on size 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped A handful of fresh herbs – parsley, thyme, or basil work well Salt and black pepper Method Preheat the oven to 200°C (fan 180°C). Toss the squash pieces in olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper. Spread onto a baking tray in a single layer. Roast for around 20 minutes until golden and tender. Finish with freshly chopped herbs before serving. Serving Suggestion This dish makes a lovely side for grilled meats, fish, or barbecues, but I often enjoy it...

This week’s episode of The Veg Grower Podcast is all about making the most of the summer growing season while also planning ahead for autumn and winter. From uncovering rich compost in the hot bin to sowing green manures, I share what’s been happening on the allotment and in the kitchen garden, plus Chef Scott brings us a fresh take on our seed of the month. We round off with some thoughts on why growing your own food means so much. Allotment Update I started the week by checking on my hot bin composter. The results were fantastic – rich, crumbly compost far quicker than my traditional bin could produce. This “black gold” has gone straight onto the beds as mulch, feeding the soil and helping lock in moisture during these warmer spells. I’ve also sown mustard as a green manure in beds earmarked for garlic and overwintering onions later this year. It’ll protect the soil, outcompete weeds, and add valuable organic matter when it’s chopped and dug in. Kitchen Garden Update Over in th...

This month’s Seed of the Month is pak choi — a versatile, quick-growing vegetable that works beautifully in both raw salads and hot dishes. Here, it’s paired with a fragrant miso and lemon butter that adds richness and a punch of flavour. Ingredients 250g butter, softened 40g miso paste 10g grated fresh ginger 5g diced red chilli 5g chopped fresh coriander Zest and juice of 1 lemon Freshly picked pak choi Method In a bowl, mix the butter, miso, ginger, chilli, coriander, lemon zest, and lemon juice until well combined. Transfer the butter mixture onto greaseproof paper, roll into a log, and chill until firm. When ready to cook, heat a wok or frying pan over a high heat. Add the pak choi and stir-fry for 1–2 minutes until just tender. Stir through as much of the miso & lemon butter as you like, allowing it to melt and coat the pak choi. Serve immediately as a side dish or light main. This recipe also works well with other leafy greens, so it’s a great way to use...

Welcome back to this week's episode of the Veg Grower Podcast , where we share our journey of growing food here on the South Coast of the UK and inspire you to do the same—whatever your space! This Week in the Garden In this episode, I reflect on a much-needed day at the allotment. With ongoing home renovations weighing heavily, I took a full day to reset among the raised beds, buzzing bees (including one surprise wasp’s nest!), and late summer crops. There’s something about the allotment that clears the mind, and I really needed that mental escape this week. After a good tidy with the strimmer and lawn mower, I experimented with the chop-and-drop method —leaving weeds and trimmings on the soil surface to decompose and feed the beds in place. I also checked on our cabbages where the first earlies were previously growing, and they’re settling in nicely. Our maincrop potatoes are beginning to yellow, a clear sign they're nearly ready for harvest. And yes, I did get stung (on...

A versatile, spiced snack that’s perfect for your homegrown veg Hi, it’s Scott here with this week’s recipe. This time, we’re making Cauliflower Pakoras – a crispy, golden snack that's ideal for using up a glut of cauliflower. The beauty of this recipe is its flexibility: you can swap the cauliflower for other veg like courgette, spinach, onion, or even a mix. So, let’s head into the kitchen and cook up something tasty. Ingredients: 400g cauliflower, chopped into small florets 150g gram (chickpea) flour 170g water 10g fresh coriander, chopped 5g fresh mint, chopped 1 tsp ground cumin 1 tsp garam masala ½ tsp Kashmiri chilli powder (or substitute mild chilli powder) ½ tsp baking powder 1½ tsp curry powder Salt to taste Oil for frying Method: Make the batter In a large bowl, whisk together the gram flour, water, baking powder, and all the spices until smooth. Prepare the veg Add your chopped cauliflower florets to the batter and stir until fully coated. You ...