GARDENS
As kitchen gardener at London’s world-famous Royal Botanic Gardens, Hélèna Dove often gets asked questions as she goes about her work. Here she addresses the most common of her visitors’ growing pains
1 How do I deal with slugs?
Nearly all the vegetables in the Kew kitchen garden are started off in modules or pots, so are relatively mature when planted into final positions. This deters slugs as they prefer new, lush growth. We mulch annually, with a fairly rough compost. The woody elements are a rough surface for the slugs to move over. When it's very wet, meaning an attack of slugs is likely, we use a Nemaslug [pest control] and whenever I see one, it's disposed of into the compost heap. At home, a beer trap is an excellent solution, as is a pond, which will encourage frogs, who love slugs for lunch.
2 Why does my Florence fennel bolt in summer?
Florence fennel will always go to seed when the day length reaches 13 hours -July in the UK. It's best to sow it in March to harvest in June, or in late August for an October-January harvest, in a mild winter.
3 Whl aren't my ar:,p es fruiting well tliis year?
There are several reasons why apples might struggle: it could be a dry spring where the flowers didn't set well, or a mild winter where they didn't get to stay dormant for long enough. Most likely, though, the fruit wasn't thinned in the previous season. Many apples are biennial croppers, which means they produce a lot one year, then very little the next. By thinning in July, after the June drop, it discourages the tree's natural biennial habit.
4 How and why do I sideshoot tomatoes?
Only cordon/indeterminate tomatoes need sideshooting. Most fall into this category. Cordon tomatoes are trained as a single stem up a support. There will be sideways laterals coming off the stem that hold the leaves and the fruit, but left untamed, the tomato will put out more sideshoots than it needs. A sideshoot will be a secondary growth - just above an existing lateral - light green and generally growing upwards. Just pinch these back with your fingernails.
5 Can I sow tomatoes in February?
Sow tomatoes in February if you are going to grow under glass for the entire season. If destined to be grown outdoors, wait until April so they aren't too large when you transplant them, once the risk of frosts have passed in late May.
6 What should I grow as a beginner?
One of the easiest plants to grow is dwarf French beans, which do really well in a pot and are highly productive. Courgettes are also easy, although they need a little more space to run around in.
7 What can I do about powdery mildew on cucurbit
