In the northern hemisphere Spring is coming.  The snowdrops and crocuses have in many places already burst out into flower.  Maybe this has set your mind working, and you’re wondering what to do with that spare plot of earth at the back of your house.  Well how about a vegetable garden?

Vegetable gardening for flavour

I’m not sure whether it really is true, in any scientifically provable way, that my home-grown veggies from the kitchen garden taste better than what my wife buys in the local store, but I know it feels that way.  There’s certainly something special about eating what you’ve grown yourself.  What’s more, you know it’s fresh; you picked it yourself just an hour or so ago.  And if you have children in the household they will know that food does not come from a plastic bag but from God’s good earth.

How was it grown?

Personally I’m not opposed to chemicals.  Why?  Because everything we eat is chemical.  Even the cleanest air we breath is chemical.  The freshest, most unpolluted water we drink is chemical.  The materials of our bodies are chemical. The green leaves of a plant are chemical.  It’s not that chemicals are bad in themselves, otherwise everything around us would be bad, but it’s a question of what kinds of chemicals.  Plants need food, and they often need protection from pests and diseases. When you grow your food yourself you know exactly what has been used to fertilise the soil, what has been used to guard the growing crops from insect damage and plant disease.  The uncertainties are removed.  You know what you’re giving your family to eat.

Good food and good exercise

For many of us our modern lifestyle does not make it easy to keep our bodies in good condition.  Obesity and slack muscles are all too common these days.  Half an hour a day looking after a kitchen garden can make a major difference to a person’s physical fitness.  The variety of movement involved exercises many different muscular groups including legs, arms, back and more.  It won’t be long before you start to feel the difference.

So why not?

Whether you’re looking for more flavourful food, trying to save the planet or aspiring after a better-toned body, a vegetable garden could do you good. Spring is coming. It’s time to be clearing the earth and sowing the seed. You’ll not regret it.

Tags: Kitchen Garden, Spring, vegetable garden

We’re all familiar with the fact that herbs are good for you - at least, those that are not poisonous! Many culinary herbs provide not only enhancements to the flavour of our food but also are health-giving. A wide range of plants in the herb garden outside the kitchen door are also medicinal, and indeed for many people that is the primary reason for growing them.

However, research at an American government food research centre has shown that some herbs, including oregano, cloves and thyme, are effective in attacking the E. Coli pathogen. Other troublesome organisms such as Salmonella have also apparently found new enemies in these popular natural food flavourings.

Or maybe they’re not “new”. I wonder whether there is any correlation between countries in which these herbs are widely used and a low incidence of sickness outbreaks caused by those food-borne nasties. I don’t know. Maybe there’s some research somewhere that shows it. Meanwhile, I’m happy to know that in addition to the already well-known advantages of flavour, odour and health there are still further benefits to be gained from the herb garden.

While on this subject of health and healing, there’s a new book about to hit the shops.  Jill Henderson has produced what is described as “equal parts gardening guide and healthy living sourcebook” in The Healing Power of Kitchen Herbs (Published by Ball Publishing ; ISBN-13: 9781883052621; ISBN-10: 1883052629).  It should be in the shops in the UK at the beginning of September, but you needn’t wait to order it.  You can order here from Foyles of London and your copy will be mailed as soon as it becomes available.  Click either on the book graphic or on the title above.

Finally, for now, in the past few days we have launched a new site in the Gardening-Notes.com family called, “Herbs and the Herb Garden”. We didn’t wait until we had it full of dozens of pages but started with just a few, and will be building it up over the weeks and months ahead. Take a look at Herbs and the Herb Garden.

Today I was in several city-centre bookshops and noticed that one of them in particular was displaying vegetable garden books in a big way, so I thought I’d follow suit here. Below I’m showing some of what appear to be the most popular kitchen garden titles here in the UK.

I’ve put three of our British authors and TV gardening presenters (Carol Klein, Alan Titchmarsh and Sarah Raven) on the first line of the Amazon.com display as these books appear to be most readily available outside the UK.

Happy reading, and happy vegetable growing.

- David Murray -

For many months now we have had a general “Brunlea-Blog” which carries news of the various web sites in the Brunlea-Web family. As we launched www.gardening-notes.com, however, it became apparent that we really needed an area in which we could focus on gardening issues, and invite comment. Here it is. I hope you enjoy it.